Certain she'd given him more than enough proof of her enthusiasm, she started to pull back, only to have him thwart her attempt. He cupped the back of her head in his palm to hold her in place, and with a low growl she felt rumble up from his chest, he slanted his mouth across hers and took control of the embrace.
Presumptuous and dominant, he kissed her with potent male heat. Branded her with the strength and depth of his passion. Excited her with the heated stroke of his hand on her bare thigh, and the promise of forbidden, illicit pleasures to come.
His unmistakable erection pressed against her hip-long, hard, and thick, fueling her imagination of what it would feel like to have that impressive, solid length filling her. Stretching her. Pumping deep inside her in a grinding, full-bodied rhythm.
She shuddered at the thought and groaned. Oh, God, it had been so, so long…
Her breasts swelled within the confines of her bra, and she shifted restlessly on his lap, wanton and needy as his lips and tongue continued their lush, hungry assault on her mouth and senses. Knowing their relationship was nothing more than a temporary diversion and purely for the sake of mutual pleasure gave her the freedom to let go of inhibitions. To give generously and take greedily. To grasp and enjoy one last provocative fling with an untamable bad boy before she turned her sights on a man more straitlaced and ordinary. A steadfast man who'd make her aunt and uncle proud of her choice and make up for the huge disappointment Travis had turned out to be.
With that thought filling her mind, and her body desperate for a more physical contact, she released three of the buttons on her blouse, then reached for the masculine hand still on her thigh. Lifting his long, warm fingers to her neck, she flattened his hand against the erratic pulse in her throat and brazenly skimmed his palm down to the slope of her breast, silently telling him what she wanted. What she needed.
He effortlessly took over from there, slipping his fingers into her stretch-lace bra and molding them to her feminine curves. A delightful sigh escaped her as he cupped and kneaded her soft flesh in a firm, sensuous caress.
The hand at the back of her head pulled her closer, and he continued to kiss her, damp lips melding and silky tongues mating intimately. He plucked at her sensitive nipple, rolled the stiff crest between his fingers, and she moaned into his mouth and shamelessly arched into his touch, begging for more.
Abruptly he ended their seductive interlude and buried his face against her throat, his breathing coming as fast and ragged as her own. 'Christ,' he muttered in awe, the one word summing up just how fiery and intense their attraction was.
She laughed huskily, understanding just how dazed he felt. 'I need to go,' she said, trying to hang on to a semblance of rational thinking.
He lifted his head from the crook of her neck, his lashes half-mast and a sinful grin in place. 'Yeah, you do, before you end up sprawled on my desk with your skirt up around your waist and me between your thighs.' He gave her breast a possessive squeeze.
Her cheeks warmed at his blatantly sexual statement, and while temptation beckoned, other more immediate responsibilities demanded her attention-the kind of duty and obligation that took precedence over her desire for Steve.
'I don't want to be late for my interview at The Ultimate Fantasy,' she reminded him.
'You're right. We'll have plenty of time to finish this later.' Slowly he withdrew his hand from her breast, buttoned up her blouse, and lifted his gaze to hers. 'And just for the record, your second attempt was much better than the first, sweetheart. I like a woman who isn't shy or modest about taking what she needs-or giving me what I want. You do both quite well.'
The compliment boosted her confidence in a way nothing had in a long time, and she couldn't resist flashing him a quick grin. 'Thank you.' She slid from his lap and straightened her skirt, doing her best to smooth out her appearance and regain her composure.
He stood, too, and grimaced as he adjusted the noticeable bulge straining against the fly of his jeans. Then he grabbed the keys on the corner of his desk and started for the door. 'Come on, let's go.'
Confused, she caught his arm as he passed her, forcing him to stop. 'What do you mean, 'Let's go'?'
'Since I'm officially on this case, I'm driving you to the interview,' he replied simply.
She frowned. 'Steve, I don't need a chauffeur. I'm more than capable of driving myself.'
In a split second, his demeanor turned commanding, his expression reflecting a compelling amount of authority that made it clear who was in charge. 'Look, in order for this partnership between us to work, when it comes to your involvement with The Ultimate Fantasy, you need to trust my judgment and reasons without questioning them. I need to stick close to your side whenever possible, especially where this case is concerned. I also need to know where the offices for The Ultimate Fantasy are located, and while you're in your interview I can get a gut feeling for the establishment and decide whether or not I need to put the place under surveillance.'
Unable to argue his valid point, she nodded and reached for her purse. 'You're the boss.' She turned back around, startled to find that he'd moved directly in front of her.
He clasped her upper arms in his big hands, his eyes direct and darkly sensual. 'And I'll advise you not to forget who's in charge,' he said gruffly. Pulling her to his muscular frame, he kissed her-a hot, deep act of possession that left her weak-kneed and light-headed.
Once he released her, she skimmed her tongue along her lower lip, growing used to the arousing taste of him and his aggressive nature. Both thrilled her. 'What was that for?'
'Because I wanted to,' he said, most definitely staking a claim on her and letting her know he was a man who took what he wanted-sometimes without asking. 'And since you're mine for the time being, you might as well get used to enjoying a bit of spontaneity.'
And she was depending on Steve Wilde to deliver on both accounts.
From behind the dark lenses of his Oakley sunglasses, Steve casually surveyed the five-story brick building that Liz had disappeared into for her interview-which looked like every other building in the general vicinity of downtown Chicago. According to the directions the receptionist at The Ultimate Fantasy had given to Liz, the business occupied the entire third floor. He counted up three stories, but the tinted, reflective film on the windows protected the company's privacy and hid their secrets well.
Over the course of the next twenty minutes he kept a low profile in his black SUV, situated in the back section of the parking lot. He watched people come and go from the building-some dressed in business suits and carrying briefcases, and others in casual wear. There was nothing out of the ordinary that caught his attention, or anything to indicate that an illicit sex operation dominated the third floor of the building.
Setting up surveillance was unnecessary, he concluded. If The Ultimate Fantasy hosted swinging, wild erotic sex parties, he was positive they didn't take place here, in an openly public district. No, most likely there was another private, secluded haven in which their elite clients explored sexual fantasies and other illegal dealings. And it was up to Liz to gain them access to that exclusive world of sin and iniquity in order to find out more information on Valerie's whereabouts and on the boyfriend who'd accompanied her to a previous party.
But first, Liz had to get hired on as a phone sex operator, and he had no doubt she'd be successful in obtaining the position. She had determination and sass aplenty, along with an innate sensuality about her that would no doubt appeal to her employer-just as she'd stirred his baser male instincts from the first time he'd laid eyes on her.
As the minutes dragged on, he kept his gaze locked on the front entrance of the building, but his mind wandered to Liz's enthusiastic participation in the kiss they'd shared earlier. They'd all but caught fire from that sizzling embrace, confirming that everything about their agreed-upon affair would be an equal give-and-take of untold pleasures. Hot, satisfying sex- lots of it, and any way either of them wanted it.
Despite the sampling he'd taken in his office, he was still hot and hard for her. Arousal buzzed through his veins, making him too damned restless and reminding him just how long he'd been without a woman.
Oh, he'd had plenty of offers, but there was no one else he'd wanted in his bed other than Liz. For the past month she'd played a starring role in the nightly erotic dreams that taunted him. Now those wicked fantasies were
