Hit 'N' Run (Under Suspicion #1) (11 page)

“I have a healthy appetite,” he said, walking towards her.

His voice left little doubt—like her, his hunger had nothing to do with food. A quickening began in her stomach, followed by a tightening in her loins as she watched him approach. The stubble on his cheeks made him appear slightly dangerous. Having seen last night his ability to close his emotions behind a mask, she was pleased to see he was not hiding today. No walls. His eyes shone with the glimmer of a predator. He leaned forward so his hands flanked hers and his head leaned over her shoulder as his straight nose came level with hers.

Oh, those tingles again
. Lorna couldn’t speak. Thinking was presently out of the question, never mind being witty. A woman who made her living giving presentations, writing speeches, marketing proposals, moving and shaking with powerful people was at a standstill as this man ran his nose along the bridge of hers.

“I wonder if you taste as good as you smell,” he murmured. His tongue peeked out to trace her upper lip. “Yum.”

If it wasn’t for her hands being firmly placed on the counter, Lorna was sure she would fall into a puddle of raw emotion. Black pupils consumed the blue irises. With a long stare, he delved into her soul, a pillager in the night. Air suspended in her lungs and she gasped for breath. She tilted her head slightly away from his and he took the opportunity to focus his attention on her neck, where her pulse danced.

Moving his hands, he braced her hips and turned her in his embrace. His nose moved from her shoulder, along her collarbone to trail up her jaw, where he hovered slightly away from her waiting mouth. Pinned in place, he brought his body closer. Heat from his solid frame penetrated through her thin blouse. The open neck of his shirt gave her a clear view of the forest of hair on his chest. She restrained a deep urge to run her fingers through the fine mass, over what she remembered to be his very sensitive nipples.

She must have jerked a little for the predator’s eyes were back, focused on her: her lips, her eyes. His nostrils flared as he breathed deeply and took a step back. “Would you like to take me on a tour of your house?”

“Ah.”
Verbal brilliance at its best.
Her pulse pounded in her ears, and her legs were like rubber. His muscled forearms bulged against the short-sleeve cuffs. He stood far too close for sensible thought and his presence only served to remind her just how long it had been since she had been intimate with any man. Too long since she had even wanted or needed anything as badly as she needed this man’s touch just now. “What?”

The roguish smile—in complete contrast to the menacing gleam of his gaze—scattered goose-flesh across her arms. Sexy. Yes. But also very dangerous in so many ways. She ran the risk of losing herself completely.
Unlike me, he knows what he’s about. He knows how to get what he wants.

“Your house is very nice,” he said in a voice veering on a growl, very low. “Would you like to take me on a tour?”

“Tour the house?”
Tour me. I want this man like I’ve never wanted anything else.
She leaned her face towards him, avoiding his hungry lips, to flick her tongue along his ear. “Maybe later,” she said, and moved to nip his lip with her teeth.
He’s not the only one who can take charge and get what he wants
. She turned her hand palm up on the counter to weave her fingers through his. Running her other hand down the front of his shirt, she was rewarded with a shiver that coursed through him, giving her courage. Her core pulsed with longing, moisture beaded.

Mitch tilted his head back in surprise. “No?”

She bit her lip, pondering what to do next, unused to the role of seductress. “Later,” she repeated, staring him dead in the eyes and she ran her hand back up his firm abdomen to begin unbuttoning his shirt. By the third button, his shirt billowed open enough she could reach her hand inside, threading her fingers through the soft hair. When his mouth opened slightly, no words escaped. Her skin heated, and she licked her lips before tracing the edge of his lips with her tongue. His eyes flew from hers to focus on her lips, the hungry gaze of the hunter about to strike evident in every angle.

As she watched his face, her thumb found his nipple and she was rewarded with his eyes fluttering closed for just an instant. When they opened, there was no blue left. Blazing, his eyes were black with wanting, and she ached for his touch on her skin. She leaned her hips close to his and brushed lightly against his jeans.

While the fingers laced with hers tightened their hold, his free hand reached for the nape of her neck to pull the tie from her hair. “I like it down,” his voice commanded authoritatively.

Proceeding to run his fingers through the strands to loosen the thick locks, he seemed in no real hurry. Lorna savored the tightness of her thighs with the movement of his fingers on her scalp. She tilted her head back with his touch, shaking her hair free, her breasts arching against the fabric of her shirt, begging for release.
Will his lips feel the way I remember them?
She moved so one of his jeans-clad legs was between her own. 

