“Lauren.” His voice was casual but not the look he gave her. “I’m about to step over a line here and if I’m making a mistake, feel free to tell me. Even ask me to leave.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
“I mean, first and foremost I make it a rule never to mix business and pleasure.” His voice was raspy. “It can lead to all sorts of pitfalls. I’m here to see to your safety. But…” His voice trailed off and his gaze locked with hers, as if he wanted to see some unspoken answer there.
“That’s a good policy.” Lauren was surprised she could get the words out at all, her throat was so dry. Her experience with men was limited—her choice—and she was stunned by the high voltage arcing between them. They’d just met, for god’s sake. She hadn’t been with many men, not being one to leave herself open to strong emotional connections. As a sensitive, her emotions always lay raw beneath the surface, and to survive, she had to keep them tightly leashed. She’d made poor choices in the men she’d been with, but none of those had instantly electrified her the way Troy Arsenault did.
“Which I’ve always been able to stick to.” He was so close his breath fanned warmly on her face. “But somehow with you…” He gave a small shrug. “My good intentions and personal discipline have gone to shit. I don’t know what it is that hit me, Lauren, but I can sense that you feel it too.”
Oh yes. More than feel it. Need it. Want it.
Her pulse throbbed insistently everywhere in her body.
“I don’t want Faith and Mark handing me my head,” he went on. “They’re trusting me with you. I don’t want them—or you—to think I’m abusing that trust. So if I’m wrong about this…connection…exploding between us, now’s the time to tell me.”
Lauren wet her lips.
Do it!
She was so over her head here. Men like Troy just weren’t ever attracted to her. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure he could hear it.
“No.” She wet her lips. “You’re not wrong.”
“I can’t forget we’re in a serious situation here,” he reminded her. “The media bloodhounds are after you and your life could be in danger. I’m here to guard your body, not take advantage of it.”
Is he backing off? Does he feel something but he’s putting it on hold? I might lose my courage by the time he finally gets around to it.
She hoped that outwardly she appeared calm, but inside she was shaking with nerves and anticipation. Did he want her to tell him to stop or let him know she wanted whatever came next? Whatever that was.
She gave him a tentative smile. “Are you trying to convince me of something or talk me out of it?”
“Just making absolutely sure we’re on the same page here. I’ll be honest with you. This is something different than I’ve ever felt for another woman. A lot more than simple sexual attraction.”
“Yes,” she said in a soft voice, even as she wondered how it was possible for this feeling, this connection, to blossom so quickly. She guarded her emotions carefully, of necessity. If she made a wrong decision it could thrust her into an emotional turmoil that would affect her skills and abilities.
“I don’t want to pressure you into something you don’t want to do,” he told her. “It’s important for you to know that’s not my style.” He blew out a breath. “To tell the truth, this whole thing has kind of blindsided me. And it’s happened so fast.”
“Yes. You’re right.” She studied his face, searching for some kind of answers. “I haven’t let myself open up to the possibility of any kind of relationship in what seems like forever. Someone with my…gifts has a hard time trusting a relationship. With the wrong person it can be destructive. But…” Lauren let out a shuddering sigh.
“But?” he prompted.
“I want…this. Whatever this is. Is it wrong for me to do this so quickly?”
Troy caressed her cheek with the knuckles of one hand. “You know, Mark and Faith knew each other for years, Dan and Mia met on assignment, as did Rick and Kelly. It only took them twenty-four hours to know what was happening between them. Mike and Kat had a history, but reconnected after two years and in less than a day were solid together. Maybe there’s a spell someone’s cast over Phoenix, so who am I to argue with it?”
“Maybe you’re right.” Her eyes were still glued to his face.
“I swear I will never do anything to hurt you or damage your gifts.” His look was dead serious. “Believe me, I understand what’s at stake. But I don’t want to lose what I sense is happening between us.”
She gave a soft little laugh. “They say danger telescopes life, accelerates situations. Maybe that’s what’s happening here.”
“I definitely hope so.”
