by Desiree Holt
He moved his mouth over her, taking time to savor each place. She tasted like seven kinds of sin and felt even better. His mouth followed the line of her jaw, kissed the soft underside of her chin, traveled slowly down the column of her neck nibbling and kissing. The length of her naked body pressed against him seared him every place they touched. He kept remembering her description of the image of himself naked before her, hearing the description of how she’d pleasured herself, and the eroticism of it was an incredible aphrodisiac.
Her good hand traveled along his shoulder, his arm, slid between them to brush the mat of hair on his chest and scrape his flat nipples. One of her legs was wedged between both of his, and as he tasted her and touched her she rubbed her thigh against the steel length of his cock and the swollen sac of his balls.
I want to fuck you.
The words rattled around in his head almost as if he heard himself saying it to her.
Her breasts fell warm and full in his palm, her nipples like hardened blooming buds in his mouth. He pulled on them and she cried out, her fingers woven into his hair as her hands pressed him more tightly against her. When he dragged his teeth lightly over their surface her cries turned to delighted moans, vibrating in her throat.
Very slowly he moved his mouth down to her tummy, pausing long enough to taste the sweetness of her navel, before reaching the wetness of her pussy. Taking a moment to inhale her intoxicating scent he nipped at the darkened bud of her clitoris, rewarded with her cries of pleasure, her thrust of her body against him.
He kissed the delicate crease where hip and thigh joined, allowed himself a moment to whisper his mouth over her inner thighs before returning to her hot, glistening wetness. Feasting on her, he lapped her cream, drawing her essence into his mouth. Into his soul.
“I want to touch you, too,” she moaned, trying to move and give herself the opportunity.
“Next time,” he promised in a harsh voice. “Tonight I get to do all the tasting.”
He moved her body this way and that, opening her to him so there wasn’t an inch he didn’t see. He was always careful not to accidentally bump her hand, but he wasn’t going to miss one place on her body, from the hot crevice of her buttocks to the grasp of her cunt when he pressed his tongue inside.
Soon she was begging, almost sobbing, bucking against him to urge him with her movements to take her. Now. Right now.
Reaching for the condom, he ripped open the foil with his teeth, sheathed himself one-handed, and lifting her to him plunged inside with one swift movement.
Dan closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, reaching for his eroding control. Jesus, she was so hot and wet and tight. His cock pulsed and his balls ached with the need to explode inside her. Slow, he told himself. Tonight keep it slow.
But his body had other ideas, especially when Mia wound her legs around him and locked her ankles in place, pressing against the small of his back. He was lost then, swept up in a need so great it drove into him like a hot spike. Before he even realized it he was pounding into her, the head of his cock bumping her womb, scraping over the bundles of nerves in the tight little channel with each thrust forward and back.
He bent his head to capture her mouth again, his tongue mimicking the actions of his cock, the flavor of her driving him hotter and higher. The familiar tingling and tightening raced down his spine and into his balls and when Mia screamed, “Now! Please!” and pulsed around him, he let go.
They flew, cartwheeling over a precipice, clinging together as he pounded into her again and again, then holding himself rigid as his cock pulsed and spurted. Mia convulsed around him, the walls of her pussy grasping him and pulling at him until she’d wrung the last drop from him.
When he could move, he rolled off the bed to dispose of the condom, but he was back in seconds, holding a glass of water and two aspirin. She looked up at him from where she lay, spent and flushed on the sheets and smiled at him.
“I think that was better medicine than any pills.”
“I hope so, but make me feel better and take these, okay? Just in case? And the antibiotic.”
Obediently she raised herself up to take the water and the pills. When she was finished he slipped back under the covers with her and cradled her against him. He was astounded at the force of the connection between them. More than sex, he thought to himself. Much more. Romeo, you are so screwed. But this had been coming since he walked into her office two short days ago. Two days? Could you fall in love in such a brief time?