His hand left the nape of her neck to travel down the side of her breast, and the fact he purposely evaded touching her where she most craved being touched drove her wild as she brushed her hips towards his, relishing his erection as confirmation of his own need. A hand settled on her hip, leaving her thirsty with longing. No longer caring anymore who was in control, Lorna ground her pelvis against his, wrapping her hand around his neck to pull his mouth to hers. A growl escaped his lips and he hungrily devoured hers, his tongue slipping between her teeth, thrusting, tasting, and inviting hers to follow back to his own mouth. And she did follow, to taste what he offered.

His hands travelled from her hip to cup her buttocks, lifting her to the counter. Their fingers linked behind her back and she wrapped her legs around his middle, relishing the strength of his manhood pressing firmly against her. From her lips to her jawline, down her neck, his mouth blazed a trail of fire. Lost in near-forgotten sensations, she let her head fall back as she swept her free hand through his cropped hair.

He pulled back, and she whimpered a complaint. He lightly kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m fine with continuing this here,” he gasped, his fingers traced the curve of her breast. “But it’s your choice.”

I don’t care. I really don’t care. Just take me
, her mind screamed.

***

Consumed and hanging on by a virtual thread, it took all his willpower to stop from ripping the filmy clothing from her body right there in her kitchen and fulfilling every fantasy he ever had about Lorna. She was willing and that was all he needed. He had never wanted anyone as much as he wanted this tawny-eyed woman. Truth be told, he’d wanted her since she tripped into his life a half decade ago. They had lost so much time over such a stupid misunderstanding he was determined not to lose another minute. She was his, and he would make her realize his ownership.

Flames of desire were bright in their amber depths as her eyes opened to mere slits.
There’s the fire I remember so well
. He stroked her cheek and smiled. Her answering grin was carnal. Pushing against him in the most seductive fashion, she slid her feet back to the floor, retaining her hold on his hand. Moving towards the interior of the house, he followed her up the curved stairs, taking no notice of his surroundings, completely consumed in her every motion—the sway of her hips, the length of her legs, the roundness of her behind, the muscles of her back, the toned smoothness of her shoulders.

At the top of the stairs, they turned sharply to the right. Walking into her bedroom, she closed the door behind them and released his hand to finish unbuttoning his shirt. He stood still, riveted by her seduction. Pushing his shirt off his shoulders, she allowed it to hang from his elbows as she ran her palms along his chest. Bending to take his nipple between her teeth, she pulled it into her mouth, running her tongue over the end. The small end pebbled and he watched, enthralled, his penis solid but bound by his jeans.

Pulling back, she slowly pulled the polo shirt over her head, shaking her hair back as she let the garment fall to the floor. The no-nonsense bra, plain white with a small edging of lace, represented the sexiest undergarment he had ever seen. Fuck black lingerie, the basics were the best. Reaching back, she unfastened the catch holding it together, allowing the straps to slide down her arms, her hands blocking her breasts from view before dropping it to the floor to join her shirt in a heap. Pondering his face, she moved her hands and stepped towards Mitch. She reached for his belt and slowly loosened the end until it was unbuckled.

As she undid his jeans’ button, Mitch cleared his throat. “I warn you now,” he said, staring down at her. “As much as I have enjoyed the slow seduction, as soon as these pants are gone, all bets are off.”

Her tongue slipped out to wet her lips before she pulled it between her teeth. She hesitated briefly before a slow smile spread across her face. She nodded, accepting the challenge. Taking a step back, she quickly unbuttoned her own shorts. She pushed both the shorts and her panties together down her shapely legs to kick them towards the puddle of clothing by her feet. Smiling like a schoolgirl, she strode to the king-sized bed.

Lorna dropped down on the edge and leaned back on her elbows. “Okay then, do the rest yourself,” she said, confident in the absolute glory of her nakedness.

The confidence was an aphrodisiac. He was consumed with the need to possess her. With the expectation she would be slightly shy, the fact that she wasn’t aroused him all the more. He lost his pants in a blur and joined her on the bed where she wrapped her arms around his neck, mashing her body against his.

He ran his hand down the length of her, raining kisses behind, savoring her every contour. “Ohmigod, you’re beautiful.”

He plucked her nipple with the ends of his teeth and was rewarded with a soft moan of desire. She wound her legs around his middle. “Oh, Mitch.”

“Yes,” he breathed against her breast.

She squirmed under him, wiggling her legs around his hips. “I want you, Mitch. I need you inside me.”

