Body Heat (Simply 4)

But it was only the beginning of his trip. She raised her hips, rolled her pelvis beneath him, and when her feminine mound came in direct contact with his abdomen, she let out a cry, part sigh, part moan. Upon hearing her satisfaction expressed uninhibited from those precious lips, the remnants of his control nearly unraveled.

“We need to switch positions before you kill your shoulder,” she said softly.

“I think we can manage that.” That she thought of his comfort now caused a softening deep inside his heart, the one he’d walled off years ago. In fact, where women were concerned, he pretended his heart didn’t exist. But Brianne wasn’t just any woman. He’d known that from a mere glimpse. And now she’d proven him right.

Together they attempted a switch in positions that wasn’t easy, but they managed. And then she straddled him. One knee on either side of his thighs, she settled herself on top. The moist heat of her body playfully teased his hard, waiting erection as she subtly shifted her hips.

“Brianne,” he said in a warning she heeded. No more games, she took him completely. He was cushioned in her body, thrusting upward without thought, easing his hard length out and thrusting back in sync with her movements. He felt every liquid push and pull of the exquisite friction they created. She was tighter than he’d imagined, and she cocooned him in suctioning warmth.

With each successive rotation of her hips and press downward, she took him in deeper, hugging him in velvet heat. Hugging him in her embrace, causing emotion to swell along with his growing need.

His excitement had escalated the minute she took him in and increased each time they moved, but now as she undulated along with him, meeting him thrust for thrust and encouraging him with a circular pumping motion, he surged and grew inside her until his climax beckoned.

He felt her milking him with her body, heard her calling his name, and, as her breathing shallowed, she began to come. And at that moment, Jake let himself go, reaching for completion, driving himself into her one last time, as hard, deep and fast as he could. His world exploded around him in the most consuming orgasm he’d ever experienced, enveloping him in hot, wet heat, rocking his body with seemingly endless, cataclysmic waves.

Reality returned slowly, and with it the realization of how different this experience had been from any other. How different Brianne was.

Jake took short, shallow gulps of air as awareness returned. Brianne collapsed on top of him in silence, her breathing as labored as his. Without warning, she let out a low groan and shifted off him, causing him to wonder if he’d underestimated her so-called adventurous spirit. Making love on the floor probably didn’t qualify as a time a girl would never forget—and he was selfish enough to admit he never wanted her to forget him.

Just as he’d never, ever forget her. “We’d better move,” he suggested. He shifted his hips, allowing her to slide off him to lie by his side. The cold rush of air on his body was harsh and unwelcome. “But I liked it better with you covering me.”

He wrapped one arm around her, and she curled into a ball, cuddling into him. “And here I was thinking you’d have plenty of objections,” he said.

“To feeling you inside me?” she asked with a hint of boldness that seemed to startle even her. “Of course not.” She let out a laugh.

“I meant objections to the lack of furniture. The lack of…everything.” Once again he was struck by how much he cared about what she was feeling.

She turned and stroked his cheek. “There’s no lack of anything. There never is with you. In one night you’ve given me so much.”

“Like what?” He was truly curious. Other than great sex, a word that was inadequate to describe all they’d shared, Jake wondered what she thought she’d received.

She nestled her head into his shoulder and sighed. “Well, there’s the obvious.”

He nodded.

“But there’s something else. Did you know I’ve never had a real date before?”

That surprised him. “I thought you’d been in other relationships.”

“I was. One or two to alleviate the loneliness when things got too overwhelming. But it was always something I fit into my schedule, something that was rushed and never made me feel any better than I had before. But tonight you took me out on a real, planned date.”

“For ice cream. It was no big deal.” But Jake lied to himself, he knew. He’d given plenty of thought to where he could take Brianne. He’d wanted someplace memorable, and though he’d thought of the spot because of a sexy picture he’d seen in a magazine, he’d chosen the place because of Brianne. He’d known in his heart not only that she’d appreciate the chance to indulge in a frivolous treat but that she’d remember him favorably because of it.

“It was a very big deal.” She wriggled out of his embrace so she could look into his eyes. “And I think you know it.”

He damn well did, and he wasn’t just thinking about their so-called date. He’d been married and in love once and he’d been in casual relationships before and since. All paled in comparison to what he’d experienced with Brianne, from looks across a room to the most intimate act imaginable. Jake was a cop, a law enforcement officer, and it wasn’t in his nature to deny or lie to himself, professionally or personally. And he knew he hadn’t had sex tonight—he’d made love with Brianne.

She sighed and seemed to go boneless beside him, her hair tickling his nose and the scent of strawberries lingering in the air. He wrapped his arms around her waist, but his heart pounded fast and furious as he tried to absorb the implication of how much he cared for this woman who was wrong for him in every imaginable way.

For one thing, she intended to move at the end of the summer. He couldn’t fault her for wanting to be near the brother she raised and he had no desire to stand in her way by admitting his growing feelings or asking about hers.

And despite the fact that Brianne understood the value of money more than did most people, Jake still feared he couldn’t provide her with all she needed, all she might desire.

And even if he could get past the scars of his marriage, there was something Jake could never overcome. Brianne would never accept what he did for a living. Even if she came to believe differently, one day she’d give up on him the same way his wife had. And though he wasn’t sure he’d continue being a cop, Jake’s joy and his livelihood would always be tied to some kind of law enforcement. It was “reckless” behavior that Brianne couldn’t understand. Behavior that she admitted reminded her of the pain she’d struggled to overcome.

Brianne was his fantasy. At his suggestion, they would have a short-term relationship. A summer fling. Yet when he let himself think about losing her, the pain was blinding.

“There’s one last thing you did for me,” she said, her words muffled against his chest.