"Isn't that what you're doing?"
"Let's just say I'm courting you."
"Courting me? That's pretty old-fashioned coming from a hotshot like you," she taunted.
"Actually, I’m wooing you and it’s a slow and delicate process, like tending to an orchid." Linc winked at her, his predatory smile leaving no doubt he'd be successful. "I’m certain it’ll be worth it in the end."
"You sure are full of yourself," Isabel said, rolling her eyes.
"I'd rather be full of you." His sexy mouth curved with innuendo.
Desire rippled through Isabel and her response jammed in her throat as she stared at him, her pulse racing out of control.
The blue-eyed wolf with the killer grin was going to be her undoing...
Chapter 12
Balmy and clear, Saturday morning dawned cool and perfect for sailing. Lounging beside Linc on his twenty-three foot sailboat, Isabel watched him adjust the rigging, her gaze drawn to the play of muscle and sinew in his flexed arms. Shielded behind her oversized sunglasses, she admired his shirtless torso, deeply bronzed and corded with hewn muscle. Hot thrills of excitement shimmered through her and she couldn’t stop the eager sigh that escaped her lips.
Linc turned to glance at her with a raised brow. “Yes?”
“Don’t mind me.” Isabel covered her excitement by saying, “I love being out on the water.” Sure she loved that, but what she really loved was spending the day with Linc and knowing he would make love to her today. Her heart pounded with giddy anticipation imagining it.
“I love being out here too, but I’m getting hungry.”
“So soon?” she teased.
“Yeah. Better get used to it. I have a voracious appetite. Especially for sweet girls like you,” he said with a wolfish grin.
She laughed. “Just because I feed you I’m a sweet girl,” she murmured.
“You’re my sweet girl and I’m gonna eat you up,” he growled, the stubble on his jaw grazing her skin as he pressed his lips against her cheek. He pulled back and squeezed her knee. “Let’s have lunch. I’m dying to know what you brought.”
They stopped at a nearby inlet and waded through shallow water to get to the sandy bank. Holding on to her straw hat flapping in the breeze, Isabel held the picnic blanket as Linc carried the cooler filled with their lunch. They spread the blanket on a grassy slope near a cluster of palm trees.
Opening the basket, he whistled low in his throat. “Damn, woman, you sure know how to spoil a man. What a feast!” he said, delighting Isabel with his enthusiasm.
“We have lemon herbed chicken, deviled eggs, pasta salad, green bean and cranberry salad, rolls and fruit salad fresh from my trees," she said proudly. "And if you still have room…I baked chocolate chip cookies."
"Oh man, you're spoiling me. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a nice picnic." The corners of his striking blue eyes crinkled as he beamed at her. “You shouldn't have gone to such trouble."
Isabel smiled. "No trouble at all. I’m glad you like it." She made short work of setting everything in front of them, then handed him a plastic plate and flatware.
Linc opened the bottle of chilled Pinot Grigio he’d brought and poured them each a glass, before stretching sideways on the blanket facing her.
“It’s beautiful here. I could listen to the seagulls and the waves lapping the shore all day,” Isabel said dreamily. “When I was little, we would spend every Sunday at the beach from dawn till dusk.”
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Linc asked, munching on a drumstick.
"No, I'm an only child, but growing up I always had cousins to play with.”
He sipped the wine and studied her with pensive eyes. "Does Suzie have any playmates that live nearby?”
"No, not really. Once a week she invites a friend over from school." Isabel ate a segment of orange and wondered where his questions were leading.
"Do you think she’d like a puppy? She mentioned a cat, but maybe she’d like a puppy.”
Isabel smiled. "She would love a puppy, but I'm not sure she's ready to take care of it."
Linc scoffed. "Suzie's a big girl. She could handle it. I had a Labrador Retriever growing up. He helped me get through the rough times when my parents were fighting.”
“Pets are wonderful company,” Isabel conceded. “It’s too bad Thunder is more of a watch dog than an indoor pet.”
“Would it be okay for me to get her a puppy? I'd like to surprise her."
She hesitated. "I don't know, Linc. It’s a lovely idea, but let me think about it."
