"So, who is the girl? I'd love to shake her hand, or whatever other part she offers up. She must be one hell of a good fuck." Metal clanked loudly as Bug dropped the bar back in its bracket and rolled off the bench in a smooth motion not common for a big man. He didn't count on Dane vaulting over the bench to land on top of him. Deep male laughter had Dane freezing with his arm pulled back in a tight fist.
"Damn it, Bug. You talk shit about her again, and I'll have to make that gap in your teeth wider." His white hot rage abated as he watched the bigger man's face light up with a silly grin.
"Sorry, boss. I had to test ya." He shook his head as Dane let him up. "This one is different, huh?"
Dane rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, his body still vibrating with barely leashed violence. What was the matter with him? Sure, he didn't like listening to men insult women, but he usually was able to ignore the raunchy comments. Not when it came to Isabella.
"Yeah, she's different."
"Well, that's a relief."
"What the hell are you talking about, Bug?" He asked, wishing he'd taken the shot when he had the chance. Bug wasn't a man you could attack straight on.
"The Predator has a heart. I can't wait to meet the little woman who pierced it."
"You're damn lucky you served two tours of duty with me."
"I know it, boss. Hey, I've got the next class. Why don't you go see your girl? Maybe get your boo-boo kissed."
Deep laughter followed him as Dane turned on his heel and left after flipping Bug off. He hated to admit it, but the big guy had a point. He wanted to see her, had to see her before he did something bad. Like letting another little old lady take his head off.
Dane stepped into the Satin Bow, feeling a strange blend of anxious excitement and trepidation. She'd been half asleep when he left that morning. He'd wanted to sneak out without waking her—something he tended to do with every woman he bedded—but that seemed altogether wrong with Izzy. He'd wanted to cancel his classes and stay in bed holding her naked body tight against his until she woke, then find ways of keeping her in that bed for the rest of the day.
The Satin Bow always smelled like flowers, though he knew there wasn't a flower in her shop. Should he have brought her flowers? He frowned as Kitty looked up to greet him with a big smile. So much for sneaking out to get her some flowers. He raised his hand in greeting.
"Hello, Kitty Cat. Is Izzy here?" Dane shoved his hands in his pockets as he felt her give him a serious once over. He had the image of an Admiral inspecting him with an eagle eye.
"She's in the back room working. How are you this morning, Dane?" Her gray eyes pinned him like a fly to the wall. Dane cleared his throat and held her gaze.
"I'm good. Do you think she has time for a quick word?" he asked as he watched the woman's pen tap against some papers on her counter.
"She might, so long as the word is sincere. Izzy doesn't need to be added to the long list of women you've...collected, Dane. She deserves more." Her direct approach had him feeling more than a little uncomfortable, but he knew the two women were close friends.
"Izzy is...different." He used Bug's phrase with a wry smile. "I don't want to hurt her, Kitty. I will back off, if that becomes a possibility."
"Oh, Dane." She frowned at him and shook her head, making the tiny lightbulbs in her ears clank. "It's too late for that you, gorgeous male idiot. I'm going to go get lunch. Please tell Izzy I'll be back in an hour. That should give you time to have your talk." She grabbed her purse and walked toward him, stopping only long enough to place a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck, because if you hurt her, what Bessy did to your balls will look like a love pat." She grinned at his obvious shock. "You might want to check online. One of those old ladies was quick to post the video. Nice drop and roll, by the way."
Dane watched her grab a coat and leave the store after flipping the sign in the window to say closed. Shrugging out of his jacket, he tossed it over the counter and stopped before the closed door to the back room. He smiled as he heard music playing and Izzy's sweet voice singing along.
Opening the door, he saw her standing with her back to him. She was bent over the huge worktable. A mess of pink satin lay out before her as she stuck pin after pin in it. Her hips wiggled to the beat of the music beneath a fitted white skirt that flared out at her thighs. Her legs were bare beneath the skirt, and her feet were bare on the gray carpeted floor.
