Lori Foster – A Buckhorn Summer (страница 5)
Near her ear, he whispered, “I know the sounds you make when you come.”
She released a shuddering, broken breath.
“Yeah,” he said with satisfaction. “That’s how it starts.” He trailed his fingertips down her shoulder to her elbow, then under her breast and over her frantically pounding heartbeat. “It ends with sweet, rough, broken moans and you holding me tight until the pleasure is over.”
The way he said it, she
“I want it all. Again.”
As his hand covered her breast, his palm teasing her nipple, she nodded and admitted the truth. “Me, too.”
* * *
“WE HAVE AN HOUR.” It wasn’t long enough, but it was better than nothing. He needed her. Bad.
Right now.
But she didn’t move. In fact, she seemed to be holding her breath.
When he looked down at her, Gray saw her eyes closed, her bottom lip caught in her teeth, her expression sweetly agonized.
He continued to cuddle her breast while raining small, damp kisses down her jaw and her throat to her shoulder. Jesus, she smelled good, like the fresh outdoors and musk and every fucking fantasy he’d ever had, all rolled into one.
But damn it, she still didn’t say anything, and as bad as he wanted her, he wanted her to feel the same.
Time to rein it in. Wasn’t easy, but he asked, “You need some time?”
She nodded, then shook her head, then groaned. “I don’t know.”
Well, that was answer enough. “It’s okay. I can wait.” It’d kill him. A dozen times over. But if that’s what she needed—
“That night...” Her eyes opened, full of pleading confusion. “That wasn’t me.”
“It wasn’t me, either.” He dropped both hands to her waist—safer territory—and put his forehead to hers. “It was just...right. The right time, the right person.” He had to kiss her, just once, so he did. Not too deep, but far from a peck. And far from satisfying. “The right thing to do—for both of us.”
“I’ve never done anything like it before.”
For a novice, she’d been damn good. Great. Mind-blowing, in fact. “I don’t exactly make a habit of it, either.” He smiled, realizing something. “I like your name.”
Her laugh was muffled against his throat. “I like yours, too.”
“I meant what I said.” With two fingers under her chin, he brought her face up. “It’s nobody’s business but ours.”
She nodded. “This is my home, Gray. My entire family is here.”
“I know. Everywhere I go, I trip over one of them.” He kissed her again, all the while telling himself he had to stop that. Except that she kissed him back and damn, that nearly killed his resolve not to push her. He eased back, a little more breathless. Harder. “I like them.”
Dazed, her gaze on his mouth, she asked, “Who?”
So cute. So fucking hot. Eventually she’d be his again. He had to believe that. “Your family.”
“Oh. Right. Yeah, they’re all terrific.” Rubbing at her forehead, she admitted, “None of them would ever expect this of me. I’ve been so singularly focused on my career, I never made much time for relationships.”
He paused—and she shot her gaze to his.
“Not that this is a relationship. God, no. I mean...”
He loved how she blushed.
A little desperately, she said, “It was just sex.”
“That felt like more?”
Time stretched out with neither of them confirming or denying that.
Until finally, an eternity later, she nodded. “Yes. It felt like more.”
Her hand opened on his chest, the touch now familiar, bringing all those other touches to the forefront of his mind. She’d been bold, curious, and she’d burned him up.
He covered her hand with his own. “To me, too.” So many times he’d regretted not getting her name or contact info. At the time, both of them had enjoyed the anonymity and the relief of distraction.
He’d realized too late that he wanted more, because she’d already gone. Now that he knew her better and understood what an anomaly it was for her to indulge in a one-night stand, he understood why she hadn’t stuck around.
“Will it freak you out to know I thought about you a lot?” Her thick lashes swept down, hiding her eyes, and her voice was barely a whisper. “Every night, but sometimes during the day, too.”
He wasn’t freaked out at all. Just the opposite. “Glad to know I wasn’t alone in that.” Another kiss, this one longer, deeper.
She moaned.
“It’s okay,” he told her as he readjusted, aligning his body to hers, drawing her closer. “It’s just a kiss.”
“Just a kiss.” Her arms came around his neck and, helping with the embrace, she went on tiptoe.
Time slipped away. If he wanted her to work with him—and hell, yeah, he did—he needed to iron out a few details before customers started showing up.
Again cupping her face, he ended the kiss by small degrees, then drew her head to his chest. He gave himself a few seconds to catch his breath and clear the fog of lust before he said, “If I could make another suggestion?”
“Another?”
He liked her braid. It was a little loose, a little sloppy. He ran his hand along the length and enjoyed the silkiness of her hair. “The first being that you work with me.”
“Oh, yeah. That.”
“Yes, that.” He took a step back to see her but kept a hand flattened to the wall beside her head. “And if you agree, then how about we start over?”
She shook her head. “With what?”
“Yesterday is the first day we formally met.” And now he had an opportunity to know her, really know her.
Along with her million family members.
Fighting off a laugh ripe with embarrassment, Lisa covered her mouth and whispered, “We did that without even knowing each other’s names.”
Liking her laugh—liking
She snickered. “’Course you do. You were there.”
“There, and very actively participating.” Backing up so that he wouldn’t pressure her again, Gray leaned a hip on the ice cream case and smiled at her. “I didn’t need your name. But everything else...” His smile faded. “I needed the rest of it in a bad way. So thank you. You don’t know it, but you turned me around.”
Inching closer, she asked, “What does that mean?”
Hard to explain, especially since he didn’t entirely understand it, but he gave it a shot. “I was...” He wouldn’t say lost. That sounded real pansy-ass. “...at loose ends.”
Those big, dark eyes watched him with gentle curiosity. “After me?”
“Everything felt different. Me, my situation.”
“What situation is that?”
He shook his head. No way would he lay the heavy stuff on her. Not now, maybe not ever. “I was ready for a change of pace, and so here I am. But I had no idea I’d find you here, too.”
She tipped her head and that silky braid fell over her shoulder, the tip resting against her breast. “Shohn and Adam said you were a cop?”
“Yeah.” He’d thought to retire from the force when he hit his midsixties. Not with an injury. Not with rage consuming him. Not with his best friend gone forever.
Now very near, Lisa asked, “Not anymore?”
He shook his head again, but that didn’t suffice, so he said, “No.”