With gentle pressure, he pushed her legs apart, and she let them separate with another sleepy sigh, allowing his fingers access to the dew-kissed curls at the apex of her thighs. She moaned and mumbled his name as he investigated the level of her arousal. She hadn’t showered after their last session of lovemaking, and she was still silky with her own rapidly renewing moisture. Her body was preparing itself for him, and his already stiff erection throbbed with the need to take her up on her subconscious offer.
He kissed each of her nipples in turn, tasting them with carefully controlled ardor because he wasn’t quite ready for her to waken. The tender peaks beaded instantly, and her torso arched toward him in unconscious invitation. He accepted it, swirling his tongue around her aureole until she made a sound deep in her throat, telling him she was coming to wakefulness.
He kissed her sleep-softened lips, opening his mouth over hers, unable to resist the urge to taste her. Sweet, like warm candy, the first lick turned his craving for her into voracious hunger. Her mouth opened on a drowsy sound of pleasure, and suddenly she was kissing him back, her mouth every bit as ravenous as his. Her hand buried in his hair, she tugged him into a deeper kiss.
They made love with nothing held back, her body completely open to his, his body intent on giving her more pleasure than she would ever know again, and when they climaxed together, she cried out his name with emotion- filled intensity.
Josie finished dressing, her legs a little wobbly from her early morning lovemaking with Daniel. He’d woken her with a kiss and then proceeded to pleasure her until she was out of her mind with it. She’d thought she’d learned the last word on pleasure the night before, but he’d taught her they hadn’t even scratched the surface.
Their shower together had been intimate and special, but not sexual—as if he was intent on proving to her that sex was not all they had between them. If that were true, then why had he taken such pains to point out how temporary their relationship, if you could call it a relationship, was?
There was so much she did not understand about Daniel Black Eagle, but that was nothing new. For heaven’s sake, she’d just figured out the man didn’t dislike her. How could she expect herself to understand the inner workings of his mind?
The breakfast he’d ordered the night before had arrived, and Daniel was letting the waiter in while she dressed.
It felt funny putting her typical khaki shorts and boring olive green T-shirt on after spending so many hours exploring her female sexuality. She wished she had a skirt to wear, or something slightly more feminine than her mostly androgynous clothing. Even a less militaristic color for her T-shirt would be an improvement.
Her gaze slid to the beautiful silk gown she’d folded up and put in her duffel bag. She reached out and touched it, awed by the luxurious softness of the silk. She doubted she would ever wear it again, but she’d never get rid of it either. It was too special.
Daniel had wanted her to feel that way last night, to feel like a sensual, feminine woman. She had, but the nightgown wasn’t why. It was the way he treated her, the way he touched her as though she was the sexiest woman alive and could turn him on with a simple look. According to him, she could. She smiled to herself, but her expression soon slipped into a frown.
If he was so attracted to her, why wasn’t he even remotely interested in a future together?
Obviously he expected to grow bored with her after a time. In fact, he planned on it. He saw her as an obsession he had to cure himself of, and by his own admission, he’d tried starving the obsession to get rid of it before going with the opposite approach of giving in to it. Did he expect the obsession to last even as long as their investigation?
She couldn’t understand why he had insisted on her sleeping in his arms last night. She caught on fairly quickly that the issue had been as important to him as it had been to her, but what she didn’t understand was why. If it were only sex, why care if they shared intimacy in sleep?
Maybe it was the sex again. He’d certainly availed himself of her willingness both last night and this morning, but she’d allowed him to because he’d said he cared about her.
Looking around the room, seeing the roses, smelling their sweet fragrance, she had to admit that he hadn’t treated her like a substitute for his fist last night. Either he was a darn good actor, or she mattered to him. Her feelings mattered to him. He’d done everything but give her a ring to make last night the most exceptional one of her life.
It had to be about more than mere sex to him. If she were only an obsession, would he have tried so hard to make her first time making love one to remember for the rest of her life?
Then again, he was an honorable man. Maybe he saw his efforts as adequate exchange for what she was giving him…serious sexual release…and nothing more.
Chapter 9
Josie slid into the seat opposite Daniel, the smell of melting butter and waffles making her mouth water. He hadn’t bothered to put a shirt on, and she found his naked torso a lot more interesting than the food, no matter how hungry she was.
“Stop that, Josette, or we won’t make it out of the hotel room today.”
Her gaze skittered to his face. His jaw was clenched, and his brown eyes were melting her with their heat.
“Doing what?” she asked innocently.
“Looking at me like you’d rather pour your syrup on my chest than on your waffle.”
“Sounds sticky. I guess I’d have to lick it off then, huh?”
She watched in fascination as his male nipples hardened. “Yes.”
Heat zoomed into her most sensitive body parts at the image, and she licked her lips, tasting him in her mind. “Would you let me do that?”
He made a choked sound, half laugh, half groan. “Another time, but not this morning. We have to get back to your house.”
He was right. They had work to do, and Claire would be waiting for them. Josie had left a message for her at the nursing home, but things had been a little crazy, and she didn’t want her roommate worrying unnecessarily. For a computer geek, Claire had a pretty strong maternal instinct.
“I suppose, but don’t blame me if my mind wanders when you’re not wearing all your clothes. You’re a very sexy man fully dressed. Naked, you’re a killer.”
“To you.”
“You can’t tell me lots of women don’t find you about the sexiest thing they’ve ever seen. You’ve got rock- hard muscles on a physique most men would kill for, the looks of an ancient warrior and eyes women get lost in.” He’d certainly fueled her fantasies since she met him, but she had to admit, reality far exceeded her imagination.
He stared at her as if she was an alien species.
“What?” she demanded, frowning. “You aren’t blind. You can see yourself in a mirror.”
“My eyes aren’t as kind as yours. When I look in the mirror, I don’t see a man like the one you described.”
“What do you see?”
“My father.”
“You look a lot like your dad?”
“Yes.” There was no pleasure in his voice at the comparison.
She’d never heard him mention his parents. “Do you see him very often?”
“Never.”
“Is he still alive?”
“Yes.”
Daniel’s eyes burned with rage for a brief moment, but then it was gone. Nonetheless, it had been too poignant to mistake.