A pair of pink pumps lay on their side under the table, clearly kicked off as she worked. A smile broke out on his face as Dane watched her curvy body sway. Her thick brown hair was pulled up in a bouncy ponytail just like the one she wore last night, until he'd tore the band from her hair so he could thread his fingers through the soft thickness. His fingers curled at his sides as they itched to release those soft strands once more.
"Izzy." His voice made her jump, a startled yelp escaping as she turned around, holding her finger. The drop of blood blooming on her index finger alarmed him as he stepped toward her.
"Dane! Holy shit! You startled me—" She didn't get any further as he gripped the back of her neck and dropped his head so he could taste her cherry red lips. A gasp of surprise turned into a feminine sigh as she went up on her tiptoes to press herself against him. He wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her steady as he took her offering and tangled his tongue with hers. Lust and need swept away any speck of insecurity he'd been experiencing all morning about holding her in his arms. She was different. Hell, there was no comparison to any woman he'd ever tried. This woman touched him deeper, called to the man within who had always kept his heart safe, untouched. No more.
Dane froze in place as he let acceptance of the truth fill his conscious mind. Izzy must have noticed the tension in his body. She pulled back her eyes slow to open as she tried to catch her breath. Her brown eyes blinked open, staring up at him in a bemused look that had his heart pounding hard in his chest. This was the same sensation he had experienced a hundred times right before a dangerous mission—excited to begin and wary of the danger. Isabella Cortez promised to be the riskiest mission of his life. One wrong move and he'd be wishing for his team to back him up.
"Well, hell... That was a pretty good way to say hello." Her lips pulled up at the corners in a teasing smile that had his lower body hardening painfully. He swallowed the lump of familiar emotions and took a deep breath. Her scent, light and floral, teased his nostrils, making him even more aware of the lush breasts pressing against his chest. A look down gave him a nice view of her cleavage, pushed up by the vee of her soft white sweater.
"Wait until you get a load of my conversational skills." He bent his head and lightly brushed his lips against her cheek. Her reaction of tilting her head to the side to give him better access to her neck made him smile. His woman was a living flame, burning him with the slightest of moves. He loved that about her. Loved the way she gasped when his teeth nipped her earlobe and then licked the sting away. Shit!
His head snapped back, his chest aching as he stared down into her questioning gaze. Little wrinkles appeared between her dark brows as she looked up at him.
"Dane, what's wrong?" Her hand touched his cheek, his eyes noticing the red blood on the finger she was holding up, keeping it from touching him. He grasped her hand and held it where he could study it.
"You need a Band-Aid, Izzy."
"It was a pin. I won't bleed to death." She gave him a strange look. "What did you come here for?" She pulled her hand away to step back and lean against the table. His gaze fell to her crossed bare feet.
"I came to talk to you, but I think talking is overrated." He watched her eyes widen as he closed the distance between them, his hands gripping the table on both sides of her.
"Whoa, Kitty is in the next room—"
He hushed her with a finger against her plump lips. "Kitty has gone to lunch for an hour. Plenty of time for me to take you right here on this table."
She let out a little squeal as his hands spanned her waist and
set her up on the table. Her hands grasped his forearms, her touch turning up the heat in his blood. "Wait! Dane, the pins."
He used an arm to push the pink satin and the little plastic bowl of pins to the side. Izzy wrapped her legs around his as he moved between them, sliding the material of her flared skirt up her thighs. "Izzy, I couldn't stop thinking of you today." The admission escaped as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers.
"Really? It was the same with me. Especially since Kitty showed me that video of you getting your butt kicked by the town librarian." She giggled as he winced.
"It wasn't my butt she injured," he found himself saying. "I think my pride took a beating as well."
"Yeah, I think your pride got off easier than the rest of you."
"When I find out who put it up on the net, I'm going to do some damage." He growled in frustration as she laughed against him.
