Hot Number (Hot Zone 2)

He visibly shivered, reacting to her touch. "I'd prefer to call it a ballplayer's tan “

"Semantics." Emboldened, she drew an imaginary line beginning on his arms and traveling straight across his chest where his tanned neck abruptly changed to the paler hue.

She shut her eyes and continued to run her palm over his flesh, letting her senses take over. The texture of his hair-roughened skin, so different from her own, caused tremors of awareness to shoot through her body. As for Damian, when her fingertips touched his nipples, he sucked in a sharp breath. The sound echoed in her ears and gave her yet another taste of feminine power.

In the past, Micki had had her share of lovers. The relationships hadn't worked, not for her and not for the guy with whom she was involved. Most of the men had been sports guys she'd met through her job. Some had wanted an in with her powerful uncle; others had been interested in a short fling. The sex had been fine but had never been fulfilling. There hadn't been much give and take, and the relationships had left her empty in ways she hadn't understood.

As a result of those brief and ultimately unsatisfactory affairs, Micki could never have imagined affecting any man deeply on a physical level. Especially a man as sexual as Damian.

Once again, she smoothed her fingertips over Damian's hardened nipples, lingering this time, teasing him with her touch and lightly scraping her nails across his skin. He let out a groan of satisfaction that sent ripples of arousal straight to her core. She affected him. And the arousal in his voice caused dampness to pool between her thighs.

He touched her chin.

She opened her eyes and found herself looking into his chocolate-colored gaze. Warm and sexy, his stare was focused solely on her. "That's better," he said in a husky voice.

"Why?"

"I want to see your expression when I reciprocate." With a wicked grin, he eased her shirt upward. She leaned forward to help and quickly her shirt ended up on the floor, leaving her in a bra that was quite different than what she was used to. Where she chose lacy fabric that left a lot to the imagination, the garment she'd found in the drawer showed everything to anyone who cared to look.

Damian did, his eyes growing wide. When Micki glanced down to see what had him so fascinated, she received a glimpse of her own breasts, plump and full inside the sheer material, her clearly visible nipples fully puckered and erect. Self-consciousness had her lifting her hands to cover herself, but he stopped her. He trapped her arms at her sides, holding them in place with his strong thighs.

"Do you want to know exactly what you do to me?" he asked. "Why I'm breaking a self-imposed promise to keep my hands to myself? Why I'm here when I should be with the team, injury be damned?"

Mouth dry, she merely nodded.

She expected him to cup her breasts in his hands and braced herself for the onslaught of sensation. He leaned forward and captured her nipple in his mouth instead.

Micki sucked in a startled breath. She glanced down to see his dark hair against her chest, tickling her skin. She felt a rush of warm breath and accompanying moisture, and a moan escaped her throat

"I get it," she choked out. This was worth breaking the rules for.

He lifted his head and cool air brushed her damp skin. "No, you don't. Not yet." He placed his thumb over one distended,nipple and pressed hard and deep until her hips bucked beneath him and she cried out with need. "But you will," he promised.

He obviously wasn't finished and she didn't know whether to beg for mercy or let him continue until she couldn't take any more. He grazed with his teeth, laved with his tongue, and finally suckled her nipple for a long, leisurely time until she writhed beneath him.The sensations tackled her body with unprecedented force, and with shaking hands, she reached for the button of his jeans.

Stripping off their clothes was a blur-who pulled off whose pants, who unhooked Micki's bra, she had no idea. All she was aware of was haste born of desire and building need. A need they both shared to get closer, to let skin touch skin with nothing in between.

She hadn't realized the implications of being so close to Damian. His heated flesh branded her and as he came over her, the silken strength of his erection pressed hard and hot against her thigh. This wasn't sex, this was intimacy and she'd have to live with tha

t knowledge for the rest of her life, when Damian was long gone.

But while he was here, he was hers and she intended to savor the moments. Hooking her leg around his, she adjusted their positions, shifting him so that not only was he on top of her, but his member was poised at the place she needed him most.

"I was right," he said, his gruff voice rumbling in her ear.

"About what?"

He paused for a deep, wet kiss, his mouth melding with hers. God, she thought, the man was good.

"No matter how hard you tried to hide it, you are one hot woman."

Pleasure raced through her, chiseling away at the insecurities she'd harbored for as long as she could remember. His words also freed her to act on her desires and she slid her arms around his back, placing her palms against his buttocks.

"How long are you going to make me wait?" she whispered in his ear, letting her tongue glide along the outer shell.

He shivered and reciprocated with a nibble on her neck along with a teasing thrust of his hips. Their lower bodies met at exactly the right place. His erection ground into her feminine mound, setting off orgasmic-like tremors that were a mere prelude to the real thing.

In case he needed incentive, Micki reached down and wrapped her hand around his member. He was smooth with subtle ridges, and oh so hard and long.