Troy leaned down so his lips brushed softly over hers, back and forth, the touch as light as an angel’s kiss. Lauren tilted her head back, wanting him to increase the pressure. At her silent invitation, he drew the tip of his tongue along the seam of her lips, again soft as a breeze, the touch coaxing and enticing. When she parted her lips, his tongue slipped inside, sliding across hers in a silken glide. Every nerve inside her mouth popped like Fourth of July firecrackers, creating heat that surged downward through her body.
And he hadn’t touched anything but her mouth.
She moaned lightly and Troy moved his hands from the counter to slide them up her arms. When he finally broke the kiss, his mouth was still less than an inch from hers and his breath was a warm breeze on her lips. Lauren couldn’t move, almost couldn’t breathe. His hands moved from her arms to her shoulders then his fingers slid gently up the column of her neck to cup her cheeks.
She shivered at his touch, pressing her hands against the hard wall of his chest. She could feel the hard pebbles of his nipples through the thin fabric of his shirt and the heat of his body nearly singed her skin.
He licked her lips with a gentle stroke, his eyes burning into hers.
“I don’t want to do this standing up,” he told her in a voice rough with passion. “You deserve better than that. Besides, I don’t want to rush this. I want to take my time with you.”
“Yes. Please.” She was so mesmerized by him she couldn’t move.
He cleared his throat. “Stay right here. I’ll be right back. I just want to check the system feed.”
Lauren closed her eyes and leaned back against the counter, wondering if she had lost her mind. But if she had, she didn’t want to find it until she satisfied the cravings that had taken hold of her body.
“All set.”
His voice startled her, but not as much as when he swept her easily into his arms and headed for the stairs. Thanks to the security work that had been ongoing all day, she didn’t even need to tell him which bedroom was hers. She simply curled herself into his body and inhaled his spicy, musky male fragrance. Her pulse points throbbed in anticipation and already her pussy was swollen and wet. She certainly couldn’t remember the last time—if ever—a man had aroused her to this state. And he hadn’t done anything yet except kiss her.
The sun had set and darkness was descending, so as they entered her bedroom Troy hit the wall switch with his elbow. Immediately, the light on her nightstand came to life and cast a warm amber glow over everything. He set her on the floor beside the bed, took a moment to sweep the covers back, then proceeded to undress her with exquisite care.
As he unveiled each part of her, appreciation and desire lit his eyes. Her t-shirt first, pulled slowly over her head with fingers that she saw were just the tiniest bit unsteady. Tossing it to the side, he took a long moment to stare at her breasts cradled in satin and lace. Lauren was glad that the lingerie she’d grabbed in a hurry that morning wasn’t the sturdy cotton kind she usually wore when home alone.
He couldn’t seem to drag his eyes away from her breasts, lifting his hands to rub his thumbs against her dusky nipples. Through the flimsy material of her bra, she felt the rasping touch against the buds now peaked and sensitive. He moved his thumbs back and forth in a slow, steady motion for what seemed like a very long time. The pulse throbbed in her cunt and liquid soaked her panties. And the look in Troy’s eyes was that of a very hungry man.
He bent his head to run his tongue over the upper swell of her breasts, sending threads of sensation wriggling through her and making her weak in the knees. She gripped his upper arms to steady herself, vaguely aware of the hard sinew of muscle beneath the skin. Troy continued to lave the curve of her breasts until every inch of them burned and ached.
Next came her jeans, first the pop of the button, then the slow glide of the zipper. He knelt to ease the denim down her thighs to her ankles, lifting each foot one at a time to free it from the pool of fabric. Pressing his face to the triangle of silk covering her pubic curls, he inhaled deeply and a sound almost like a growl rumbled up from his chest. When he drew a line with his tongue the length of her slit, she had to grab his shoulders to keep from falling to the floor.
Unerringly, he found her clit through the fabric with the tip of his tongue, pressing it against the nub. His large hands gripped the cheeks of her ass and rocked her back and forth against his mouth. She realized with a shock the keening sound in the air came from her, a sharp wail of sexual need.
The slide of sheer fabric against her skin as he eased her out of her bra and panties made every nerve spark and heat her skin. She wanted to tell him to hurry but all she could do was moan with pleasure.
