* * * * *
rourke froze as sean loren’s voice drifted around the corner. the older man stepped up onto the porch and gave him a heavy look. the fact that the retired man still addressed him as sir said loren’s father respected him. “you have a problem with me?”
“nope. as i said, i’m hoping you won’t make a liar out of me.” rourke considered the older man and the glint of approval that sat in his eyes. rourke didn’t need the man’s blessing but it still hit him in the gut with its beauty. family was the only thing in life that a man truly held. well, maybe love too. extending his hand, he grinned when sean took it.
“i’ll try not to let you down.”
the words echoed inside his skull as rourke considered the silence of his home. he had no clue what to do now. his nose twitched as an aroma drifted on the air. rourke sniffed again and listened to his stomach growl.
the kitchen was lit and smelled like heaven. rourke peered around a corner just as loren let out a silvery laugh. toby was balancing a bowl on his head as the lanky youth made his way toward the dinner table. he grabbed the bowl from his head as he reached it and bowed deeply.
“thank you. thank you. i’ve been balancing bowls since i was three.”
“that you have!” loren took another look at dinner and smiled as she caught the somewhat familiar feeling of rourke drifting across her mind. she turned to find him poised in the doorframe with a rather silly smile on his face.
“hey, dinner’s on.”
rourke raised an eyebrow and loren simply smiled. she was too happy to worry about anything tonight. the sun had set and no one else had died. it was time to count some blessings.
“hope you like italian.”
loren turned and bent over to open the oven door. rich aroma drifted out on a wave of heat. it hit him square in the chest.
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there were four spots set at the kitchen table. emotion threatened to drown him. his kitchen had never been host to a family supper. rourke leaned against the doorjamb almost afraid to move and spoil the image. he didn’t want it to dissipate if he made a wrong move.
“you gonna wash up?” toby peered around the refrigerator door as he reached inside for something. loren folded two dishtowels into makeshift potholders before reaching back into the oven.
the invitation to join them was too much. rourke stepped into the kitchen and felt his face crack into a ridiculous grin. he flipped the faucet on as loren and toby finished setting the table. sean wandered in and began to pass the salad bowl around the table. his table.
but at the moment it was their table.
* * * * *
“come on, campbell, lay ‘em down.” loren’s face was an iron mask. she was even managing to erect a rather crude wall
to keep her mind concealed as well. nothing he couldn’t break through but it kept her emotions from bleeding out.
“i had no idea that card-sharking was a requirement for firefighters.” loren laughed. fire station rules said the poker loser did the dishes.
she’d done a heap of dishwashing too. rourke’s firm lips twitched slightly as she eyed him over her cards.
heat bled across her cheeks as she considered that mouth of his.
the man could kiss. her cheeks stung, making her bite her lip.
she’d been able to keep dinner on a purely fun level. but with her appetite for food settled, her body was completely willing to remind her of the substance she’d denied it the night before.
rourke’s green eyes sharpened as she felt him brush lightly through her mind. the edge of hunger his thoughts left behind made her nipples tighten.
his keen stare homed
in on the telltale lifting of her shirt before he let a smug grin lift his lips.
“call.” his hand slapped his hand of cards onto the tabletop in a sharp motion. loren groaned as she read the cards. the dirty dishes were calling her name.
she let her cards join his as she sighed and pushed her chair back. toby chuckled gleefully as he continued eating. rourke’s eyes became razor-sharp as he cast a sidelong look at her son.
he moved with fluid grace. loren didn’t hear his feet hit the floor but the man was out of his chair and halfway across the table before she even blinked. he captured her chin in a firm hold before those lips took her mouth with a firm kiss.
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loren gasped and he pushed deeply into her mouth for a moment of deep penetration. his tongue stroked hers in a long movement before he broke the contact and stood up.
“supper was delicious. i have to see to a few details before we turn in.” pure promise was written on his face. he turned to face toby. loren felt her face explode with heat. he’d kissed her at the table right in front of her son and father. it took barbaric to new levels.
“tobias, i want you showered and in your rack before i get back. you will keep the same hours as the rest of us from now on.”
“i’m not tired.”
“your body is and it’s time to learn how to turn your mind off.” rourke stopped in the doorway and pegged toby with a hard glare. her son dropped his fork before he swallowed roughly. rourke raised an eyebrow at the youth.
“yes…sir?”
“that’s correct.”
loren shoved her chair back in outrage. toby beat her up from the table.
