“You’re close to your brother.”
“He calls me his twin.”
She sounded so forlorn.
“Your family is in good hands,” he told her, clearing his throat.
“I know Duke and his brother will keep them safe.”
“The Knights are good people. I can see why you’re close to them.”
“Owen and Marianne have unlimited love and compassion. I couldn’t have picked better parents.”
She didn’t say anything for a long minute as she stared at her photographs. “You know I’m adopted, right? You know about my history.”
“Some,” Dean said. “You don’t have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“Good.”
She didn’t sound like it was good.
“Sonia?” he asked quietly. “You okay?”
“What exactly do you know?” she whispered.
She sounded scared and defensive. Dean refused to be anything but honest with Sonia. “When you were thirteen you escaped from traffickers who planned to sell you into prostitution. You bravely testified against them, foreshadowing the strong, smart, determined woman you are today.”
Her voice cracked when she said, “You make it sound heroic.”
“It was heroic,” he said. He took the wineglass from her hand and put it on the table, staring at her in silence until she looked him in the eye. “I have never met a woman I’ve admired half as much as you.”
She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, sheepish. The tip of her tongue ran across her lips. The physical response hit Dean all at once.
Sonia turned and walked into the adjoining living room, her back to him. He followed.
He wanted to hold her, run his tongue over those soft, red lips, taste the wine on her tongue, taste Sonia. Dean wasn’t impulsive in anything he did, especially with relationships. Each one had been carefully planned. All the women picked for their calm reasoning, their self-sufficiency, their intelligence. Dean’s love life was always separate from his job, and his job always came first. He did nothing spontaneously, he’d never wanted to. Until now.
It was all he could do to control the unfamiliar primal urge to grab Sonia and kiss her. Sonia was anything but calm and cool. She was smart and self-sufficient, but hotheaded, impulsive, and passionate. He couldn’t get her out from under his skin. She’d infected him with a desire he could barely keep under wraps. He was pretty damn sure he didn’t want to fight it anymore.
“Sonia-” he began and stopped.
She turned to face him, their eyes locking. Tears had dampened her lashes and a powerful urge to hold and protect her almost brought Dean to his knees.
“Sonia?” he said quietly, reaching for her, touching her cheek, moving his fingers to her neck, her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
Her voice cracked. “I feel like my past is coming back to hurt the only people I truly care about.”
He picked her up and carried her to the couch, sitting with her in his lap, their closeness intoxicating. This wasn’t planned or logical, it probably wasn’t even the right thing to do. But Dean couldn’t imagine this was wrong, not the way he felt or how Sonia felt in his arms.
Her arms went around his neck and she leaned in with a sigh that sent a jolt of carnal heat through his body. She was pressed so closely against him she had to know that he wanted her. She felt so good, so right; the aroma of flowers and sweat, femininity and strength. He brushed her thick, wavy hair away from her face, an intimate gesture, then cupped his hand under her chin. He ran his thumb the length of a faint scar across her cheek.
Over her lips. Her mouth parted, her breath warm as she drew his index finger in with her tongue. She watched his face, and Dean absently wondered what she saw. Did she see that he found her amazing, wondrous, and beautiful? She sucked on his finger, then released it. A quiet groan rumbled in his chest.
He couldn’t imagine being anywhere in the world but right here, right now.
Sonia held Dean’s gaze, her face inches from his. She was practically shaking from restraining herself. She’d wanted him since the moment he’d walked into her house. At first, she thought it was her need to unwind, release the tension of the day, but when he looked at her-when he reached out and touched her-something had shifted inside. She didn’t want this to end. She wanted to know Dean. Intimately. Not only tonight, but tomorrow. As long as it took to rid her mind and body of this wanton desire for this man. Outside of her family, she’d never felt like she knew anyone well enough to make them part of her life. But in just a few short days, Sonia could anticipate Dean’s thoughts and ideas, she craved his deep voice in her ear; she admired his logical approach to his job; the way he listened to everyone but always stood by his decision. He was a man of deep thought and decisive action, and there was nothing sexier than a man who knew what he wanted and went after it.
The way Dean was looking at her right now told her he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
Their lips touched.
Her breath hitched as soon as his mouth met hers. This was no sweet kiss; her hands were in his hair, holding his head to hers, her mouth opening to draw in his tongue. Urgent. Needful. The kiss wasn’t enough, she wanted more, she needed all of him now. And by the way his lap danced beneath her, only her jeans and his slacks kept the heat between them from combusting. That he wanted all of her just as much spurred her forward.
Her hands couldn’t touch anything but his head from this position, which was no good at all. Not when this incredible man had a long, lean, rock-hard body that begged to be caressed. She sat up, not taking her mouth from his, her hands never stopping. Touching his hair, his ears, his face rough with a day’s growth of beard.
Sonia straddled him and impatiently unbuttoned his tailored shirt. Dean dressed his ripped body well, and she loved the smooth, rich feel of the Egyptian cotton. But she wanted what was underneath far more than she wanted to play with the fine material. She pulled the shirttails from his slacks, then shoved the sleeves down his arms. He was trapped beneath her and she savored the playful restraint. His scent was intoxicating, and she buried her face in his neck and breathed deeply.
She kissed his throat, ran her tongue up his neck until she reached his lips. He claimed her lips. His arms fought with the sleeves of his shirt, but she held him down, returning the kiss with as much intensity as he gave her, then pulled away, licking his strong, square jawline, all the way to his ear. She drew in his lobe and Dean couldn’t restrain the guttural groan she felt deep in his chest, felt it in his lap as he pressed hard against her. He fought again to pull his arms from his sleeves, the friction of his struggle sending shivers up and down her spine. There was no turning back now; nor did she want to. From the moment she had set eyes on him, she’d felt this deep and startling connection; maybe at that moment her subconscious knew this was their fate.
His right hand pulled free and he wrapped it around her waist, holding her tightly against him as his mouth did the same thing to her as she’d done to him. His breath was warm against her flushed neck, but he didn’t stop there. He pulled his left arm free and with one fluid movement had her T-shirt off, tossing it somewhere behind her. She pulled his face to her breasts and he licked everywhere her flesh was exposed. Licking and suckling and kissing until her mouth was dry and her body wet. With one hand he unhooked her bra and she shook herself free. She pushed her hands beneath his undershirt and massaged his deltoids, relishing his hard, fit body. Damn, but she loved a man who took care of himself, who kept his muscles finely tuned.
“Oh, God, Sonia.” Dean’s fingers skimmed over her breasts, his thumbs circling her nipples until her chest heaved and perspiration clung to every inch of her flesh. Then his mouth claimed one breast and suddenly she couldn’t move, she couldn’t think, as Dean focused all his attention on that one part of her body. An involuntary gasp escaped her throat, and the sound urged him on. He switched his mouth to the other breast, while his hands grabbed her ass and squeezed. The dual attention had Sonia on the edge, ready to go over. She fought with his buckle. There was a time to go slow and savor every new sensation, but she didn’t want slow and easy; she wanted fast and hard. And she wanted it now.
Dean could have spent an hour on Sonia’s incredible, responsive breasts, but as soon as her hands unzipped his pants and reached inside, grasping him firmly, he groaned and pulled back, willing himself to stay in control and not let loose like a frat boy. Staying in control with a woman like Sonia in his lap was not easy. Hell, it was damned impossible.
She pulled his wallet from the back of his pants and handed it to him. “Tell me you’re prepared.”