Balancing on his knees, his hands came down to brace on either side of her hips, positioning to enter her. “Do you know, Lorna?” he panted, her body a soft glow, the sheen of moisture visible between her breasts. “Do you know how much I want you?”

The words echoed back to a long-ago night when Mitch vowed to never let her get away again.
This time will be different,
he told himself and buried himself in her waiting heat, finding heaven when she enveloped him, pulsing around him. Her legs tightened, drawing him deeper. He pulled her hips closer, holding her to him. Head thrown back, his penis stroked inside, her spongy softness molding to his every ridge. His head came forward when he pulled out his length, only to swiftly push back inside. He wanted to devour her—body and soul. Her hands reached behind her head and grabbed the sheets, her body bowing towards him, her head arching back in the pillows. He pulled out slightly, and her legs tightened, holding him locked as her hips stroked him back. Her pulsing heat surrounded him, and he could feel her building, taking him with her.

He pushed tighter inside. “Mmm, ahh,” she moaned softly, her long neck exposed for his lips. He leaned forward to take advantage. Her hips circled, pushing and pulling against his length, demanding a quickening momentum.

Nearing his climax, he felt her build, needing to feel her explosion. “You are so beautiful, baby,” he whispered against her ear, his hands anchored to her hips. “Let yourself go. Let me take you.”

“Oh Mitch,” she sighed. Her lips locked onto his, demanding, and he could hold on no longer.

Spreading his knees, he lifted up taking her with him as he plunged himself deep within her folds. “Uhhh,” she moaned, head slung back, sweat-moistened hair clinging to her cheek and neck. “Yes.”

Again he plunged, and her body tensed and bowed to his tune. Her thighs locked around his waist, a mass of tense muscles. She exploded around him, intensifying his sensations, drawing him tightly to be housed in her core. Once more he thrust before he lost himself in a burst of bright light only Lorna could create. Sweat rolled down between his shoulder blades and off the end of his nose as he collapsed forward on top of her, his heart thumping against her soft breasts.

Chapter Ten

Had he ever been this comfortable lying with a woman?

No.

In the past, business complete, he was one of
those
guys searching out the exit. But not now. Not today. For the rest of his life, he could lie on these overstuffed pillows with her fair head snuggled into the crook of his arm lost in the hypnotic movement of her hands as she stroked the springy hairs of his chest.

“I told you earlier how I like your hair down,” he said, tucking a stray lock behind her ear. Sleepy eyes rose to meet his. He leaned forward to lay a soft kiss on her brow. “Sexed hair is definitely your style.”

Lorna giggled. “Yeah, perfect for business.”

“You never know.”

She lowered her gaze, and he delighted in the hint of pink rising up over her cheeks. “I’m sure,” she said lifting a hand from his chest to push the mass back behind her shoulder.

“It’s true.” Mitch rolled so he was hovering above her, his lips a breath from hers. He trailed fingers slowly along her torso, over her firm abdomen, between her breasts, until his palm smoothed out to cup her jaw. “Keep it tied back for everyone else, but wear it down and messy for me.”

Her tongue peeked through the soft contours of her lips as her hand lifted to stroke his hair from his brow before pulling him to her. He accepted her lips, his mouth hungry for more; his body reacting with tempered longing. The kiss deepened but remained soft and slow without urgency as though they had the rest of their lives reserved just for kissing.

Mitch caressed her neck. “You surprise me,” he murmured against her pulse point.

Her fingers stopped at his earlobe, and she turned deep topaz eyes in his direction.

He shrugged, lacing his leg between hers. “You’re a massive turn-on,” he said, rubbing his erect member along her inner thigh. “I expected you to be so timid. Shy about being naked. You always gave me the impression of someone a little too high-strung. A—”

“A geek?” Her eyes so languid a moment ago turned hard and she wiggled out from under him. Her lips pursed into a thin line and she rose up on her elbow.

Whoa, what’s with the quick turnaround?
“Hey, hey.” Mitch sat back and held up both hands in surrender. “That came out wrong.” He reached out to hug her back to him, but she would have none of it, choosing instead to sit up, facing him.

“Lorna! Come here.” He moved for her again and snagged her in an embrace. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I meant your passion. Your complete lack of inhibition. Look at you.” He gestured with both his eyes and hands, surveying her from head to toe, trailing a light fingernail along her thigh. “Sitting there in all your naked glory. You surprised me.”