“dinner was great, mom! i got to power down my system and hit the shower.
love ya!”
her son’s dishes hit the kitchen counter a second before he cleared the doorframe. loren hissed. her father followed rourke, leaving her to her temper. she actually stomped her foot and yelped as her bare heel hit the tile too hard.
pig…pig…pig!
it wasn’t fair. mother nature was a bitch!
loren flipped the faucet on and began scrubbing the dishes with every ounce of her frustration. why was that man right so often? there ought to be a law against it. at least she should be able to stop blushing like a prom queen.
but no! her body responded to rourke’s even when he wasn’t trying to seduce her.
she just had to look at him. it went beyond the face or hair color.
attraction was in his every move.
the kitchen was gleaming by the time loren finally ran out of reasons to stay away from the idea of going to bed. her stomach was twisted into a knot as she tried to decide exactly what her problem was.
well, rourke hadn’t returned and that was her main concern. sometimes keeping that man in sight was rather comforting. on the other hand, the man took bold to the extreme. if he was standing in front of her, she just might find herself in his bed before she got around to noticing.
oh, damn it!
loren tossed the dishtowels on top of the washing machine and headed for a shower. she felt her anger simmer as she caught sight of toby already in his bed.
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pushing the bedroom door aside, loren stepped inside. deep even breathing hit her ears making her shake her head. her son was out like a light. it was amazing. rourke knew exactly what he was talking about.
well, maybe he should. who better to deal with a genius than a psychic?
loren stopped abruptly when she made it into her bathroom. she swung around on her heel to stare at the bedroom. caught up in her thoughts she’d walked right by and not noticed.
the room was bare. not a single piece of furniture was left.
her jaw actually dropped. loren shook her head but nothing changed. an odd sound drifted up from the hallway.
walking back toward the doorway, loren listened to the house. it was amazingly quiet here. she was used to the city. the senses became finely tuned when all the background noise was removed. the shower was running in the master bedroom.
loren blushed again.
she groaned as the heat bled across her face. but she just couldn’t prevent the smile that lifted her lips next. rourke campbell might be an annoying pig but his persistence was certainly heartwarming. no man had ever cared enough to set a trap for her.
looking over her shoulder, loren looked at the empty bedroom.
“you’re going to be taking a cold shower if you don’t get down to my room soon.”
his voice was whisper-soft. loren felt her stomach drop a full inch as she looked at the man leaning against the hallway. rourke was in the opposite direction of his room.
a shiver actually traveled down her back as she looked into his eyes.
he was stalking her now. water glistened off his skin as loren let her eyes trace each and every ridge of taut muscle on his chest. he had a pair of green and brown fatigue pants on. that was it. her stomach twisted again as heat pooled in her belly. his body seemed to radiate aggression tonight. it was like he’d shed his civilized image and she now faced the core of the predator. there was a primitive purpose gleaming from
his eyes.
his eyes sank into hers as that shiver passed over every last inch of her skin. reasons fled from her thoughts. right now loren simply wanted. she wanted the solid strength of that bare chest pressed against her. hunger erupted inside her making her heart rate double as her clothing became stifling.
rourke felt his body respond to her on the most primitive of levels. the sensation was intense as he considered loren. he picked out the stain bleeding across her face and curled his lips back in a grin.
she stepped backwards in response. rourke slowly shook his head.
need was painful tonight. hesitation on her part made the beast inside him angry. rourke pushed away from the wall as he closed the distance. she lifted a foot but placed it firmly under her a second later. rourke felt his nostrils flare. her courage made her even more enticing.
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loren didn’t understand her emotions. fear spiked in her heart.
she gasped and forced her feet to stand in place. she was being overwhelmed. but she wasn’t a coward.
warm hands cupped her jaw as the scent of a male surrounded her. his eyes cut into her very thoughts as rourke stepped up until only a bare inch separated them.
it was too great a distance. loren felt a small cry escape her lips as she lifted her hands to touch him. her fingertips became intensely sensitive as she traced the strength encasing his body.
“touch me, loren.”
her hand slid across his chest, and rourke felt his staff swell violently.
her nipples stabbed through her shirt making him battle against the urge to rip the fabric from her. but he had a stronger need tonight. rourke needed her to surrender to him.
his mouth captured her, making loren moan. his lips were firm and determined. he traced the seam of her mouth before one of his hands slipped to the back of her head and tilted it up. his tongue thrust into her mouth as he stepped into contact with her completely. he found her tongue and stroked it with a deep thrust.
letting his opposite arm drop, he caught her bottom and pressed her toward the swollen proof of his hunger. her hips actually tipped forward as loren sent her tongue boldly after his.
loren felt her body shiver as he pressed against her. she needed that hard body in
so many different ways. his staff burned into her belly making her passage ache to be completely filled. it wasn’t about sex. it was the need to delve into intimacy on every level that the human body was capable of.
her breathing was harsh when rourke lifted his lips from hers. loren grasped at
his shoulders as she tried to lift her body from the ground. she wanted to be captured. held in his arms and taken immediately. a deep growl shook his chest as rourke gripped her hips and fit his between them.
