Hanging on his every word, she arched forward to meet him. Mouth poised open, her breathing grew shallow. Seductive cat eyes turned one shade darker. Her feminine aroma mingled with the faint scent of oranges and saturated the cab of the Jeep, stoking the fire smoldering inside him.
“Then…we’ll…” He stopped talking. Primitive need compelled him to brush the pad of his thumb over her moist painted lips. He took a moment to dwell on the softness. He nearly came unhinged as the smooth texture of her skin sent heat charging to his cock. She didn’t seem to mind his intimate touch. In fact, a sexy pink hue suffused her skin as desire flitted across her face.
“Yes?” she probed, urging him on. “Then what?” A mixture of curiosity and excitement lingered in her tone.
A smile pulled at his mouth. Hot damn. He loved how much she was into him. Into this game. It suddenly occurred to him how thrilled he was that she wanted him. How much that mattered to him.
Christ, maybe this game would prove to be more dangerous than he anticipated. There was something very irresistible about Cat Nichols. He swallowed. Hard. Suddenly feeling off kilter.
The thing was, he genuinely liked Cat and wanted her, no, needed her with an intensity and urgency like he’d never before experienced. And that frightened him.
Catching him off guard, Cat reached out, closed her hand over his, and squeezed. The feel of her warm skin pushed away his reserve as his mind took him on a journey of the ways he planned on taking her.
Anticipation rushed through his bloodstream, generating warmth and need, scattering his thoughts. His gaze panned her face and met with eyes full of dark passion. Fuck, he couldn’t wait to get her alone, to feel her sensuous body beneath his. A restless ache stirred his dick, suddenly making his seated position most unbearable.
Needing to feel her under him, he deliberately leaned across her and pulled open her door handle. With Cat pinned beneath him, he pressed against her and absorbed her tremble. He felt her warm breath on the back of his neck. The next time he trapped her body under his, she’d be naked, he silently vowed. Naked, wet, and writhing. His cock pulsed and throbbed in anticipation.
He let out a slow breath and straightened in his seat. “I have a better idea. Instead of telling you what I plan on doing, why don’t you come with me and I’ll show you instead.”
“Okay.” Her voice sounded breathless.
Sam climbed from the driver’s seat and circled the Jeep to meet her. He snaked his arm around her slender shoulders, holding her close, offering his warmth in the cool night air. She felt so good in his arms, so natural, like it was where she was meant to be.
Dark lashes fluttered in appreciation for that small gesture. Something about those honest, honey-flecked eyes and the warm, wanting way they gazed at him sucked him under like a tidal wave, pulling him into an emotional place he had no intentions of going. They’d have their fun, then part as friends. Sam never let anyone get too close. Heartbreak wasn’t an option.
Sam tightened his embrace. Cat’s smile widened. Her smile was more sweet than seductive and could undoubtedly disarm an entire S.W.A.T team. He felt an odd twist in his stomach and quickly pushed it aside.
A golden halo from the street light fell over her as he escorted her into the main lobby. She looked like an angel who’d fallen from the sky.
Sam pulled open the door and motioned for her to enter. She always seemed so pleased yet surprised by his gentlemanly gestures. Tenderness stole over him. He furrowed his brow trying to understand what it was about her that spawned such peculiar emotions inside him. He’d never moved past a sexual relationship before, always keeping things superficial. So what suddenly compelled him to think about lazy afternoons, long nights, and lasting relationships?
Unnerved by the direction of his thoughts, he banished them to the far corners of his mind.
A few minutes later, after signing in and taking the elevator to the top floor, he guided her down a narrow hallway to the research room.
Cat’s eyes darted between the sign over the door and him. She tossed him a perplexed frown. By small degrees, her body tightened. “We’re not going to your lab?”
They were playing in his territory now and he planned on taking full advantage of it. “Nope, we’re taking this experiment into the research room. It’s much better…” he paused, searching for the right word, “equipped for what I have planned.”
He pushed open the door and ushered her inside. He studied her expression and watched her shoulders relax as she glanced around. In an attempt to vacate any clinical feel, Sam had stayed late, setting the mood for seduction. Music, the same music he’d often heard blaring from Cat’s open condo window, drifted in from a corner speaker instantly putting her at ease. He’d fitted the mattress with silk sheets and strategically positioned candles throughout the room to provide sufficient, yet romantic light.
Hanging the floor to ceiling mirror had been a shitload of work, but dammit, the look in Cat’s eyes as she perused the room had made it worthwhile.
Her gaze fell upon his padded workout bench that he’d purposely positioned in front of the mirror. Her quick intake of breath hadn’t gone unnoticed. He could almost hear that inquisitive mind of hers racing, wondering how he planned on using that particular prop.
Sam pulled a lighter from his pocket and lit the candles, creating an aura of warmth and coziness. Pushing her hair off her face, Cat stepped farther into the room. The light fell over her, bathing her body in a soft golden glow. The erotic vision bombarded his body with lust and need and something else, something just out of grasp, something he couldn’t quite put a name to.
Something, he suspected, he was better off leaving nameless.
He crossed the
