The Silence That Speaks (Forensic Instincts 4)

All from one kiss.

One kiss that had led to another date, and then another.

By that third date, Marc’s iron control snapped.

He was barely able to get through dinner before he tossed down his napkin and stared straight into Maddy’s eyes.

“I can’t do coffee and dessert,” he said bluntly. “I’ve got to get inside you.”

Maddy didn’t bat a lash. She folded her napkin neatly, placed it beside her half-eaten meal and rose.

“I’ll get my coat. You get the check. I’ll meet you outside in five minutes,” she replied.

It took Marc three.

They sat apart in the taxi, not even daring to touch each other. They both knew that once they did, it would be all over. But the sexual tension in the backseat was so thick it was suffocating.

By the time Marc kicked her apartment door shut and reached behind him to flip the lock, Maddy was unbuttoning his shirt. Marc finished the job for her, shrugging out of the shirt and tossing it aside.

Then he reached for her, pulling her against him.

He took her mouth in a devouring kiss that nearly brought them to their knees. Maddy pressed herself against him, and Marc backed her toward the bedroom, never breaking the kiss. He pulled off her clothes as they staggered down the short hall and into her room.

They were naked when they hit the bed.

Neither of them could withstand the preliminaries—not this first time. There were no gentle strokes, no soft words, no tender touches. It was fast, and it was hot and it was primal.

Afterward, Marc collapsed on top of her. Never in his life had he lost control like that, coming with the urgency and explosiveness of a teenager. He’d barely been able to hold back long enough to feel Maddy unravel beneath him, pulse all around him, cry out his name.

He knew he’d shouted hers, as well. And he knew he was lost.

“Shit,” he’d muttered.

A soft laugh had shimmered through Maddy’s body. “Nice. Just the thing a girl wants to hear after...this.”

With the greatest of efforts, Marc had propped himself on his elbows, gazing down into Maddy’s deep, dark eyes.

“Did you feel it, too?” he asked bluntly.

A soft smile through kiss-swollen lips. “Yes,” she whispered, tracing his jaw with her fingertip. “I felt it. I’ve never felt anything like it before. But you knew that.”

“I knew it because it was the same with me.” Marc shut his eyes, pressed his forehead to hers. “Shit,” he said again.

Maddy was silent for a moment. “We don’t have to give this a name or overanalyze it, Marc,” she murmured. “We can just enjoy it—whatever it is and whatever it becomes.”

“We both know that’s a cop-out, Maddy. The name is hanging out there, whether or not the words are said. The feelings are real and they’re off the charts. I’m already in so deep I can’t get through a meeting without thinking about this.” He pushed his hips gently against hers. “And that was before it happened. Now I’ll probably walk around with a 24/7 hard-on.”

Maddy began to laugh. “I like that image. Very SEAL-like.” Her fingertips caressed his back, and her breath caught as she felt him harden inside her. “Let’s not talk. For now—I’m here.” She wrapped her legs around him. “Right here.”

Right here had gone on for months—the most emotionally consuming months of Marc’s life.

And emotionally consuming was not the mindset of a navy SEAL. It couldn’t be.

An outburst of barks, followed by Hero slamming his full weight against Marc’s legs, snapped Marc out of his trip down memory lane in a hurry. Hero jumped up, scrambling, without much success, to get his beefy body onto Marc’s lap.

“Down,” Marc commanded, snapping his fingers.

Instantly Hero obeyed.