Secret Weapon

“Want something to drink?” she asked.

“Yeah. Just water will be fine.”

Janine walked into the kitchen, then returned with two tall glasses of ice water. Liam had settled on the couch and she sat beside him, setting his water on the table.

“So what happened with you and Sloan?” he asked as he picked up his glass.

She sipped and set hers down. How could she explain that Sloan was mad because he believed she was in love with Liam?

“Well, umm…” She gazed at Liam. “It seems that…” She shrugged and stared at her glass. “Well, Sloan seems to have got it into his head that there’s something special between us. He even asked me if I’m in love with you.” She picked up her glass again and stared at the ice cubes floating in the water. “Crazy, right?”

* * *

Liam watched Janine as she stared at her glass, purposely not gazing in his direction.

He took the glass from her hand and set it on the table. “Actually, it’s not so crazy. Sloan has great instincts.”

Janine turned her head and met Liam’s gaze. In her bright blue eyes shone a question.

He tucked his fingers under her chin and tipped up her head, then met her lips with his own. The feel of her soft mouth under his sent his heart thundering. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close as his tongue dipped into her mouth, tasting her sweetness. Her tongue stroked his and the two danced in unison, setting a fire ablaze within him.

He stroked her hair from her face and drew back, locking gazes with her.

“I think there is something special between us.”

In fact, he wondered if he was falling for her. He captured her mouth again, reveling in the feel of her soft lips under his.

“Maybe Sloan can’t handle your lifestyle, but I can. Sloan is a good friend of mine—don’t get me wrong. But if you two aren’t right for each other, and we are, then why should the two of us deny ourselves happiness?”

“Liam, I—”

He placed a finger over her lips. “Shh. Let’s not think about Sloan tonight. You and I are here alone. Let’s just enjoy being with each other, and think about the rest of the world tomorrow.”

* * *

Janine gazed into Liam’s deep olive green eyes. Surely he didn’t think he was falling in love with her. Should she say something? Straighten things out right now?

But, then, maybe she was reading too much into his words. He’d simply said there was something special between them.

As he leaned in to kiss her, she realized that she wanted to do exactly as he’d suggested, to put aside her worries and just be with him. Cared for and cherished. With no expectations.

As his lips met hers, she wrapped her arms around him. His tongue stroked inside her and she melted against him. She drew his tongue deeper into her mouth and sucked lightly. He groaned, then drove his tongue deeper still.

She leaned back and tugged at the hem of her camisole, then pulled it over her head. Liam’s gaze on her black-lace-clad breasts sent heat shimmering through her. She reached behind her and unhooked the bra, then pulled down the straps and glided her arms free, leaving the garment covering her breasts.

He smiled and kissed her neck, then downward, over the swell of her breasts. He tucked a finger under the loose cup, then drew it down slowly, until her nipple peeked over the fabric. He ran his fingertip over the sensitive bud and it swelled. He drew the other cup downward until both nipples peered at him. He took one between his fingertips and rolled it around, then leaned down and licked it. He sucked, and the intense sensation lanced through her. She wrapped her hands around his head, her fingers forking through his short, sandy hair, pulling him tight to her. He sucked again, harder this time. She gasped. Her vagina contracted, aching with need.

He drew the bra away and stroked her breasts lovingly. Then he cupped one and kissed and licked the other until she squirmed beneath him. He switched to the other breast, enveloping the abandoned one with his warm hand. Then he glided down her stomach and kissed her navel, and with a half smile on his lips, he unbuttoned her jeans and glided the zipper down slowly.

She lifted her hips as he tugged her jeans down and pulled them off her legs, leaving her in only her skimpy black lace panties. He dropped her jeans to the floor, then smiled as his gaze lingered on the black lace covering her. He lowered his head and fluttered his lips against the skin above the lace in delicate kisses, then grasped the lace between his teeth and tugged downward, slowly revealing the trimmed curls. He nibbled sideways along the top of the panties, then tugged them down one hip, leaving her panties skewed across her body, low on one side and clinging to her hip on the other. He released them, kissed back to her navel, then ran his tongue through the star-shaped curls.

She tucked her fingers under the high side of her panties and rolled them downward, wanting him to move lower. He chuckled and grasped the front of her panties with his fingers, then slowly drew them down, revealing more of her. Finally, he pulled the crotch all the way down, exposing all of her, then he tugged them down her legs and tossed them aside.

He stroked through the star, then downward, stopping above her slit.

“You have a cute little pussy.”

She opened her legs, propping her feet on the edge of the couch, opening wide for him.