He sighed in gratefulness when she backed away, sensing, perhaps the dialogue going on in his head. So he went vocal. “I’m not a good bet for a relationship. I’m likely to be arrested any minute. If I’m found guilty of arson, I could go to prison.”
She framed his face in tender fingers. “Sounds like we don’t have a lot of time to waste.”
She was killing him. “I’m not—”
She slipped her thumb over his lips and pressed. “You can’t talk me out of wanting you. Is that what you really want to do?”
What he wanted was to take her now, on a tarp, on the filthy floor, against a wall, wherever and however he could find the best and fastest way into her. But she deserved better. She deserved a lot better than him. Yet he wasn’t strong enough to walk away. “My parents took Andy to Padre Island for a few days. We could go to my place.”
She shook her head. “Someone wants you dead. That person may be looking for you.”
Damn. She had enough presence of mind to think of that a beat ahead of him. Of course, his brain was in his pants at this point.
She kissed him softly. “My place is just a few blocks away, over on Vickery.”
“What about your property?” He glanced around in the dark. “I won’t be here to guard it.”
She touched his shirtfront, making him aware that she could feel the too-rapid rise and fall of his chest. “I came tonight not knowing what I was looking for. Now I want what I’m holding onto.”
He grinned. “That would be me.”
*
After a quick stop at a nearby pharmacy, both knew there’d be no preliminaries, just a rush to get through the door before they began undressing each other.
They’d taken turns playing “touch me here” as they drove over. Mostly, he kept one eye on the scant traffic while discovering with one hand that she wasn’t wearing panties when he’d slid a hand down the front of her jeans and into the wet slick center of her. She was so ready for him her lids dropped closed as he softly stroked her. By the time they reached her apartment building, she had tightened her thighs to hold his hand in place.
He stole a glimpse of her face, tight in concentration, and grinned. “Getting a little needy?”
Her eyes popped open, her gaze throwing shade for days. “Just so you know, payback’s a B.” She smiled. Even when seen by the scant light of the dashboard, the lustful look she gave him had him ready to cream his shorts.
Meanwhile, Harley made a few comments from the backseat, most of them whiney sounds of confusion. And one of his signature farts that had them rolling down the windows.
Once parked, Noah set Harley up with partially rolled-down windows and locked him in. “I’ll be back for you in, hm, an hour.”
Harley licked his hand and curled back into a ball to sleep. Noah wasn’t worried about his dog, who often spent hours in the truck when they were on a call. Certainly no one ever stole anything out of his truck—something flirted across his mind and then disappeared when Carly slid in beside him to pet his dog.
“Be good,” she whispered. “I’ll take really good care of your handler. Promise.”
She turned around so that she was facing Noah. “Ready?”
More than she could ever understand.
They ran like a pair of teenagers, arms tight around each other as they crossed the parking lot. They stopped in the shelter of a stairway to kiss and giggle.
Noah shook his head as she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him along toward her loft. What was it about her that made him feel lighthearted and free? He should be miserable. But all he could think about was getting her indoors where he could undress her like a Christmas package and then bring her all the pleasure she could handle. And then he’d help himself.
Access to her place was controlled by a fob on her key ring, and then he was being led through an interior that was dark except for the light from the Fort Worth skyline streaming in though her open shades.
She kicked off her shoes, pulled her sweater over her head, and shucked off her jeans. Then she paused and simply stood there for his benefit.
Noah’s breath caught. She was a vision, all smooth satiny skin with small but perfectly shaped breasts with dark nipples he wanted to lick until she sighed.
He took a step toward her, looking into her warm and welcoming gaze. “You’re—just the most beautiful…” That’s all he got out before she moved in on him.
She reached for his shirt and pulled it over his head.
She ran her hands through the light hair on his chest, then twirled the curling hair over each nipple around her forefingers. “I’ve been wanting to do this since this morning at the hospital.” She leaned forward and licked each one. The action made his belly jump with desire.
Lord. Had it only been this morning that they butted heads? This morning was a thousand hours ago. And, if she kept licking him like that, he was going to come in his pants.