He wasn’t normally a man given to acting on impulse. But in the Marines and with Phoenix he’d had to learn to trust his gut instincts. Now they were telling him this was the right thing for both of them. They could wait two years instead of two days but all that would accomplish was wasting time.
As if she could hear what he was thinking, Mia reached up to brush his cheek. “No obligations here, Dan. I know the way you are, the way you live your life. I can sense the way you’ve shut yourself off from relationships. I’m not a ten-pound load you’ll have to carry around with you.”
He brushed his lips against hers, then licked the seam with a light caress. “That may be the way I’ve always been. And I may, like the rest of my partners, have set firm rules for how and where we find our relationships. But life changes and I’m not about to walk away from this awesome thing between us because of some inflexible rules.”
“I don’t want to compromise this investigation,” she insisted. “Or give the impression that it’s affected adversely because of us.”
He stroked her back, running his fingers the length of her spine, smoothing his hand across her bottom. “I’m a professional, Mia. My partners know that. And it’s my job to assure my clients of that fact. Nothing is going to affect how I do my job.” He ducked his head and kissed her forehead. “In fact, for this particular case, I probably can’t do it without you.”
But she had one more point to make. “When this case is over and you leave, I don’t want you to think—”
“What I think is I won’t be leaving at all.”
She looked up, eyes wide. “What?”
“Maybe I’m rushing things but I hope not. I mean it’s only been a couple of days for us. But I was thinking driving back here tonight. Mark lives here and it’s no problem as far as his work is concerned. He’s hooked into our system and goes where he has to. When we need him we just send the plane for him and he’s on his way.”
“But—”
He touched his finger to her lips. “I know you love your home here. We could live there if that’s what you want. I have a house in Virginia too. We could split our time. Although…”
“Although what?”
“If you want to keep your job at the museum, that’s fine. But I personally think you could do a lot better with consulting work. In fact.” He stopped and grinned at her. “I have an idea but I think I’ll wait until we’re finished here to talk to you about it. Okay?”
She measured her words very carefully. “What exactly are we talking about here?”
“You’ll probably think I’m crazy or that I’m rushing you. And maybe I am. But I want a future with you, Mia. Uh-uh-uh,” he said, when she opened her mouth. “I’m not saying you have to give me your answer now. I know two days is practically no time to make this kind of decision.”
Ókay, I really am crazy. But suddenly I can’t imagine life without this woman. I’ve waited a long time for someone like her. I can’t let it get away.
“But, Dan—” she began again.
He pressed two fingers against her lips. “I’m saying I’ll still be sticking around when we wrap this up. I want you to have time to think about it. Get to know me. Be sure of your answer. I don’t want to do this when you’re vulnerable.”
“I’m not an impulsive person, either,” she told him. “But…there was the vision. And when you walked into my office, I felt a connection that nearly blew my mind. Instant psychic connection can be a lot more valuable than years o
f getting to know each other. That link either means it’s right or it’s wrong. And it’s very rare.”
“So you’re saying…”
“That despite the fact we’ve known each other less than a week. Despite the critical situation we’re in. Despite everything, that connection’s there and it’s been growing stronger every minute.” A tremulous smile curved her lips. “To hear you say you feel the same way make my heart stutter.” She threw herself on top of him and hugged him, feathering kisses over his face. “So yes, I want that, too.”
“Mia, are you absolutely sure? I’ve lived alone a long time. And you know the kind of business I’m in, the times I’ll have to be gone…”
“I’m not stupid, Dan. Of course I know. But Faith and Mark have made it work. I believe there are people who are fated to be together. You and I are two of them.” She sat up. “But yes, we should wait until this case is over before we say anything. Except maybe to Mark and Faith. It might color the way people look at things.”
“I agree. And I want to talk to my partners.” He fixed his gaze on her. “But no changing your mind.”
She laughed, a light sound that softened his harsh edges. “Not at all. You’re stuck with me.”
