Damn, he wanted her. Bad.
He also wanted her to keep the lead. It wasn’t conceding, it was a relief. He’d given her everything she asked for…and more. Her decision. Her timing.
Oh, man, he hoped her timing was as needy as his.
Faultless globes fit into his palms, and her blush-colored nipples fell under his thumbs, easily brushed to rigid peaks. Her cute bottom unconsciously swiveled across him, feeding his ache. It was getting harder to hold himself back.
Darby brought her mouth back to his, devouring. He kissed her cheek, leaving a trail to her neck, nudging her chin from his path to her rosy tips. He nipped and tugged, wanting more. Waiting until she gave him the wordless go-ahead.
He slipped his hands under the scrubs and over the firm, bare flesh of her derriere. Hot damn, he loved thongs. Her skin was hot to his touch. He pulled her closer into him, and heard a whimper deep in her throat. A sound he wanted to hear over and over.
His muscles grew more tense with each featherlike stroke of her hand across his shoulders and upper arms.
“Darby, if you don’t make a move to finish this up, I may not be there for the finale.”
His words evoked a Cheshire cat grin and another arch of her back. Another pulse from them both. Another moan of anticipation.
She skated to his side, toeing off her shoes, shimmying out of the nurse duds on her way to the bathroom.
“Well, what are you waiting for, cowboy?” Her eyes darted to his own pants, still tied around his hips.
Swirling thoughts became distant memories as he watched Darby take a condom from the cabinet. After all the “supplies” he’d purchased the day before, none of them had made the trip in his pants. Thank goodness, Darby was prepared.
He was mesmerized by the beautiful woman standing next to the bed and the depth of the feelings he had for her. Caring? This soon? A need he didn’t understand? He’d already admitted that he liked her. What else?
“Um, Erren?” She arched her eyebrow the way that drove him crazy.
“Yeah?”
“Change your mind?” She used her finger to point toward his legs.
“Hell, no.” He lifted his hips, shoved at the pants, pulled and tugged. The pants were baggy enough and he couldn’t figure out why they wouldn’t come off.
“Be still a minute.”
He obeyed. She rounded the end of the bed, pulled both of his shoes and dropped them to the floor. The soft thuds were followed by the silent fall of his socks before she ran a fingernail slowly across the curve of his foot.
He jumped.
“Aw, you’re ticklish.”
“Not really.” He tried to shimmy out of the pants again. Attempting to speed up whatever torture she had planned.
“Stop.” She planted her hands firmly on his ankles and climbed catlike up his body.
Her breasts gently swung across his thighs, her nipples still alert and taut. The creaminess of her skin wasn’t lost on him. He was willing to wait for anything she wanted. Willing to do anything she needed. The softness surrounded him, pulling him to a place that petrified him.
The soft light shining through the slats of the blinds created a halo behind her dark red hair. Small ringlets escaped her ponytail and curled just below her ears. She arched her back and he sucked in air at how beautiful she was.
The curves of her body sank around his legs, her lips much too close to… Her tongue dabbed across his abs. She leaned on her forearms, skimming her nails across his sides. The silkiness of her breasts grazed his chest in a last push to his mouth.
He wanted to taste her, but she escaped, just out of his tongue’s reach. His hands seized her buttocks, keeping her close. Then his lips caught hers, capturing her again for a languid kiss.
Darby tugged his pants and shorts down his legs, skimming her body across him the entire distance. He had a thirty-seven-inch inseam. Three feet one inch. He knew exactly how long his legs were. But the distance seemed a mile longer with Darby performing the tugging.
Back to where they started—she at the end of the bed and he lying on top of it. And yet, this time nothing was between them. He recognized the desire in her eyes, which meant no more playing around. He rolled the condom into place and invited her to join him again.
Anticipating every possible connection with her, realizing he felt complete. She was different from any woman before. He was crazy to think he could have a lasting relationship, but Darby made him feel it was possible.
He bent at the waist, snagged her under the arms, dragged her up his body and rolled on top of her. “Enough playing around.”
“I totally agree.”
Darby had thoroughly teased Erren and she didn’t want any retaliation. His mouth nipped at her neck and she moved her lips under his again. He tried to move his body down hers, and she wrapped her arms tighter around his ribs. “Now.”
The single-syllable command seemed to be all Erren had waited for. He entered her with a careful, controlled craze. Swells from that craziness rippled throughout her lower body. Erren shuddered and his breathing hitched. It took a half minute to recover before either of them could move.
Each glide of their bodies took her to a place she’d love to stay, but the emotional impact was too intense. She’d never experienced this before and didn’t know if she could handle it again.
Raw power wrapped her tenderly in his arms as he rocked into her. The crest grew with each wave until she didn’t think her body could take any more. But it did. And then again.
Each caress was more intense than the last. Their journey spiraled higher and higher until Erren’s muscles tightened and he joined Darby’s plummet into a freefall of sensation.
DARBY MELTED UNDER HIM. After a slight squeeze secured her in the circle of his arms, she fell asleep. She was exhausted. He should leave her alone.
He’d give her ten minutes. They should get her pictures and maybe then…
Then he’d wake her and exhaust her all over again. She fit and he didn’t want her to leave.
Darby turned into him, snuggling closer. He skimmed her arm with his fingertip. Soft, strong, sexy…
Why should he rush? Her brother was safe. They had nowhere to be. They were secure—for the moment.
Hell, he could play the loving boyfriend. He’d done the role a time or two. It wasn’t difficult.
The real stuff was tougher. Real emotions, real honesty—the two were elusive or nonexistent—at least in his life. He
He kept his promises.
“Hey.” She stretched her sleek body next to his, causing the sheet to dip lower. He liked that she was comfortable enough not to cover her breasts.
It was official…. He didn’t want to leave.
She turned to face him, propping her head on her hand. The sheet fell to her waist.
“What’s it like working undercover?” There was genuine excitement in her eyes. “Is it one adventure after another?”
“There’s no James Bond intrigue involved in what I do.” He did not want to talk about his work.
“I applied several times and was denied. The transfer to the academy ended my chances.”
“Why are you so disappointed? So you got the cushy job, training cops. What’s wrong with that? Most cops
