But there was an insidious warmth unfurling deep inside her belly. A gnawing hunger. Given how her heart raced at the sight of him, how restless her body became in his presence…
She didn’t trust herself.
The room was almost humming with the energy emanating from both of them. And yet they stood still—he like the cat waiting to pounce, she like the rabbit in the headlights.
She forced herself to blink.
‘All right.’ She was a grown woman, in control of her emotions and her destiny, right?
She took the small step to bring her right into his space, tilted her head to be able to see right into his eyes. He was tall, and he wasn’t making it any easier for her. Despite her high heels she had to rise right up onto the tips of her toes. This close she could smell him, could see the faint darkening on his jaw, could feel the warmth from his skin.
That feeling deep inside intensified. She tensed every muscle in her body. Keeping her arms close to her sides, her fists clenched, she pressed her firmly closed lips to his for all of a nanosecond.
Faster than the strike of a snake, his hands shot out, grasping her upper arms, keeping her on her tiptoes, her face close to his.
‘That wasn’t a kiss,’ he muttered, mouth barely moving. ‘Kiss me properly.’
His head lowered, angled to catch her lips just at the moment she was about to refuse. That was why her lips had parted, wasn’t it? To say go to hell.
But as Jared’s warm lips sealed to them, her own only softened and parted more. And although his fingers gripped on her arms, his kiss wasn’t hard.
Those words were lost. And it wasn’t hell she was thinking of any more.
The last time he’d kissed her it had been fierce and ferocious and deliberately punishing. And then it had blown up into an onslaught of raw sensuality—exposing her to a carnal passion that had both overwhelmed and thrilled her.
But now the touch of his lips was light. He brushed his mouth against hers, almost gently teasing, and all she could do was stay right where she was, up on tiptoe, no longer breathing but feeling every tiny movement.
The pressure from his fingers eased; they no longer controlled, but smoothed down her arms instead. He lifted one hand away only to slide it round her waist to the small of her back, pressing her body closer to his. His other hand went lower, running down the length of her arm to encapsulate her fist with his own.
The pressure of his mouth firmed and asked for more. His tongue teased and suddenly she slackened—her lips parted further and immediately he pressed home, intimately stroking the soft inside of her mouth.
Her fingers relaxed, fluttered and his moved, entwining through hers and he lifted her hand, placing it on his shoulder. The fabric was smooth beneath her fingers and she slid her hand higher, searching out the skin at the back of his neck.
She lifted her other hand all by herself. Coasted light fingers over the broad shoulder of his suit jacket and then up, feeling the warmth of him with the sensitive pads of her fingers. She spread her fingers wide and slid them higher into his thick dark hair, holding his head to hers.
His arms tightened, so she was leaning her weight against him and bonelessly she let him. She could feel his hard body down every inch of hers now. Plastered together but it wasn’t close enough. Her muscles moved, her body rhythmically surging, seeking to be closer.
She opened further for him, wanting him to invade the rest of her. Her tongue searched out the mystery of him as the kiss went purely carnal and ravenous. He smelt so good and tasted better.
His hand cupped the underside of her breast, his fingers splayed out, spanning her fullness. His thumb stroked, nearer and nearer to the summit and the tight, aching peak. Finally he grazed over it and she groaned, her hips instinctively driving forward faster with the pleasure of it. His other hand spread wide against her bottom, pushing her closer again, and he pressed his thigh between hers. She wasn’t wearing stockings, had only thin silk panties on and through the wool of his suit she could feel his thick, hard muscles. She groaned again as the heat of desire washed over her; he stroked her nipple again and rammed his thigh between hers that little bit harder.
He kissed down the side of her neck. She moaned, eager for him to reach her breasts, wanting his mouth on her nipple, wanting him to feast. But he moved so slowly, so deliciously, tormentingly slowly. His hand moved, his thumb stopped that delicious stroking. She pressed harder down on his thigh as he undid the top button on her blouse, and then the next. His mouth caressed the skin he’d exposed. Not much further, another couple of buttons…
‘Please…’ she panted.
He cupped her breast again, circling around her nipple with his thumb, and then he scraped hard across the tip of it.