"Dane, you're wasting time here. Touch me." Her words triggered a signal to his brain that gave his hands the go-ahead to yank her sweater up over her head. The lacy bra slipped off with an expert twist of his fingers, releasing the sweetest flesh he'd ever tasted. He couldn't wait as he dipped his head, pushing her to her back against the table. Her fingers sank into his hair, nails lightly scraping his scalp as his mouth captured her nipple, his tongue swirling over the tight little bud. Soft gasps urged him on as his hands spanned the soft skin over her ribcage. He took his time kissing and tasting the lush mounds until her legs rose to wrap around his thighs. Her need stoked his own desire to be inside her to a painful pinnacle.
He pulled back, his big hands landing on her bare knees, so small and soft compared to his fingers. He met her eyes, half-lidded with a dazed expression of pure pleasure. She was truly beautiful in that moment. As long as he lived, he'd never forget the way she looked, spread upon her worktable like a feast before a starved warrior.
His fingers tightened on her knees as he tried to control his thoughts and put a leash on his instincts. She smiled softly as he slid his hands upward on a journey that promised to satisfy them both. The soft material of her skirt slipped up further a slow, torturous inch at a time. His breath caught as his thumbs brushed soft silk. Dane had to look down. A feeling, not unlike jumping from a plane, overtook him, making it harder for him to catch his breath. He slowly studied the white silk bikini underwear covering her.
"I think next time I'll wear some granny panties just for you." She giggled softly as he grinned at her.
"I think I like the silk and lace, but my favorite underwear on you is no underwear." Her lips parted as he gripped the sides of her underwear and easily tore them off her.
"Dane! You realize you've ruined two pairs of my panties... Oh..." She moaned as he caressed her beneath the skirt.
"Are you complaining, Iz?" He leaned forward to run his lips over her arched throat. Her hands gripped his shoulders, nails digging in. He welcomed the light sting as he stroked her moist folds to sink two fingers inside her.
"No, but I'll be forced to wear those granny panties, now," she pointed out dryly as he shifted quickly to release the button on his pants, fingers fumbling like an anxious teenager. Taking a deep breath, he tried to steady himself as he began to slowly pull his zipper down. It didn't help his ability to maneuver the zipper down as she leaned up, her hands sliding up under his shirt, nails scoring his nipples. He hissed through his teeth as she kissed his throat, rubbing her breasts against his chest.
"Damn, Izzy. You almost made me zip myself in my zipper."
She leaned back to aim a mischievous look at him. "I guess I'd just have to kiss it and make it better, then."
"You're killing me." He took her mouth in a savage kiss as he grabbed her behind the knees and pulled her bottom to the edge of the table. Heaven surrounded him as he plunged deep on the first thrust. A sweet moan reached his ears as she lifted her hips against him. He wanted to go slow, to savor their joining. This time he didn't want a quickie in the back room of her small shop, but he couldn't help the fast pace he set as they kissed, their hands quickly exploring areas that made the other person gasp.
Dane tried to hold back, tried to make it last longer, but the instant she cried his name, her tight sheath squeezing him with her orgasm, he was lost. The orgasm left him dizzy as he stood between her legs. Somehow, he'd yanked her legs up over his shoulders, his fingers bound to leave bruises where they clenched on her skin.
"Damn." Remorse filled him as he slowly pulled out to lower her legs. She was lying on the table, her eyes closed and her chest rising and falling with quick breaths. His worst fear was realized. Isabella was the one woman in the world he didn't want to hurt and instead of being gentle with her, he'd used her like a randy bull.
Dane bent to pull up his pants, a shaking hand shoving into his tousled hair as he silently called himself a few choice names. Never had he used a woman so roughly. He'd never hurt one, nor left marks on delicate skin.
"I'm so sorry, Izzy."
Her eyes flew open, her expression filled with confusion as she looked up at him. "Sorry? Why?" He couldn't hold her gaze as he slowly pulled her skirt down to cover her. "Dane? What's wrong?" She sat up to study him.
"I hurt you. I didn't mean it. I shouldn't have done that." His voice was raw, his hands still shaking as he shoved them inside his pockets. "I didn't even use protection, damn it." Her eyes widened, alarm and confusion warring in her chocolate gaze as she blinked up at him.