"Sure." He set down the drumstick and gazed at her thoughtfully. "We’re both only children. I would love to have big family. Would you?”
She downed the wine in her glass and set it back in the cooler, his direct question surprising her. “Maybe. Someday.”
“It would be nice if Suzie had brothers and sisters to play with, don’t you think?" he murmured, not taking his eyes off her.
“I guess.” She got up and brushed the crumbs from her lap. "Let's go see the seagulls," she suggested, changing the subject before she melted into a puddle of longing. Nothing could possibly make her happier than to have Linc’s child if she didn’t have so many reservations. Though he hadn’t come out and said he wanted to, his eyes had. They’d turned soft and fluid, watching her with such tenderness it made her heart ache with yearning.
Shaking off her foolish sentimentality, she headed toward the sandy shore with Linc beside her. When a strong breeze lifted her hat and blew it away, Linc leaped after it, nearly toppling into the water. The sight of his large frame losing balance made Isabel crack up laughing as he righted himself just before landing in the water.
"So you think it's funny I almost fell in?" he said, advancing on her with mock threat. "Maybe you'd like to test the water yourself, missy."
When she saw him approaching, Isabel squealed and ran, but she didn't get very far. Linc's long legs closed the distance between them in seconds. He scooped her up with one hand under her shoulders and the other under her knees and carried her wriggling body tucked against him as he headed to their picnic spot.
"Help!" Isabel panted between giggles, tickling him vigorously along his rib cage.
"Stop that. I might drop you," he warned, pinning her close until he set her feet on the ground. When she continued tickling, laughter reverberated deep within his chest. "Hey. No more. I'm very ticklish," he said between chuckles.
Isabel’s eyed him with a smug smile, enjoying his admission. "Well, look at that. The big, tough detective just admitted he is very ticklish," she said, drawing out the last words teasingly.
"Yeah, I am. Let's see how ticklish you are," he said, putting his hands on her waist.
She stiffened and braced herself against an onslaught of giggles if he even dared tickle her. "I'm not ticklish. Not at all," she said, aiming for a straight face as she tried to back away. "So don't waste your time."
He tweaked her nose and didn’t let go of her. “I’ll spare you this time, but you better watch your back."
"No fair.” She threw her hands up in defeat. “Okay, I admit I’m ticklish, but the anticipation of it is probably worse than the tickling itself. You’re way too big to make it a fair game. If you promise not to pull a sneak tickle on me, I won't tell anyone that Lieutenant Hotshot Steel is ticklish."
The corners of his mouth quirked upward. "It’s a deal, Miss Sassy Pants,” he drawled, pulling her toward him. “Let’s seal it with a kiss." Curling one arm around her shoulders he anchored the other around her waist and tipped her body slightly, kissing her with enough force to make her catch her breath. A flood of pleasurable sensations made her pulse hurtle. She slid her hands up his muscular back and wound them around his neck as he straightened her.
His broad hands slid down her spine and palmed her buttocks as he lifted her up and against his rock hard pelvis. His body heat seeped through the thin fabric of the cotton cover up she wore over her bikini. She squirmed
in his firm hold as searing desire pulsed through her veins. Holding her securely against him, he kissed the sensitive spot on her neck below her earlobe, his warm breath fanning her skin as he licked the tiny hollow.
Isabel’s breasts strained against him, her nipples hardening into stiff little points and aching for his kisses. She loved the feel of his solid arms supporting her effortlessly. His strong legs braced and spread, he anchored her to him and languorously kissed her sun-warmed flesh, trailing his lips on her temple and along her jaw, down the smooth column of her arcing neck. His face nuzzled her throat then dipped into her ample cleavage and inhaled deeply. “You smell delicious. I want you,” he whispered roughly.
Wild shivers tingled inside Isabel as she arched into his body, moaning and clinging to his flexed biceps, as she pressed closer. Linc groaned low in his throat and a shudder ran through his powerful frame. He stiffened and eased her down the length of his body until her feet reached the ground.
Panting and damp with arousal, Isabel moaned with disappointment when he released her. “We’d better get back or I won’t be able to hold back,” he said, giving her breasts a lingering caress with his palms.
