Shadow Keeper (Shadow #3)

She’d been kissed before, but this was completely different. This was—extraordinary. Her mind couldn’t hold a single thought, but just melted right along with her body. He tasted like male, a spice she quickly found herself addicted to, one she chased, needing more. The kiss went on and on, until she needed air and then he breathed for her, even as those flames he poured into her threatened to burn her alive.

Her body was no longer her own, but belonged to him. Had he tried, he could have taken her right there, on the seat in some stranger’s garage. It was Giovanni in control, lifting his head, resting his forehead against hers, breathing a ragged rhythm she tried to follow.

“This is dangerous.”

His velvet whisper slid over her skin, stroked and caressed, adding to the terrible need, her body pulsing with demands.

She touched her tongue to her lips, shocked that they weren’t on fire. “It is.” There was nothing else to do but agree. She couldn’t kiss him again. That would lead to … She did. She tilted her head just enough to allow her to catch his bottom lip between her teeth and tug. Then she was kissing him, her tongue sweeping into his mouth, sliding along his tongue, taking more of that spice and flame she needed.

His arm nearly crushed her to him, while his other hand slid under her shirt to press against her bare skin. It felt as if his palm burned into her, right through skin and muscle to reach bone, so it was there, his brand proclaiming proprietary rights. She was his exclusively.

His mouth took over, just what she wanted—what she needed. The groan he gave, a mixture of hunger and dominance, sent her temperature soaring. Her panties were damp, her body slick, her nipples tight, breasts aching. She was very aware of his hand, not even his scorching kisses could distract her from wanting him to move it higher.

The long fingers stroked her bare skin, right under her left breast as he kissed her over and over. He pushed his seat back and pulled her body across the console, so that she nearly straddled him. It was a tight fit, but they managed because there was nothing but the two of them, and heat and hunger. It took forever before his fingers moved up over the fine lace of her bra and stroked along the curve.

Her breath caught in her throat and her sex clenched hard. She squirmed, her hips pressing into him, the apex of her legs finding his thigh. The tension in her coiled tighter and tighter. Her breasts felt swollen and needy, nipples pushing blatantly at the thin lace. Then his fingers settled on her nipple and she heard herself cry out, the sound wrenched from her. He tugged, and her hips bucked.

He was more than dangerous to her—that was her one thought of sanity before that slipped away, too, and she dropped her hand, stroking him through his trousers, reveling in the feel of him, so hard and hot, so thick and ready for her. She desperately wanted to open his trousers and explore that heat, but moving required she move her mouth from his and that was impossible. His tongue was velvet. His mouth hotter than anything she’d ever known. Hot. Hard. Commanding. She sank further under his sexual spell, the web closing around her and she let it. She wanted it.

All clear, Giovanni. A male’s voice came over the radio, shocking her.

She tried to pull back, but Giovanni continued to kiss her, one hand shaping the nape of her neck, holding her head tilted to his while his other hand explored the full curve of her breasts, the valley between, each nipple, tugging and rolling while she gasped at the streaks of jagged lightning streaking through her bloodstream to pool low in her body. Her sex clenched and throbbed. She curled her palm over his heavy erection, while she rode his thigh, desperate for release.

Get out of there, man, Harvey is heading your way.

Giovanni sighed into her mouth. He lifted his head as his fingers stroked her breast slowly, one last time. “Baby, we’ve got to stop. The owner of the garage is on his way, and we don’t want to be caught here.”

She tried to move, but her body felt limp, hot and needy. She closed her eyes, desperate to find air, while her sex wept with hunger. Very, very gently, he lifted her off of him and placed her back into her seat. Leaning around her, he caught her seat belt and snapped it back in place. She hadn’t known he’d taken it off her in the first place. Or maybe she had. She couldn’t think clearly, her mind absolute chaos. All she could think about was reaching into his lap, taking down his zipper and straddling him.

“Baby, help me out.”

It was said with a husky groan. Sexy. Almost as desperate for her as she felt for him. Almost. But he’d already adjusted his seat and was pulling the car out of the garage, able to function while she was still having a full body meltdown.

“I’m just sitting here.” To emphasize how good she was being, or to keep herself from unzipping his trousers, she threaded her fingers together and locked them that way until her knuckles turned white.

“You’re looking at me like you want to devour me.”

“I do.” She wasn’t going to lie. If he wanted a demure, sweet woman, he had the wrong girl. She grew up on a ranch. She knew about sex. Need. Hunger. Right now, he’d taken her higher than she ever dreamed a body could go. She wanted all the way with him.

She looked up at his face, all those sensual lines carved so deeply. He looked like sex and sin incarnate. She touched her tongue to her lower lip. “I want to see what you look like. Feel the weight of you in my palm. I want to taste you. Kissing you, I wondered if your cock would taste as good as your mouth.” She watched in fascination as his erection grew even larger, and he had to shift his body just a little as he drove down the little alley to the corner where he waited for a car to flash lights before turning onto the street.

“You’re making me crazy on purpose.”

“Maybe. You made me that way and then just left me hanging, so turnabout is fair play.” She sent him a small smile. He’d certainly made her forget about the fact that her home had been invaded and she didn’t want to go there.

“You know I’m going to retaliate.”

“You would have anyway and this way I get to have a little fun.” Deliberately, she leaned toward his lap as if she might actually carry out her threat. “It’s all I can do just to keep from unzipping you and swallowing you down.” His cock jerked beneath his trousers, and she couldn’t help the satisfied smile. She reached over and stroked her fingers over the hard length. She felt the heat right through the material and her sex clenched again. “Not in the city, though, you couldn’t keep us on the road.”

“Is that a challenge?”

She loved the intensity of his hunger. His voice had dropped to a growl, the sound sending a little shiver down her spine. She liked being in control. When he was kissing her, she was out of control. Here, she skated that edge. She’d never done anything so daring as she was contemplating. A little, wicked voice kept whispering to her, urging her on.

“Maybe.”

“You’re playing with fire.”

“We’re on a very public street. Sooner or later you have to get back on the main street with all the streetlights. Stop signs. It isn’t like you could keep the car under control.”

“And if I’m willing to accept the challenge?”

“I’d be in trouble if you lost control.”

“We both would be.” He turned his head to look at her.

Her entire body went into meltdown again. The tension coiled so tightly in her jerked at her sex, just from the look on his face. She’d never seen anything or anyone look so darkly sensual. So completely wicked. So beautifully masculine. She couldn’t help herself. She caught at his zipper and slowly, watching his face the entire time, slid it down.

A muscle ticked in his jaw. His breath caught. Another groan escaped. “Baby, you’d better stop playing around.”