“right here, loren?”
“yes.”
her thighs eagerly opened in invitation. rourke thrust his body toward hers and felt the heat from her center burn straight through their clothing. his hand was still twisted in her hair. he tipped her face up until their eyes locked.
“not good enough.” rourke felt his body strain against the leash he held over himself. he could smell the heat on her. a savage need was rising inside him and threatened to crest over the dam he’d built with his pride. a whimper escaped loren as rourke rubbed his erection against her belly.
“in my bed or not at all.”
he hooked his free hand into the back of her shirt. a sharp jerk and the buttons scattered onto the floor. his body blocked her against the wall. the night air brushed her bare skin only slightly before his chest rubbed against her. the skin to skin contact made her moan deeply as her body frantically tried to absorb the strength of her
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companion. loren felt her nipples scream in protest as her bra prevented the most sensitive part of her breasts from reaching him.
his mouth landed on hers and pushed her lips open for his kiss. rourke controlled her head as he stroked her tongue with the velvet tip of his own. his staff still burned against her body as she twisted under the hard kiss.
suddenly he was gone. loren opened her eyes, frantically searching for her mate. her body lamented the loss of direct contact, but he was still completely connected to her thoughts. they seemed to have joined into one single idea of need.
rourke stood with clenched fists as she forced her eyes to focus. she found him three paces away watching her as she bit her lower lip to contain her whimper. rourke offered his hand to her.
“are you coming to bed, loren?”
his terms of surrender made her temper rise but her body refused to listen to her pride. his scent drifted between them making her passage clench and ache for the contact he was refusing her. her hand landed in his before she even thought about it.
rourke scooped her off her feet a second later. his feet carried her through the dark passageway with out a sound. it was euphoric. her blood roared through her ears as loren indulged herself with touching the bare chest she was cradled against.
he didn’t put her in his bed. instead rourke set her on her feet in front of the king- sized mattress. his fingers were brutally efficient as he stripped her. a deep rumble of pleasure came from his chest as he bared every last inch of her body.
loren didn’t shiver. instead she stood proudly before his stare. she wanted to see approval in those eyes. those emeralds inspected her as his hands made short work of
his pants.
the moonlight spilling in through the window bathed him. loren felt her body heat even further as she looked over him. she was keenly aware of how soft her body was compared to his. her female gender had been created to cushion his harsher male body.
his fingers stroked over her face. loren trembled as she felt him close the distance between them. she yearned for the contact yet there was still the most basic of hesitations born from her certain knowledge of his superior strength.
“shhh…” rourke folded his body around hers. he firmly stroked her back as her skin quivered. it wasn’t true fear, simply reaction. the female response fed his primitive urge to dominate.
tilting her head up, rourke captured her mouth. he demanded entry as her hands lifted to complement his embrace. her hands wandered over his chest as she let her tongue mingle with his in a dance of intimacy.
his hands cupped her bottom as his tongue made deep thrusts into her mouth. loren was poised on the edge of need. that spot where pleasure and pain became the same sensation. rourke’s hands on her bottom made her passage grow even hungrier
for his possession.
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those hands gripped and lifted her up as loren let her thighs fall open. he raised her ‘til she was poised just above his hips. rourke let their kiss end as he turned and sat
on the end of the bed. loren gasped as the tip of his staff nudged the wet folds of her
sex. he gently let her body weight impale her.
his huge shoulders shook. loren shivered as her body filled with his.
climax was imminent as she clutched at the massive shoulders for support. his hand lifted her bottom as she let her knees clasp his hips. he let her slide back down his length as loren tightened her grip on his shoulders. this time she rose off his staff and he pushed her back down. his rigid length pulsed inside her as loren rose and fell on him again. she gasped as pleasure tightened into a knot that clenched with each stroke.
his hands grasped her bottom. rourke growled as he thrust his staff up into her passage with rapid motions. climax burst through her belly making her cry harshly as rourke thrust even harder into her. his staff erupted and filled her as his arms bound her to his body.
rourke rolled her body on to the bed. he was still buried inside her. his fingers gently brushed her hair away from her face as he pulled his staff from her passage.