She nodded once and pressed her teeth into her lower lip, studying him for a moment. “Perry,” she began.
“I’m not going to blow your cover,” he told her, letting her hear what he suspected she needed to know more than anything.
“Thank you,” she said, exhaling.
“Did you think I would?” he asked before thinking about it. It would start getting light in the next hour or so. He reached for her, touching her shoulder, and led her toward his house. “You’re getting soaked,” he told her.
“I’m going home.” She didn’t answer his question.
“You’d do better with some sleep.” He stopped at his door, wanting her to come inside but at the same time arguing with himself to let her go.
“I’m sure we both would.” She didn’t say she was going home to crash.
They’d hit a new level in whatever kind of relationship existed between them. And if he was smart, he’d tell her to drive safely, and head inside for a couple hours of sleep before heading to the station. There was work to do, and a monster to catch. Quite possibly they were given one hell of a clue tonight, and that needed to be checked out.
“Come inside for a minute.”
She looked at him warily. “Why?”
“Because you’re getting soaked and I want to talk to you without getting wet myself.” He ignored the little voice in the back of his head that yelled at him about getting involved with Kylie, with any woman for that matter.
“For a minute,” Kylie said, sounding hesitant.
Telling himself that understanding her mind didn’t mean they were bonding in any way almost got his conscience to leave him alone. He closed the door behind him and stood against it when Kylie turned to face him. She looked trapped, wary, and curious. It would be a hell of a lot easier to close himself off to her if he didn’t see that glint of interest sparkling in her pretty blue eyes.
“Thank you for staying quiet about this,” she said, and looked down at her hands.
He guessed she wanted to say more. Possibly like him, a relationship scared her.
“Where are you from?” He understood her surprise when she looked back up at his face, her lips parting although she didn’t say right away. He asked her, although he already knew the answer, because putting into words what he really needed to say was damn near impossible. Telling her he regretted having sex with her would be a bold-faced lie. But saying he would leave her alone would be a lie, too.
“Good question,” she said, her laugh not sounding too sincere. “I have a post office box in Dallas. Does that count?”
“Where do you stay when you aren’t working a case?”
According to what he read she lived in Dallas but her holding off telling him showed her wariness bordered more on lack of trust. Even if he didn’t plan on building a relationship with her, he would gain her trust.
“I have an apartment,” she offered. “In Dallas.”
“I’ve been there a few times. Huge city.” He was stalling. Watching her shift from one foot to the other, lick her lips, and brush a strand of damp hair from her face proved enough distraction to keep him from focusing on what he wanted to say. Although at the moment, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say.
Thunder suddenly exploded outside, lightning stinging through the air almost at exactly the same time. Kylie jumped and yelped, then pressed her hand to her heart, looking toward the windows that faced the street. It was still black with night outside, but the sound of rain suddenly pounding on the roof over them created a dull roar.
“Shit,” Kylie hissed. “I need to go.”
“On no sleep? You want to drive in a downpour?” He shook his head, willing to take her on if she argued with him. “Let me check radar.”
Perry walked past her into his home and headed to his computer. If Kylie tried leaving, he would stop her. And he wouldn’t fight the fact that the sudden downpour didn’t bother him a bit. For whatever reasons, he wasn’t ready for her to leave.
When he moved his mouse, Kylie was right next to him. Thunder exploded again and she jumped. He looked at her as lightning briefly lit up his den.
“Scared of storms?”
She instantly stiffened, then glared at him. “No,” she said stubbornly.
He hid a grin as he quickly pulled up his weather program. “Okay,” he said slowly. Clicking the link to check radar, he straightened while it took a moment to refresh itself and show him current conditions. “Looks as though it might rain all morning,” he said when radar appeared. “But the nasty cell is over us right now. That scary thunder will be gone shortly.”
He caught her pouting expression, accentuated by the glow of the computer, and watched as her long lashes fluttered over her bright blue eyes. He told himself it was because he was exhausted, that if he were well rested he would have the strength to stop himself. Perry turned, slid his hand alongside her neck, and used his thumb to press under her chin.
Kylie’s head fell back too easily, her eyes closing and then opening slowly as she focused on him. “What are you doing, Perry?” she whispered.
“I think you know,” he said, his voice suddenly very gruff.
Simply tasting her wasn’t enough. Especially when she parted her lips, invitation enough to devour her. He pulled her against his chest, possibly a bit roughly, but it was too much work at the moment to push his desire for her back into a safe place where he could control it.
Perry tangled his fingers in her damp strands and tugged harder. Kylie arched her neck, her head falling all the way back, and offered him a feast with her mouth and her soft, slender neck. He was harder than steel within moments. His cock throbbed in his jeans. Standing like this, with her body pressed against his, grew unbearable in moments.
If she told him no now, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop. As he lifted her into his arms, thunder erupted outside once again before he carried her to his bedroom.
“This probably isn’t a good idea,” she whispered against his ear.
He reached his bed and lowered her onto it. Lightning shook the house and the rain pounded louder when he exerted the effort to straighten. He swore he felt the air charge with electricity when he reached for his shirt.
“You’re probably right.” He ripped his shirt off his body, anxious to get out of his jeans, too. “We’re going to do it anyway, though.”
He’d never felt more awkward when he stripped out of his clothes. His jeans were damp enough to cling to his legs. He peeled them down and then fought to get his shoes off.
Kylie leaned back on her elbows, one leg bent enough to allow him a view up her skirt. She didn’t undress but instead watched him stumble around at the edge of the bed until he was naked. Kylie sucked in a breath through her teeth, and her cheeks flushed, reward enough when she looked at him with complete adoration and need. He quickly forgot about the ordeal of undressing when he crawled over her.
She tried collapsing on the bed, but he grabbed the back of her neck and lifted her to him, then once again captured her mouth. As hard as it was to get out of his clothes, Kylie’s seemed to glide off her body. He had her on her knees in the middle of the bed when he tossed her bra to the floor. Thunder and lightning exploded simultaneously, and he swore at the same time her nipples hardened into tempting beacons that made his mouth water.
Her fingers were cool when they brushed over his arms, and her eyes wide open in the darkness. Thinking about her taking down a criminal, carrying a gun, created sensations inside Perry that he didn’t know how to handle. As much as he couldn’t tell her what to do, he wanted to do just that. But for now, here, just the two of them, he would run the show and she would submit to him.
“I’m going to make you forget about that storm,” he growled, taking her hands in his and lifting them above her head.
“It doesn’t bother me,” she said, her voice raspy.
Perry dragged her backward and moved around her when he had her flat on the bed. Then taking her wrists
