She lifted her head and nodded before taking a quick sip of her drink. “Yes. Asher and I went to Red Rock so I took an extra day off, something I haven’t done in a long time. How was your trip back east? Are you any closer to being finished with whatever you’re working on?”
She watched him, taking in his features, the way his mouth moved when he talked and how expressive his eyes were when he was invested in a conversation. And she liked all of it.
“Unfortunately, no. I’m working a case that’s hard to crack, even for me. I don’t want to ruin the evening talking about work, though.” He leaned closer and inhaled her scent without trying to hide it.
Sienna waited for him to inch closer, leaving no empty space between them. He was searching for someone, just like Sam Charles was looking for her. Carson was someone she should be careful around, perhaps even afraid of, but her mind and body wouldn’t allow that.
He moved in with his lips, feathering them lightly along her cheek as he lifted her hair and tucked it over her shoulder, and then he looked at her with want.
She licked her lips, not sure how to act on her mutual desire, so she stalled. “Have you ever been to Red Rock? It’s so nice. Quiet with the mountains in the background, the desert spread out all around it. Ash and I love it.”
“Hey, I thought you said I didn’t have to worry about Asher being competition,” he teased, smiling while weaving the large fingers of one hand through her smaller ones, his other hand caressing her collarbone and neck, lulling her into relaxation. He knew exactly how to put her at ease.
“Ha, no. Ash is like a brother to me.” Then she laughed, smiling like someone who just won the jackpot, yet she had no idea why she was so deliriously happy. Other than Carson.
“Good,” he said while bringing her hand to his mouth, placing kisses along her petite knuckles, moving up, and making good on the promise in his eyes to please her while gliding his tongue along her wrist.
Sienna closed her eyes for fear she couldn’t extinguish the blaze he was starting in her. She sucked in a deep breath, and let herself adjust to the moment. He took advantage of her relaxing and moved in for a real kiss. A heavy, passionate kiss.
There was nothing slow about the moment anymore. Carson was on top of Sienna within seconds, not putting all his weight on her, but he was definitely making a move. He leaned over her with his weight resting on one arm, the other reaching around Sienna’s slight body, and pulled her against him, showing her how much he wanted her.
Without breaking the insanely deep kiss, he slid his hand from her waist and up her back, all along her spine, then around front, urging her gently to lie back on the couch as he set more fire along the way. She wasn’t wearing a bra, so his hand met nothing but skin when it slipped beneath her sweatshirt, his finger tracing along her nipple.
He slowly massaged one breast, teasing the tender skin, rounding and hardening the tiny bud, and stoking the burn between her legs. He pinched a little harder, making Sienna gasp and gush down below before he went back to slowly teasing again.
Still kissing her, exploring her mouth with his tongue, silently telling her of something much better, Carson moved his hand to her other nipple, giving it the same attention he had just given the first.
Finally, he broke the kiss and looked at Sienna for a sign that this was all right with her, begging her with his eyes to say it was. She couldn’t find the right words, so she just started unbuttoning his shirt as fast as she could before she lost the confidence.
When he was bare-chested, her hands had a mind of their own. She was drawn to his masculine, smooth nipples like a magnet. She didn’t need permission to touch. Everything she needed to know was right there in Carson’s face and the way he was looking at her in a sexual haze. She slowly brought her hands up to his nipples, running small circles around each one before moving down to his smooth, hard abs and back up again, when she pulled him in for another kiss.
He granted her a small kiss before he stopped to take off her sweatshirt. Once they were skin to skin, Sienna thought she might disintegrate from the feelings that overwhelmed her. Her skin broke into huge forest fires everywhere they made contact. She was coming undone from the inside out, and had the fleeting thought that she couldn’t stop what was happening if she wanted to.
She wanted this intimacy in the worst possible way. Every inch of her desired Carson, and now that their bodies were gliding along each other, still half-clothed, she wanted it all.
It didn’t matter that she barely knew him, or that he represented something she was coming to loathe, men who look for missing persons, like Sam Charles. His smile, which seemed to only appear for her, that dimple, the tattoo on his arm that she knew nothing about, and the power when their eyes locked was enough.