Color flooded her face as her hands fumbled with the corner of the pillow. “I wasn’t inhibited the last time,” she said, lowering her eyes, self-conscious. The rosy color travelled downward, giving her body a lovely glow.

Mitch grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her to him. “There, that’s what I mean. You were drunk the last time,” he said, relieved when she didn’t resist him. “You’re very modest. You’ve always struck me as shy. Your boldness now is so arousing. Very surprising. I loved it. Better?”

“I guess,” she said with doubt in her voice.

Mitch sighed. They had bridges to build, the two of them. Too many years of uncertainty still separated them, and he wanted nothing more than to fuse the gap. “I should have kept my mouth shut. I was just surprised is all.”

“You were expecting…” her words trailed.

“You,” he answered simply, laying a palm on each cheek and reclaimed her lips for his own, his tongue slipping inside her mouth to taste her nectar. “You are what I wanted.” His voice grew hoarse. “You are what I want. What I always wanted, and you are everything I expected you to be.”

Her arms folded across his back. “Are you okay?” She moved slightly back from his swollen mouth, running her thumb along the edge. “You’re not making much sense.”

“After a very long time of waiting,” he said, poking the tip of his tongue out to flick her thumb. “I am better than okay.”

Pushing her back into the pillows, he resettled her with her head on his shoulder. Her smile caressed his chest and he stroked her arm, loving the silky texture of her skin. He would have to be careful for the old stigmas. She was understandably sensitive. His teammates had been brutal. Words do hurt and often left scars unseen but certainly felt.

Mitch took a shuddered breath as her hand moved over his chest to dip lower to trace the line of his penis. His body obliged to the sudden interest by rising back up to attention. “Are you still hungry?” Her voice was throaty.

“Starved, as a matter of fact.”

Her hand cupped his shaft, and the blood grew thick in his veins.

“Me too,” she confirmed, lifting up on her elbow again to blaze a trail of moist heat across his ribs. Her hand squeezed and released, ran up and down his vibrating member as her teeth nipped along, her progress filling him with expectation. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be full again.”

Lifted up on her knees to straddle him, she maneuvered the tip of his penis along her clitoris, her moist heat emanating, inviting him to enter. His hands shot to her hips to hold her and she grinned seductively at him.
She’s made me putty in her hands. I can’t remember the last time I’ve gotten so hard so fast just after having sex
.

“I want you,” he croaked. Mitch leaned forward to kiss her. He scooped a small breast in his hand before bending further to skim his tongue over the end, enjoying the bud. She rose up higher on her knees to accommodate him.

“I never imagined,” she panted, pulling his head closer to her breast. “Oh, Mitch.”

The sound of his name breathlessly relayed across her swollen lips provided the gift Mitch didn’t know he had been waiting for. Taking both breasts in his hands, he suckled first one nipple then the other. “You like this?”

“Oh, Mitch,” she moaned. Her hands travelled down to his shoulders, her fingers pressing into his muscles. Her head arched back, causing her breasts to rise higher.

The buzz preceded the ring.

Mitch groaned, ignoring the sound.

The buzz, followed by the ringing of his phone, penetrated his sexual haze like church bells on a Sunday morning, reminding him of who he was and where he had to be.

He cupped her rear with a squeeze. “Perfect timing.” He stopped suckling, searching the floor, trying to remember why the ringing of a phone should be important.

“Is that your phone?” She gasped, her hands travelling down the length of his arms. She sat back on her haunches, the color high in her cheeks, brow creased with question.

“Ah, yes. I think so,” he said, trying to focus, waiting for nothing more than to penetrate her. With a start, he suddenly remembered why answering his phone was so important that he had set the cell to ringer instead of vibrate.
Goddamnit.
Hands returning to her waist, he smiled in apology, tilting his head to the side.

“Always on duty, Officer.” She smiled sweetly, moving her position so she was seated beside him. She glanced towards their pile of clothes not far from the door.

The phone buzzed again in his pants pocket, followed by a shrill ring.

Mitch reached for her face to claim her lips briefly. “Hold that thought.” He rolled off the bed in one fluid motion to dig his phone out of his pocket. She lay on her side on the bed, one leg bent, revealing the shapely hip to its best advantage.
Man, this better be good
. Phone in hand, he turned to face her. “
Please
hold that thought—and that pose.”

Checking the caller ID, he groaned.

Blocked.

Moving towards the door, he coughed to clear his throat, hoping to erase any signs of sexual tension from his voice. “Mitch Morgan.”

