Naked Games (Hard to Get 3)

He shoved his hands in his front pockets. “I’ll always be honest with you, Catherine.”

She wasn’t so sure of that, but she let it slide. “Did you sleep with me simply to gain answers?” she blurted out. “Is that what our night was to you?”

“Christ, Catherine,” he growled. “Is that what you’ve been thinking all this time?”

Catherine tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear and plowed on. “You said yourself that before I went back to Georgia you would have your answers. What else am I to think?”

Dean shook his head and stared down at the floor. “I’ve been a world-class bastard to you and I know that, but I’d never use you.”

Tears stung her eyes at the sincerity in Dean’s voice. She had to look away in order to maintain her composure. A rough palm beneath her chin brought her gaze back to his. “What we shared, it was special to me,” he said in a gentle voice. “It had nothing to do with getting answers and everything to do with you and me.”

Catherine wanted so badly to believe him, which was of course the problem. “I don’t know what you want from me, Dean,” she said, giving him the plain truth. “You don’t trust me and yet you’re here. Why?”

“Because I can’t stop thinking about you,” he ground out, sounding none too happy about it. “I can’t stop wanting you. Every moment of the day away from you has been an exercise in torture.”

“Oh, God,” Catherine moaned. It was too much. She couldn’t hold up against an attack like that.

“Don’t send me away, sweet Catherine,” he murmured as his lips brushed hers in a tender caress. “Let me make it up to you. Please.”

“You don’t fight fair,” she complained, as tears began to stream down her cheeks. “Not fair at all.”

He swiped at them with the pad of his thumb. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get you in my arms again,” he vowed. “Anything.”

Catherine let her arms drift around his neck. His virile scent filled her senses and sent her libido into overdrive. “I’ll be going home soon, you know. Back to Georgia.” The idea of leaving Dean, of never again feeling the warmth of his embrace, made her heart ache something fierce.

“We should make the most of every minute, then, don’t you think?” he asked, as he bent low and lifted her into his powerful arms.

She nodded, but before he could take her off to the bedroom, Catherine had enough of her wits about her to ask, “Does this mean you’re staying the night?”

“If you’ll have me.”

Catherine could’ve sworn Dean’s arms shook a little, but she must have been imagining it. A man as strong and confident as Dean would never show such an obvious sign of weakness. “Only if I can wake up next to you,” she said, giving him a smile. “But what about Duke? Don’t you need to get home to him?”

He shook his head. “My neighbor came home earlier than expected. So, Duke is back home.”

“Oh, that’s good, then.” After settling that little dilemma, Catherine surrendered. She was completely off her rocker, but damn it, she wanted another chance with him. Another moment out of time to indulge the pleasure she would only find in Dean’s arms.

17

As Dean placed Catherine on her feet next to the bed, he looked her over. He couldn’t believe he was being given another chance. He didn’t deserve it—no one knew that better than him—but he wasn’t about to pass it up either. God, even with the crazy hair and baggy clothes, she was beautiful. It didn’t matter what she wore because he’d already memorized every curve and valley. Her body would be stamped on his brain forever. Right now, with the two of them alone, he couldn’t think of a better way to spend the rest of the night than to play. Maybe a game of memory . . . blindfolded.

Dean wrapped an arm around her, then glided his palm down until he was cupping one jean-covered cheek. Catherine jolted, and Dean couldn’t prevent a grin. He had her full attention and he planned to keep it.

He grasped her around the middle with both hands, spanning her waistline. Catherine had curves, but his hands were big and his fingers almost touched together. She fit his body the way no other woman had. He watched her eyes heat up when he pulled her close, closer still, fitting her to him, and kissed her long and deep. The king-size bed was mere inches away. He walked backward, their lips locked together, until the backs of his knees hit the side of the bed and they both tumbled onto it, their mouths never breaking contact. Catherine’s startled hiss brought him to a halt. She tore her mouth from his and stared up at him as if scandalized. As if she hadn’t been the same woman who had begged him to let her come the other night. Several times.

“Dean?” she asked, her hushed whisper turning him on. Everything about her made him ache with hunger and need.

He grinned. “Catherine.” He lifted up and took hold of her shirt, yanking it up until he could see her tempting belly button ring. He pulled the material over her head and tossed it away. Her bra went next. When her large breasts fell free, Dean groaned. “God, I missed you,” he whispered before he blanketed her with his body. He dipped his head and sucked one already erect nipple into his mouth. She tasted like paradise, pure and simple. Catherine gasped and clutched onto the back of his head in a stinging hold. Her nipples were soft and pink, and Dean could feed on her for hours. He sucked and licked. She moaned his name, and Dean broke away long enough to admit, “I have to warn you. I haven’t eaten much the past few days, and you, sweetheart, are a meal fit for a king.”

“I-I certainly wouldn’t want you to starve,” she moaned.

“Mmm,” Dean groaned as he flicked his tongue over and around one nipple before moving to the other, gently at first then rougher, demanding her flesh to beg for him. He cupped the round globe and pulled it up higher, kneading the supple skin. He heard her moan of delight. Dean took joy in her animated responses to him. He gave in to his primal cravings and bit down. She arched upward, eager for his touch. His hand answered her unspoken pleas. Letting go of her breast, he journeyed down until he found her precious mound. “Clothes, sweetheart,” he mumbled as he quickly did away with her jeans and panties. His fingers delved at once, and his nostrils flared to life as he picked up her succulent scent. He found her clit swollen and throbbing. Damn, she was

soaked. He fondled and toyed with the little nub until the teasing seemed to become too much. She cried out his name and came, exploding all around his finger. It was the sweetest thing to watch Catherine come totally undone at his hands.

Dean moved away and tore at the button fly on his jeans, freeing his erection. In the red haze of his lust, her pleading barely reached his ears. He looked down and saw her arms outstretched, waiting to embrace him, even as her body waited to welcome him in. But Dean intended to enjoy his beautiful little seductress.

“Hold that thought,” he said as he moved off the bed and strode out of the room. He grabbed the bag he’d brought with him and carried it to the bed, where Catherine was now sitting up and looking at him with a question in her pretty emerald eyes. He took out the black blindfold he’d bought earlier in the day and held it up for her to see. She looked more confused than ever. They shared no words as he moved between her legs and placed the soft fabric over her eyes.