Speechless, Isabel recognized the raw desire blazing in his eyes—a raging passion that matched hers.
“Later,” he said gruffly. Jaw flexing, he gathered the cooler and picnic basket and walked stiffly toward the boat.
Back on the sailboat, Isabel took off her cover up and reclined on the cabin top, a delicious languor settling over her from the rhythm of the water and the steady breeze. Facing upward she welcomed the warm sunshine on her face and body. Every inch of her still throbbed from Linc’s kisses and caresses. It was getting harder and harder for her to wait for him to make love to her and if he didn’t make a move soon, she’d probably jump his bones. There was just so much she could take, she thought hiding a smile.
Isabel’s thoughts turned to what he’d said during lunch. I would love to have a big family. Would you? The tender look accompanying his question had been too dear to dismiss. He held a special place in her heart—a crazy, pulse-pounding, lose-your-head kind of place that made every sane thought vanish from her muddled mind when he looked at her that way.
She admired how well he handled his dangerous, uncompromising job. What touched her was his ability to switch gears and be gentle and tender with her and Suzie. It was endearing and incredibly appealing, especially for such a formidable man. Smiling dreamily, she dozed off in the warm sunlight, breathing the fresh salt air and feeling revitalized.
Linc looked at Isabel’s lush, bikini clad body, and he grew hard again. Damn, his response to her was always immediate and intense. It had taken every ounce of willpower to release her on the beach or he would have lowered her to the ground and taken her right there, quenching his savage thirst for her.
Asleep, her face looked younger and more vulnerable than when she was awake, but her body was luscious and ripe for his loving. Her breasts were perfection, round, high and pointy. He imagined she’d have dusky rose nipples that tasted delicious and her full breasts would fill his hands with silken softness. The indentation of her navel in her concave belly above the triangle of fabric covering her feminine mound made his loins tighten further. She looked like an exotic, sensual goddess. He yearned to claim her as his own, to master her skittish heart and subdue her fears until she realized he was the man for her.
Her creamy complexion was flushed pink from the sun and her fine-shaped lips looked plump and kissable. Her expressive black eyes with their lightning-quick mood changes made him look forward to the variations. When she smiled, her whole face became animated and her eyes glimmered with a special sparkle that made him want to keep her smiling forever. Watching her sleep, he felt a like a lovesick teenager crushing on his dream girl.
Linc’s fiery gaze traveled the length of her juicy curves. He was painfully aroused, but he wanted their first lovemaking to take place in the comfort of his king-size bed where he could savor every inch of her. He shifted uncomfortably and decided to wake her up.
Leaning forward, he kissed her warm, velvety lips, loving the sweetness of her mouth. "Wake up, sleeping beauty."
Isabel's eyes fluttered open. "How long have you been watching me?"
"Long enough to know you make little snorting noises when you sleep," he teased.
"I do not." She mock-punched his shoulder.
"A minute ago, I was trying to decide what I like best about you. Your smile won so don't frown," he said, tracing the pad of his thumb over her rosy lips. "I woke you up to tell you we're almost at the dock."
Sitting up abruptly, Isabel’s full breasts jiggled provocatively as she reached for her straw hat and plopped it on her head. "I'm ready. Is there anything I can do to help?"
You can let me sink inside you, he thought, smiling at the hot, enticing image of her long legs wrapped around him while he made passionate love to her.
After a short drive, they arrived at Linc's high-rise condo in Coconut Grove. He took Isabel’s hand and led her into his spacious apartment, decorated in a clean, sparse Scandinavian style.
Taking note of the healthy potted philodendrons and palms gracing the corners of his apartment, Isabel turned to him in amazement. "I didn't know you had a green thumb. I’m impressed."
He gave a nonchalant shrug, though he looked inordinately pleased by her compliment. "I enjoy tending my plants, especially after a challenging day at work."
She was utterly delighted by his admission. "Why is that?" she asked, smiling.
"There's something hopeful about all the healthy, green leaves. The plants are a reminder that there's more to life than fighting crime." He smiled at her. "That's why I love your place so much. It fills me with optimism and a sense of peace I don’t feel anywhere else."