He expected dead air but was intent on keeping the line open as long as he could to get the trace.

“Oh, I recognize that voice,” Veronique purred seductively with only a hint of foreign accent to color her tones. “You know they told me you were a cop, but I wouldn’t believe them. I had to hear it for myself.”

“I think you must have the wrong number,” he said, his heart thudded in his chest.

“Didn’t take you long to replace me,” she said, sounding almost hurt. But Mitch knew better. Vonnie had no heart. Then she laughed to confirm his suspicions. “I just can’t believe I slept with a cop. First time for everything, I suppose.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Oh, Michael, really, you can’t disguise your voice to me. We knew each other rather intimately now, didn’t we?”

Mitch walked through the bedroom door and out into what was an open study on the landing. “I’m sorry. I think you have the wrong number.”

“Michael.” Veronique’s voice hardened. “I’m doing you a favor here. I’m calling because you fucked with the wrong family.”

The line went dead.

Mitch held the phone from his ear to view the screen to make sure. Dead. He quickly dialed IT. “Jordan, did you get it?”

“Sorry, Mitch. No.”

“Fuck.” He ended the call.

Mitch turned, Lorna stood in the doorway, clad in a silky robe, the front not quite connected so he could see the length of one shapely leg and the peak of her breast. Even the vision of her sex-tussled hair and wanting eyes couldn’t lift the weight now settled upon his shoulders. There was no more room for doubt. His cover had been blown. The case could slip away like sand through an hourglass. The Fong crime family wouldn’t be blown off lightly. Their scheme of working with funeral homes to smuggle their product across the border was pure genius. The sting operation he was part of had blown the operation wide open, putting a significant financial damper in their income stream.
They would not go quietly into that good night
.

***

“Everything all right, Officer?” Lorna asked, smiling, trying to lighten his suddenly dark mood. Despite his naked glory in her den, the muscles of his back gleaming with perspiration, the man before her was definitely all cop. All his lines were taut, his mouth hard as he clutched his phone in a white-knuckled grip.

He wasn’t seeing her. Deep-set blue eyes looked through her.

“Ah, what?” he replied at last.

Choosing to lean against the doorframe, Lorna tried for a casual stance she didn’t feel. “Do you have to go?”
Please don’t go.
Despite what she’d said, the depth of her passion and the boldness with which she approached him had actually surprised her as much or more than it did Mitch. She didn’t want him to go. Consumed by the deep hunger she carried for so long, she needed relief from the throbbing. He was the only one who could ease that ache.

At last, his eyes focused on hers, and he tried to smile. It was more of grimace. “Just let me make one call, okay?”

“Sure,” she said, moving back from the door, nodding. His voice became muffled, and she didn’t want to pry.

However, this one call took a long time, and Lorna suspected something was definitely wrong.
Has he forgotten I know he worked under the alias Michael Ward when he was in Vancouver?
She heard the upsetting phone call from the night before when someone called for Michael Ward. They hadn’t discussed anything, but it didn’t take much to put two and two together: he was an undercover cop, and she had crashed into him in the midst of a case.

Is the case still ongoing
? Peeking around her door, he sat naked at her desk.
There’s one for the memory scrapbook
. Recently awakened nerve endings remained close to the surface as she stepped in the shower. She could see this one call was going to be a while. Soaping her too-sensitive skin—every motion seemed to bring back a memory of Mitch touching her. She wondered—
if the case is still ongoing, what’s he doing back here?
She wished she could ask Mitch all of these questions and more, but everything was so tenuous at the moment. Their relationship—
was it a relationship?
—too new, too fresh, too fragile for questions just yet.

He strolled into her bathroom as she toweled off. “Seems I’ve messed up our fun,” he said, taking her by the shoulders to draw her to him and he gently caressed her lips with his. “And I was so hungry too.”

“Me too.” She hesitated, unsure how to proceed. “Our time’s up. I’m sure Mariam and Kris won’t be home for a while yet, but I can’t be sure.”

She was awkward with the discussion, unsure how to word she wanted to see him again. Wanted to make love with him but unwilling to share with Mariam and Kris just yet.

Mitch pulled back. “I forgot about the roomies.” He smiled in understanding. “I’ll go get my clothes.”

Don’t
, she wanted to scream and fall back under the covers, devil be damned with who guessed what they had done all afternoon.
This…this can’t end so soon
. She grabbed his hand just as he walked through the door. “Do you have time for our picnic, or do you have to leave?”