Sizzling

But there had to be something else driving this. 'You aren't that much of a dog,' she said. 'You have feelings. You have to want more.'

'Why? Because you do?'

They were so not going to talk about her.

'Because you're a real person, not a sexual machine.'

He grinned. 'I like the idea of being a sexual machine.'

Sometimes he was such a guy. 'Reid, I'm serious.'

'Why? What's the big deal? You want to figure this out and you already know the answer. Don't make it more complicated than it is. Women offer and I say yes. That's it.'

She wanted to accuse him of lying, but she had a bad feeling he was telling the truth. 'I'm offended by the stupidity of women who walk around offering.'

'Why? They're getting what they want.'

She had a bad feeling he was right. 'And you are, too?' she asked. 'Your standard of answering the call of 'come and get it' is met? I can't believe you don't require more of yourself. Based on what you're saying, if I'd walked in here and said 'hey, big guy, want to get some?' we'd be having sex right now?'

She hadn't thought her question through. She'd just been talking. But now the words were out there and she couldn't remember ever being more horrified.

Because the tension in the room had cranked up considerably and Reid was looking at her in a way he never had. She was hyper-aware of him, of his maleness, of how much she wanted him. She'd voiced her greatest desire and by doing so, had opened herself up to her greatest fear.

He was going to reject her.

Oh, sure, he liked her enough to do it nicely, but the result would be the same. He was going to be kind and she was going to be devastated.

'I need to get going,' she said as she stood and started to back out of the room. 'You're busy and I should get home. This has been great but…'

He stood and grabbed her hand. She tried to tug free of his hold, but he didn't let her. Darkness invaded his eyes, but not in a scary, slasher-movie kind of way. Instead it was as if there was something smoldering in his gaze.

She groaned silently. Smoldering? Was she so far gone she was thinking words like that? What was wrong with her?

Stupid questions, she thought grimly. What was wrong with her was about six foot three, all muscle, charm and with some kind of body chemistry that reduced her to quivering without trying.

'I'm not your type,' he said, staring at her, as if trying to figure out what she was thinking.

She opened her mouth, then closed it. What was she supposed to say to that?

He took a step closer. Or maybe she'd just stopped pulling back. The humiliation was inevitable. Why not get it over with so she could hit bottom and start the healing process?

'You would never in a million years want a guy like me,' he continued. 'You think I'm shallow and useless.'

What? 'That's not true,' she told him. 'I think that you're…'

She'd always read that people tended to use less than ten percent of their brains, which left a vast untapped wilderness of who knows what swirling around in there. Her eleventh percent suddenly jolted to life.

'You think I don't like you,' she said, barely able to believe it was true. 'You're afraid I think you're a total waste of space.'

'Not afraid. You've told me exactly that, more than once. In many ways.'

She had, she realized. When they'd first met. But why would her opinion matter? He couldn't possibly…there was no way he actually, maybe, liked her, was there?

On the heels of that unexpected revelation came the thought that maybe she'd hurt him. It didn't seem likely, let alone possible, but once the thought formed, she couldn't let it go.

'Reid, I don't think badly of you,' she whispered. 'I can't. You're not what I thought.' She smiled. 'Sometimes you're worse, but mostly you're better.'

He continued to hold her hand as he stared into her eyes. There was something compelling about his gaze, something that made her lean forward and wish.

'You confuse the hell out of me,' he admitted. 'I prefer my women simple.'

Inadequacy swamped her. She jerked her hand free and stepped back. 'I won't keep you anymore.'

She started to turn, then he was there, in front of her, pulling her close, swearing softly, which was crazy enough, but then his mouth was on hers and crazy morphed into unbelievable.

She didn't pull back because she couldn't and she didn't want to. She gave herself up to the slow brush of his mouth on hers. The kiss was slow. Sexy and enticing, but at a speed that implied they had all the time in the world.

He reached up and rubbed his thumb against her bottom lip. Her instinct was to bite down on his thumb, but that seemed too aggressive and sexual and it wasn't anything she'd ever done before, so she stood there, feeling awkward and stupid.

'Relax,' he murmured, stepping closer until they were touching everywhere. He took off her glasses and put them on the coffee table. 'Unless you don't want to be doing this.'

She wasn't sure what 'this' was, but if it involved feeling the hard planes of his chest against her breasts and their thighs rubbing, she was all for it.

'I'm fine,' she murmured.

'Fine?' His voice was teasing. 'Wow. I'm excited now. I've made you feel fine. Maybe I do deserve what they said about me in the newspaper.'

She wanted to tease back, but she was too scared. She stared into his dark eyes and wished for inspiration.

'Reid, I…' There weren't any words. She had no idea where this was going, but she didn't want him to stop. More would be better. But how to say that?

In the end she gave up on saying it right and simply leaned forward a few inches and kissed him back. Lightly, almost chastely, lips on lips, her hand pressing against his chest.

He was warm all over. Heat seemed to radiate from him. She was aware of that, along with the faint scent of his body. He smelled clean and tempting at the same time. All man and sin and sex.

Need flickered to life. Maybe she was like all those other women, offering herself to him in the hopes that he would take her on. If so, there was nothing she could do about it. She was afraid of being rejected, but for once in her life when it came to a man, she was more afraid of not trying.

She raised herself up onto her toes, wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him again. This time she put her body into it, leaning into him, trying to convey her desire with something as simple as a kiss.

For a second nothing happened. But just as she felt the waves of humiliation rising up inside of her, he wrapped his arms around her body and kissed her back.

He tilted his head and swept his tongue across her bottom lip. She opened for him instantly, wanting everything he could give her. When he eased inside, she met him eagerly, kissing him back.

Their tongues circled and stroked, rubbing, reaching, playing. He moved his hands up and down her back, each time dipping lower until he cupped her rear. When he grabbed her curves, she felt a surge of wanting rush through her. At the same time, she instinctively arched forward, bringing her belly into contact with his erection.

He was hard! The happy thought filled her brain like a confetti explosion. He was really, really hard. Guys couldn't fake that.

She was so happy, she started to laugh, which made him pull back and study her.

'You're going to make this difficult, aren't you?' he asked.

She couldn't stop grinning. 'No, I'm not. I'm enjoying myself.'

'You're not supposed to laugh.'

'There are rules?' she teased, then rested her hands on his shoulders, pressed against him and rubbed her belly against his erection. 'Come on, Reid. We can play, too.'

'I didn't think you'd be the play type.'

She wasn't, usually. But these were not normal circumstances.