Chapter Thirteen
The plan had been for them to shower and dress quickly in the morning, but as Mia adjusted the spray to a fine mist the shower door slid back and Dan stepped into the enclosure next to her.
“I thought we were in a hurry,” she teased.
“Trust me. I can be quick.” He took one of her hands and wrapped her fingers around his cock. “But I think I’m in urgent need of attention.” He grinned. “You wouldn’t want me to spend the day in pain, would you?”
“Heavens. Anything but that.” She took the small bottle of shower gel the hotel provided and poured some into her hands. When she’d worked up a good lather she began to rub it into the curls on his chest. “Let me see if I can fix your problem.”
“I think you have just the right touch.” He bent his head and took her mouth with his.
Despite the cooling mist of the shower his mouth was hot and predatory, hungry and seeking. Lust shot through Mia, her nipples stiffening into almost painful points and a hard, insistent throbbing kicking up in her cunt. His tongue dueled with hers before dancing to every surface inside her mouth, his big hands holding her in place. With each stroke of his tongue her arousal spiked higher, the walls of her pussy fluttering with need, all of the nerves in her body sparking. She was drowning in sensation, all five of her senses in total overdrive.
God, this man apparently only had to touch her and she was fully aroused.
Pinching his nipples she rubbed herself against him, loving the feel of his hard, muscular body against hers. Her hands traveled down the flat plane of his stomach to touch his cock again, swollen and thick as it jutted from the surrounding curls. One hand slipped between his thighs to cup his sac, drawing a hiss of breath from him.
“You’ve taken care of me,” she told him. “Now it’s my turn.”
Heedless of the water streaming over her, she dropped to her knees, rinsed the soap from his erection and took him into her mouth. A groan rumbled up from his chest and his hands dropped to her shoulders. Mia set up a rhythm, stretching her mouth to accommodate his length and width. His cock was as hard and powerful as the rest of him and the sense of it inside her mouth thrilled her.
She wrapped her fingers around the thick root and timed its up and down slide with the movement of her mouth. Her other hand gently squeezed his sac, rubbing her fingers over his balls. She was bolder with this man than she’d ever been in her life but somehow he breached all her inhibitions, reached into her sensory nature that had been hiding deep inside her, and made her revel in every act. Every touch.
As he hardened even more in her mouth she wrapped her tongue around his length, squeezing it between his shaft and her cheeks.
“Enough.” The word burst from him in a tortured sound.
Mia stopped, frozen. Was she doing it wrong? Did he not like it? She looked up at him through the streams of water.
“I want to come inside you,” he rasped. “Not in your mouth. Not this time. I want inside you.” His voice took on a husky tone. “I want to fuck you.”
The phrase, which had been bouncing around in her head since her vision, stabbed into her and she nearly doubled over with its erotic punch. Dan lifted her to her feet and held onto her with one hand while he reached outside the shower to grab the condom he’d left on the vanity.
Instantly sheathed, he ordered in a thick voice, “Spread your legs.”
Mia widened her stance and he lifted her in his powerful hands, lowering her onto his cock.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he told her. “And hold on tight.”
Leaning her against the wall of the shower, he moved one hand between them, found her clitoris and worked it with his thumb. It took only a few strokes before she felt the orgasm rising and unwinding inside her. She wound her arms around Dan’s neck and held on tightly while he pounded into her. “Love you,” he ground out in her ear. “Love you. Jesus.”
And that quickly they exploded together, shaking with the force of a climax that was intense and gripping. And Mia held on tightly, just as he’d told her to, unable to do anything else as her body shook with the force of the spasms.
They were both gasping when he kissed her once more, an easier, gentler touch this time, and moved so her legs could slide to the floor.
“I hope I have the strength to get dressed,” he chuckled, kissing her forehead.
I hope you don’t regret any of this as soon as you’re dressed for the day.