Finally, Troy rose to his feet, lifted her to the bed and placed her so every part of her was exposed to him. His gaze on her cunt and breasts was a caress she could almost feel. Unused to a man studying her naked body so intensely, she had to stifle a need to cover herself with her hands. But his eyes never left her while he kicked off his shoes and shed his clothing.
He reached down for his jeans, pulled his wallet from his back pocket and lifted a foil packet that he dropped onto the nightstand.
“I’m a boy scout,” he grinned. “Always prepared.”
Her eyes widened as she took in his naked body for the first time. He could have been a statue sculpted from marble, every muscle so clearly defined. But the perfection of marble was marred by a thin white scar that ran diagonally from his collarbone to his right nipple and another on his upper right arm. She would have dwelled on them further, but her eyes were drawn magnetically across the thick scattering of hair on his chest down his flat abs to the heavy swollen cock jutting from a nest of dark gold curls.
Her fingers flexed with the need to reach for him and wind themselves around that thick shaft. Troy smiled as if he could read her mind.
“Go ahead.” His voice was a scraping sound. “You can touch it. I
want
you to touch it. Please.”
He stood close enough to the bed that his knees bumped up against it. Lauren rolled to her side so she could lean on one elbow and reached out with her other hand. He was hot and pulsing in her grasp, the head of his cock a deep plum color, glistening with the drop of precum poised at the top of the slit. She rubbed her thumb over it, spreading it over the velvet skin, her mouth eager to taste it.
Twice a man she’d been with had wanted her to do that, but each time she’d refused. Now she realized it was because the intense connection she had with Troy wasn’t there, the powerful connection that stretched beyond physical attraction. She not only wanted his dick in her mouth, she wanted to taste every inch of his body. Much, she assumed, as he wanted to taste hers.
Tentatively, she stuck out her tongue and lapped at the soft skin, humming with pleasure at the musky taste. Her lips closed automatically over the head and moved slowly down the soft skin stretched over hard steel. Lauren closed her eyes, heat blossoming everywhere in her body as Troy’s hard cock filled her mouth and his scent filled her nostrils.
His fingers threaded through her hair, holding her head in place as she licked and tasted him. Then abruptly he pulled back, his shaft sliding from her mouth.
Lauren looked up at him, bewildered. “What—“
“One more thrust in that tempting mouth of yours and it will be all over before it starts. And I plan for this to last longer than five minutes.”
He knelt on the bed between her legs, nudging her thighs farther apart, his eyes devouring her pussy. But it was her mouth he touched first, burning it with a scorching kiss, his tongue plundering, licking the inner surface, leaving sparks wherever it danced. Lauren could barely catch her breath, sliding her hands through his thick hair and anchoring herself.
When he finally broke the kiss, he slid his mouth along her cheek and trailed kisses down to her jawline, nipping the soft flesh then soothing it with his tongue. Each tiny bite sent showers of sparks dancing through her. His tongue was a wet flame licking the tender spot behind her ear and tracing a line along the column of her neck. Lauren pressed her body against his, wanting to imprint herself on him.
“I want to taste you everywhere,” he murmured.
His hands moved along her shoulder and down her arms as he shifted lower to give his mouth access to her breasts. When his lips closed over one nipple she felt the tug and the wet heat straight to her cunt where her pulse throbbed in response. He took his time, laving then pulling at each nipple until the pain was so exquisite she cried out at the pleasure.
“Ohhhh.” The sigh escaped her as he moved lower on her body, licking and kissing his way down her tummy, swirling his tongue in the furled flesh of her navel.
When he moved even lower, his hands gripping her hips, she automatically arched up to him. He put his mouth directly on her clit and sucked, hard, and every muscle in her body quivered in response.
When he lifted his head for a moment her juices glistened on his lips. “You taste so damn good, Lauren. Just so damn good.”
Again he used his teeth, just the lightest of nips, tugging on the hot nub even as his tongue flicked back and forth across the tip. Lauren spread her legs wider and lifted her hips again, wanting more from him. No other man had ever drawn this heated response from her body or roused her to such a degree. She was so swollen and wet and aching for him.