Hot Item (Hot Zone 3)

“I noticed this in here earlier.” She scrounged around for a corkscrew and opened the bottle like a pro. “I don’t know about you, but I could definitely use a drink.”

“Make mine a double.”

She laughed and held out his filled glass. “To…” She trailed off.

“To us,” he said, unable to think of anything he’d rather drink to.

She clinked her glass against his. “To us.” In her eyes he saw longing and desire.

What he didn’t see was a woman who’d demand more than he could give and that surprised him. Then again everything about Sophie shocked and pleased him. He never knew what to expect next except an innate understanding of him, something nobody had had before.

She took an extra long sip of her drink.

“That rough a night?”

She swallowed another. “I told Spencer off,” she said, looking down into her glass. “I let him know he was dead wrong in the choices he’d made regarding you.” She swirled the liquid around and around. “I said I didn’t know him at all.”

He paused, his glass at his lips, and swallowed the dry white wine. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“You and Spencer have a special relationship. He means a lot to you, yet you let him have it. Why?”

She raised soft eyes, revealing too much. “Because you’ve come to mean something to me, too.”

He reached out and lifted the glass from her hands, placing it on the counter. Then lacing their fingers, he pulled her close.

“Sophie?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks.”

Her smile warmed him straight to his toes. After meeting Spencer, he thought he’d never be warm again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, pressing her lips against his.

He groaned and, cupping her face in his hands, he tilted her head and deepened the kiss. He needed this. He needed her.

He thrust his tongue inside her mouth and she moaned aloud, her small hips gyrating against him, seeking relief he knew he could give. Relief he needed, as well.

Unable to wait, he lifted her into his arms and headed for the bedroom.

“I knew when I met you that you were the kind of guy to sweep a girl off her feet.”

“Only the right girl,” he said, nuzzling her neck in part to inhale her fragrant scent and in part to stop any further talking.

Sophie shut her eyes and savored the moment. They’d found Spencer, which took a huge weight off her shoulders, and she was alone with Riley, which made everything right in her world at this moment.

He lay her down on the bed and settled his body over hers, kissing her hard, as if he couldn’t get enough. She returned each nip and lick, each touch and move.

But this time when they removed their clothes and he tried to press himself on top of her, she was ready. Oh, she knew he could give intense pleasure, but this time she wanted to be in control.

Pushing him onto his back, she grabbed his hand and placed that arm above him so his fingers gripped the post on the headboard, then she secured the other hand. “I’m trusting you not to move those hands,” she said, eyeing him warily.

“And if I do?” His eyes sparkled with sizzling defiance.

She shook her head. “Don’t make me have to tie you up, Mr. Nash.”

He laughed. “Now that would definitely be something worth trying. For tonight though, I promise to be good, but only because I already proved myself right.” He winked.