* * * * *
“Two more days,” Mia mused, her forehead wrinkled in thought. They had finally managed to get dressed and had just finished breakfast. She was drinking a second cup of coffee, trying to pull herself together. Pushing from her mind the intruding thoughts that maybe none of this was real. That in the light of a second day Dan Romeo would think he’d made a big mistake and back away. The situation at Carpenter was a safer topic. “Counting today. That’s not much time to find out who’s behind all of this. And I can’t seem to make sense out of the jumble of visions.”
“Remember what you said last night about the instructions from Faith’s aunt and The Lotus Circle,” Dan reminded her. “Meditate and focus. Blank your mind of everything else. Something is reaching out to you just at the edge of your consciousness. It’ll come.”
“I called Faith while you finished dressing.” She looked across the table at him, trying to read his face. Was he sorry he’d let his guard down? Made himself vulnerable to her? She wished she knew more about him besides the fact that he was an amazing lover and had strong protective instincts. She hoped he wouldn’t take that as an opportunity to push her off onto the Hallorans. Erect a barrier between them. “She said she gets up early so I didn’t think she’d mind if I called now. I told her about the latest vision and asked her if she could call her aunt and see if the women I met could help me figure it out.”
He reached across the table and covered her hand with his, squeezing her fingers. Just a small, reassuring touch but it settled the butterflies in her stomach.
“What did she say?”
“That she’d do it right away. I’m hoping to hear back from her soon.” She set her cup down. “I just keep thinking how little time is left.”
“We’ve had tighter schedules than this,” Dan told her. “We’ll make it. Anyway, Oscar’s safe, which is at the top of the list. Chase felt a lot more secure after that second demonstration. So whatever else is going to happen we’re prepared for it. This is all just so much warfare of one kind of another.”
“They—whoever they are—must be pretty desperate to go around killing people without blinking an eye,” she pointed out.
“You’d be surprised at how little provocation it takes for some people to kill,” he told her. “Or how easily they shrug it off. Whatever
it takes to succeed. I’m more concerned with their focus on you.” His eyes suddenly got the movement of her hands and he looked down at the table. “What are you doing?”
Mia had a thick pad of paper in front of her. Forehead creased in concentration, she was writing numbers in different combinations, using one, five and seven. They were written in strings, in square boxes, on things that looked like boxes.
“Sometimes after a vision that deals with numbers, if I try to play around with them something jogs my memory or gives me a clue.”
Dan leaned down and placed a light kiss on her lips. “Honey, we’ve got the Dragon working on it. If that piece of machinery doesn’t come up with something it isn’t there to find.”
“But the human element can often work better, you know. It might be something stuck in my head that this situation has triggered to give me some kind of clue.”
He cupped her chin and turned her face again to look at him. “Nobody believes in your ability to help us more than I do. But I don’t want you making yourself sick over this.” He scanned her face. “Something else is eating at you. What is it? No secrets allowed here.”
She put her pen down and leaned back in her chair. “You know…” She stopped, took a deep breath and started again. “About…us. Everything.” She waved a hand in the air.
“What about us, Mia?” His voice was edgy. “Are you regretting what’s happening? It sure didn’t seem that way in the shower.”
Her eyes widened. “Me regret? I wasn’t sure… That is, if you’ve changed your mind… I mean, I know your life isn’t…”
For a moment the muscles in his face tightened. Then he forcibly relaxed them. “Going to be much without you in it now,” he finished for her. “Pay attention here. This isn’t just some temporary roll in the hay for me, Mia. I meant everything I’ve said. And I’m hoping you did too. Why would you think differently? Have I done anything to make you feel that way?”
His brown eyes had darkened almost to black.
“No.” Mia dipped her head. How to tell him that while she might be at the top of her game professionally, in personal situations she was a ragged novice. And this situation with him was just too important. “I was afraid when we weren’t in bed together you might have second thoughts. About, you know, everything.”