Isabel contemplated his words, moved that he shared such a fundamental outlook with her. "That's exactly how I feel."
She tore her gaze away from his eyes and walked to the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony. "What a gorgeous view!" A spectacular panorama of Biscayne Bay stretched across the length of the living room. The vivid blue ocean was dotted with stark white yachts, smaller fishing boats and colorful sailboats of every size. Gauzy white clouds loftily floated in the clear blue sky. "Coconut Grove is quite a drive from my house," she observed.
Linc joined her. "You're worth it." His steady gaze held hers, warming Isabel straight to her toes. "How about a glass of wine before we change for the evening?"
"No thanks, I’ll have a glass of ice water."
In the kitchen, Linc poured a glass of filtered water for Isabel and grabbed a cold Corona for himself. He walked up behind her and placed both glasses on the counter. Grasping Isabel's shoulders, he leaned her back against him, his mouth scant inches from her ear. "Come into the living room."
Isabel closed her eyes and inhaled the fresh ocean breeze mingled with Linc's appealing scent. His warm breath tickling her ear sent tremors of excitement streaming down her spine.
She followed him into the living room and perched on the edge of his sofa. She set her glass on a coaster on the teak coffee table, and Linc took her chilled hands in his warm, rough textured ones. Smiling at her, he rubbed them slowly, bringing back the warmth.
“Your hands are ice cold, honey." His hands slid up her arms and shoulders, massaging them through the soft cotton.
Isabel's senses reeled as he pulled her onto his lap and lifted her hair up, kissing the tendrils at her nape, and moving on to sample her earlobe.
"Ohhh," she moaned softly, tilting her head back as he nibbled. Moist desire pooled in her loins and a restless ache gathered inside her. She ran her shaky fingers through his thick hair and returned his kisses with carnal abandon. Her breath hitched when he quickly divested her of the cover up, leaving her in her bikini. She kicked off her sandals, her toes curling as his tongue slipped inside her mouth and made love to it.
She had never felt such craving to be loved or su
ch urgency to return the love, and when he leaned down and lifted her in his arms, she cried, “Yes!”
He carried her into his bedroom and placed her on the bed, kissing the swell of her breasts above the bikini top. He trailed kisses across her stomach, stroking her thighs and hips, his hands hot and slightly trembling as he explored and caressed her curves.
He removed her bikini top. “You're exquisite. Beautiful from top to bottom," he said huskily.
Her breasts swelled in his hands as he lifted them, the nipples pebbling against his palms almost painfully. Linc's tongue relentlessly teased them, flicking, suckling and nibbling until she couldn’t hold back hot little whimpers of pleasure.
"Linc! Make love to me. I can't wait any longer," she panted.
"Not yet, honey. I want to savor you." Hooking his thumbs in the edges of her bikini bottom, he slid it down and tossed it aside. His tongue trailed across her skin, kissing every hill and valley until her keening moans escalated into feverish pleas.
He nudged her knees wide and settled between her thighs. Her body arced and trembled as his callused fingertips thrummed her delicate inner tissues, his lips and tongue masterfully pleasuring her achy, stiff nipples. An unholy sensation zinged from her nipples to her loins. Her breath was coming too fast, too hard as his erection pressed against her belly, and she wanted more…much more.
“I want you. Now. Take me,” she urged, her voice strangled and pleading.
Linc swiftly reached into the nightstand and drew on a condom, then lowered his body on hers, his large form dominating her with the sheer size and weight of his roped muscles. Braced on his elbows, his blunt fingertips parted her soft cleft and stroked her wet arousal. Sliding his hands under her buttocks he lifted and eased inside her tight sheath, his upper lip and forehead beaded with the effort of holding back as he entered slowly.
"Oh!" Isabel gasped, digging her nails into his shoulders at the thick invasion. Her sex blossomed and eased around his shaft as she gulped in shivery breaths and tipped her pelvis upward. She couldn’t contain her rioting nerve endings, as shockwaves ricocheted inside her stretched womb. It had been a long time and she was near virginally tight.
Wooed by You Page 10