"You weren't in it alone. I don't think we have anything to worry about." She reached for her sweater and tugged it over her head to sit on the table before him. "As for hurting me, I didn't notice. I was a little preoccupied." She grinned at him. Really grinned. His stomach flipped as he felt himself falling deeper in love with her.
"I bruised you. You'll be sore tomorrow."
"Then you better kiss and make it better." Izzy slid off the table, her hips swaying as she stepped toward him. Her hands framed his face as she stood on tiptoe to kiss his lips. "I'm not breakable, Dane. In fact, I might surprise you at how much rough, jungle sex I can handle. Now, what did you come here to talk about?"
He looked down into her soft brown gaze and couldn't for the life of him remember why he'd come to see her. An idea took shape as he swallowed a lump of emotion in his throat. This was Izzy. She deserved better than a quickie in her back room.
"I want to take you out tonight."
"You do?" Her brows drew together as she studied him silently for a moment.
"Do you have anything planned?" He held his breath and let it out as she shook her head. "Good, then we'll do something tonight."
"All right. When and where do you want me to meet you?" Her question bothered him. He knew she was used to the stuffed-shirt making her drive to their dates. However, Francine Jordan would have knocked him around if he tried that crap with a woman. His mother was a psychologist who raised her son to have better manners than that. Isabella Cortez was about to get the full courting experience.
"You won't be meeting me anywhere, Izzy. I'll pick you up at six. Dress in layers with thick socks and boots. I don't want you getting cold on me." He dropped his head to take her lips in a hungry kiss. Would he ever get enough of her sweet taste? Probably not in this lifetime.
"Hey! I have a dress to fix before I get to go home and dress for tonight." She gasped and pushed him back as his kiss turned serious. Izzy gave him another kiss before she turned him around and gave him a gentle shove toward the door. "See you later, big guy."
Dane turned to pull her back into his arms. "Just one more," he promised as he kissed her with a desperation he couldn't control. When he pulled back, he was satisfied to see the bemused, dreamy look in her soft brown eyes. "This is different, Izzy. You're different. Know that."
Her eyes widened at the significance of his words as he released her and strode out the door, shutting it quietly behind him. The urge to hum a happy tune was too strong for him to ignore as he moved toward the front door. Isabella Cortez was h
is, a woman he could lose himself in, though he'd have to watch his step. There were things he had to handle before he could go after her with everything, he had up his romantic sleeve. Things he couldn't wait to set into motion. A bright smile on his face, he nodded as Kitty walked down the sidewalk toward him.
"Hey, I want to thank you." Dane bent to kiss her cheek as he moved past her. He grinned as he heard her breathless response of, "Oh my."
Chapter Seven
Izzy was nervous. She rummaged through her closet wrapped in a towel after a long soak in the bathtub. The jeans and pink sweater set she'd pulled out earlier to wear seemed far too casual for a date with Dane. A date with Dane. Her bare toes curled into her bedroom carpet as a silly sense of excitement spiked up her spine. It was a crazy thing to be thinking of herself getting dressed for a date situation with her best friend!
Working after her hot bout of sex with Dane wasn't even an option. She sported more pin holes than the pink bridesmaid dress she'd been trying to alter. Seriously, the man was bad for a girl's health. Finally, after hearing her curse loudly for an hour, Kitty came into the room with her coat over her arm.
"You have to go home, Izzy. My virgin ears can't stand to hear one more swear word from your kiss-swollen mouth. Don't stand there shaking your head, girl." Kitty's teasing grin had made her face burn like a sinner being singled out at church. Izzy still wanted to squirm just thinking about it. Kitty had passed a grinning Dane on her way back from lunch and did the math. Izzy didn't know what was worse... unprotected jungle sex, or her friend and partner catching her having hot sex at work.
Biting her lip, she stared at the clothes neatly hanging before her without seeing a single stitch on one of them. He'd broken the golden rule of relationships—never have unprotected sex. Okay, to be fair, she hadn't exactly held him off with a stick. What red-blooded women would have? The man was hot with hands that were devilishly talented. Her thighs tingled just at the thought of those long fingers.
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