So beautiful.
“I’m not sorry,” she assured him. “I knew from the beginning we could make a great team.”
His hands lowered to unfasten her jeans, pulling them down her legs along with the tiny wisp of fabric that served as her underwear.
“Team—I like the sound of that,” he murmured. “Of course, I get to be the coach.”
Her lips twitched, her eyes dark with desire. “Why do you get to be the coach?”
“Because I have the right equipment.”
She released a startled laugh that turned to a groan as he used the tips of his fingers to trace her slender curves. At the same time, he allowed his gaze to take a lingering survey of her naked body.
He released a slow breath. She was just as exquisite as he’d known she would be.
Firelight danced over her skin, revealing the soft, rounded breasts tipped with rosy nipples. The curve of her waist that flared to the slender width of her hips. And the trim legs that were the perfect length to wrap around his waist once he was buried deep inside her.
Obviously, it’s true. Great things do come in small packages.
As much as he wanted to spend the next few hours simply appreciating her beauty, there were things he wanted to do more.
The sooner the better.
Kicking off his shoes, Griff stripped and allowed his clothes to drop to the blanket.
Carmen’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of his hard, flagrantly aroused body. He smiled, using her distraction to his advantage as he pressed her back against the blanket.
She instinctively grabbed his shoulders, her hair a golden halo around her flushed face and her eyes glowing with passion. A lethal tenderness squeezed his heart. She looked young and vulnerable and utterly edible.
Yes, edible.
The thought passed through his mind as he tugged her legs gently apart and then moved to kneel between them. Carmen held out her arms in invitation, then blinked, momentarily confused as he remained on his knees, his gaze roaming over her silky pale skin.
“Is something wrong?” she demanded.
“Everything is perfect,” he assured her.
Holding her gaze, he gently pushed her legs apart, allowing him access to her most intimate secrets.
Her lashes fluttered, but at last she gave a small nod and he leaned forward so he could settle between her legs. The sweet scent of her teased at his nose, and with a low groan, he angled his head to run his tongue through her moist heat.
Carmen made a choked sound of bliss, her fingers threading through his hair as her toes curled into the blanket.
Griff took that as an open invitation to continue his taste test. He plunged his tongue inside her body before tormenting her clit with short, relentless strokes.
Her fingers tightened in his hair, her breath coming in soft pants.
She felt like velvet beneath his tongue, her soft moans music to his ears.
A beautiful symphony.
“Griff, I want to feel you inside me,” she rasped.
He allowed himself one last, lingering taste before he was reaching out to grab his jeans. With fingers that weren’t quite steady he pulled out his wallet and located the condom.
A minute later he had it rolled on and was moving up to brace himself over the top of her. Gazing down, he studied her with a need he didn’t entirely understand.
Lust, he knew all about.
But this. This was so much more.
“Let me in, Carmen,” he growled.
A smile curved her lips. The smile of a siren.
She reached down to circle his arousal with her fingers, positioning him at the entrance to her body.
“I’ m not stopping you,” she told him.
“I don’t mean your body.”
Holding her gaze, he slowly pressed himself deep inside her. There was a shocked moment as they both adjusted to the shattering bliss. She was hot and wet and tight around his erection. They groaned in unison.
Like a rising crescendo in their glorious symphony.
Holding her gaze, he started to move. Slowly at first, then gaining speed as her legs wrapped around his waist and her fingers tangled in his hair.
“Griff,” she muttered, her breath coming in small pants.
He leaned down, kissing her with a maddened sense of urgency.
“Let me in,” he demanded.
*
Carmen woke to find herself tightly wrapped in Griff’s arms. He’d made love to her twice more before he’d added wood to the fire and found a blanket to wrap over them. Then, they’d fallen into an exhausted slumber.
A perfect, glorious night.
One that Carmen didn’t regret for a minute.
His gentle caresses. The slow, delicious kisses. The feel of his hard body covering her as he thrust deep inside her.
But even as she savored the memory of their sizzling passion, a part of her shied away from the words he continued to whisper in her ear.
Let me in.
She knew what he was asking. And she knew the danger if she gave in to his demands. She’d accepted that she could trust him with her life. And even her body.
But her heart?
That was something she didn’t allow anyone to touch.
Which was why she wiggled out of his arms and headed toward the shower as soon as she woke. She wasn’t in the mood for any postmortems.
Thankfully, her panicked flight clearly warned Griff not to press the issue. After his own shower they shared a breakfast of frozen waffles. Not the finest meal, but at least she had plenty of hot, black coffee.
Once they were done eating, Carmen shuffled through her grandfather’s desk until she found the number for the local auto shop.
The owner answered on the seventh ring. In this area a small business didn’t have secretaries. Or answering machines. On the other hand, the owner easily remembered being called to haul a stuck vehicle out of the road.
Five minutes later she ended the call and turned to meet Griff ’s curious gaze. He was standing near the window, his lean face bathed in the pale, winter sunlight. Her stomach clenched, raw desire blasting through her.
Obviously, one night in his arms wasn’t enough.
Not nearly enough.
“Well?” he demanded, thankfully unaware that she was imagining the pleasure of urging him out of his sweater and jeans so she could run her fingers over his naked body.
She gave a shake of her head, forcing herself to concentrate on her recent conversation with the mechanic.
“You were right,” she told him.
She half expected a smug reaction. Instead, he merely nodded. Griffin Archer was a man who was used to being right.
“Someone called to be pulled out?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you get a name?”
“John Smith.” She held up her hand. “And, before you ask, he paid in cash.”
Griff ’s jaw tightened with frustration. “Of course he did. What about a description?”
She grimaced. “Average height and weight. Nothing that made him stand out.”
“Hair color?”
“He was wearing a hat.”
Griff took a step toward her. “Did he at least get his license number?”
She shrugged. “No, but he did say that he was driving a white Ford Focus.”
Griff made a sound of disgust. “What do you want to bet it was a rental?”
Carmen heaved a sigh. “Another dead end.”
He drummed his fingers on the side of his leg, his expression distracted as he tried to consider the best way to track down the intruder.
“I’ll run a search through the car rental agencies in Louisville,” he said. “We might get a lucky hit.”
“The mechanic said he came out the day before Thanksgiving,” she told him. “He remembered because he had to pull out two other cars who were in the area for a funeral.”
“So it happened before you received the photos.”
Her brow furrowed. “Do you think that’s important?”
Before he could answer there was the buzzing sound of a phone on vibrate.
“Hold on,” he murmured, pulling his cell out of his pocket. He glanced toward the screen, his lifted brows indicating surprise. He turned to walk into the kitchen, his phone pressed to his ear.