“I only do real,” he countered, curving his hands over her hips and pulling her close. Close enough to feel that his arms weren’t the only impressive muscles Caleb was sporting.
She wanted him to keep going. To take control, to kiss her crazy. But he didn’t. It was as though he’d looked deep into her soul and saw how scared she was of taking center stage and being in charge, and was forcing her to face that fear if she wanted a taste of him.
Her head was spinning so fast, she needed to steady herself, and desperately wanted something to hold on to. Pandora gripped those deliciously hard arms and let her body melt into his.
She stood on tiptoe, her thighs brushing that hard length of his. Her nipples pebbled against his chest as she breathed in his scent. Excitement and anticipation fought for control of her emotions and she sucked in a breath. Then she did it.
She kissed Caleb.
And when her lips pressed against the firm fullness of his, it was suddenly the easiest hard thing she’d ever done in her life.
She wanted to close her eyes and sink into the pleasure. To hide, deep in the intense delight of his mouth on hers. But his gaze held hers captive.
Needing more, she gave in to the desire and slipped her tongue out to trace his lips. As if that’s all he’d been waiting for, he suddenly turned voracious. His mouth took control. His tongue swept over hers, dancing at a wild pace that made her whimper and give over fully to the power of his kiss.
His fingers shifted from her hips to press, palms flat, against her butt. She almost purred with pleasure when she felt his rigid length-and holy cow, was he long!-pressing hard against her stomach.
Just as quickly as he’d gone wild, Caleb shifted into low gear. The wild, untamed intensity left his kiss and cool control took its place.
His mouth softened, his lips brushing gently over hers. His fingers unclenched, smoothing their way up to the small of her back as he pulled away, not completely, but enough that she couldn’t revel in the power of his erection anymore.
Then, another brush of his lips, and he stepped away.
Oh, God. He was incredible. Eyes fluttering open, her knees wobbled as she settled her feet flat on the floor again.
Not caring if he saw how overwhelmed she was, Pandora closed her eyes and heaved a deep sigh. Then, meeting his gaze again, she bit her lip before forcing herself to step up to the plate.
All she wanted to do was strip that soft T-shirt off him so she could plaster herself against his hard chest before licking her way down his belly. His taste filled her senses, his scent wrapped around her and her butt still tingled from the pressure of his fingers.
He was like her every sexual fantasy come true.
But she’d been in trouble once already, with a guy who didn’t even make the fantasy list. So she’d be an idiot not to make sure Caleb wasn’t more trouble than she was willing to answer for.
“Can I ask you something?” she said softly. Needing every intuitive, people-reading skill she’d ever learned, and any that might be floating through her genes, she forced herself to relax and open her third eye. She scrunched her forehead, not feeling anything special there and settled for just relaxing. “And will you promise me you’ll be honest?”
Her eyes locked with Caleb’s. His gaze was intense, as if he was trying to read her mind before he committed. His shoulders were back, in honesty? Or braced for a hit?
She waited for him to tell her that she didn’t have the right to ask for such a promise. She knew she didn’t. Just because they were having a mind-blowingly sexual affair in her imagination didn’t mean that in reality he owed her a damn thing.
But she couldn’t risk her heart, her reputation or her fragile self-esteem on a man who broke the law. And even though she didn’t trust her intuitive skills enough to believe she’d know if he lied, she needed to ask the question anyhow.
Finally, just as she was about to start fidgeting again, he nodded. Then he qualified his nod with, “You can ask whatever you want.”
Good enough.
“Do you, um, are you into…” She bit her lip, wishing her cheeks weren’t burning, then blurted out, “Do you do drugs?”
CALEB HAD BEEN ASKED that question plenty of times. And he’d always answered yes. More often, he didn’t even have to answer, his image spoke for itself.
But this time…? He stared at Pandora, her hazel eyes wide but wary. He could still taste her, sweet and tempting. He was here in Black Oak for a reason. He had a crime to solve. And he’d never, ever, broken cover before. Not for anything, and especially not for a woman.
But with those pretty eyes staring at him, he saw only one option available.
Tell the truth.
“No,” he answered. “I’m clean.”
He watched her face, waiting to see the doubt. He told himself it didn’t matter if she didn’t believe him. After all, he’d spent six years crafting his image as a badass with drug connections. An image that had held up to South American drug lords, to the FBI and to L.A. street-gang leaders. An image that was based on the reputation he’d had growing up here in Black Oak.
Her sigh was so deep, the tips of her breasts singed his chest. Talk about a sweet reward for copping to the truth.
A part of him wanted to pull her close, just to wrap his arms around her and revel in the closeness. There was a sense of peace in Pandora, like a calm lake of serenity, that he craved desperately. At the same time, she made him want to strip her naked and lick her body from head to toe, seeing how many times he could make her come before he got to her feet.
Baffled by the conflicting emotions, both in direct opposition to his training and his own reticent nature, Caleb took a step back. He immediately missed the warmth of her body, the heat of her breasts against him. But he needed room to think. And to make sure he didn’t screw up. His life might not be on the line this time, but his father’s reputation was.
For what that was worth.
Caleb’s mind raced, wondering whether he’d just made a major mistake. Time to do damage control.
“Not that I believe in aphrodisiacs, either,” he told Pandora, needing to get them back on track.
And he might as well keep up this honest trend and see where it went. It was like following an unfamiliar road. There might be a treasure at the end. A very delicious, very sexy treasure. More likely, though, he’d slide right off some damn cliff.
She just laughed, though.
“Believing in aphrodisiacs is like believing in evolution. Some buy into the idea, some don’t.”
“Sure, but the theory of evolution has been around for, well, ever. Sex food, though? Isn’t that a by-product of the seventies?”
Amusement flared in her eyes as Pandora gave a shake of her head that indicated that he was a sad, misinformed man.
“Their history can be traced back centuries,” she pointed out. “My great-great-great-grandmother was a wisewoman who created aphrodisiacs for royalty. Those were the kind of people who beheaded fakers, you know.”
Caleb remembered Pandora’s mother. Flowing dresses, fuzzy headpieces and huge jewelry glinting through mounds of long red hair. Her granny was a little fuzzier. He wasn’t sure what the woman had looked like. His only impression was granola.
But Pandora looked… Well, normal. Not that that was saying much coming from a guy who spent most of his life around women who thought a G-string was ample coverage. Her hair fell in a smooth curtain, warm and sedate. She wore makeup, but nothing like the showgirl look he remembered her mother sporting. She wore a crystal on a chain around her neck, but her jeans and thick purple sweater seemed ordinary enough.
He looked around the cafe, noting the display of candles, pretty statues and chunks of rocks on the bistro
