Forbidden Fantasies Bundle(118)

Her hands trembled as she cut off another piece of tape and repeated the procedure. This time, her fingers lingered on his skin.

In just a minute she would move away, she promised herself. But as seconds ticked by, she couldn’t seem to get control of the battle going on inside of her.

Less than two days ago, she’d experienced these same feelings for another man. But Jed Calhoun was gone. Ethan Blair was here. And she didn’t want to take her hands off of him. She wanted to move her hands up and over his shoulders. No, more than that, she wanted to touch him everywhere.

Before she could follow through on her desire, Ethan took her hands in his and raised one of them to his lips. His mouth brushed her fingers, his breath whispered over her knuckles, and the intensity of the sensations made her tremble again.

“You’re so responsive,” he murmured as he lowered her hands.

Her gaze flew to his then, and the breath caught in her throat. His face was so close. She knew it was a mistake to stay this way even for a moment. She should pull her hands from his and stand up, go back to her seat on the other sofa.

But she didn’t move. She was aware of heat without being quite sure if it came from him or her. It was melting her bones. His eyes were so blue—the way she’d always imagined Lucifer’s to be. That was the last errant thought that tumbled into her mind before her brain simply shut down.

It was the most natural thing in the world to put her hand on the back of his neck and draw his mouth to hers. Instantly, she felt the same heat, the same rush of power, the same sharp needs she’d felt before. This was what she wanted, everything she wanted.





10




HE’D WANTED THIS, needed this. Dragging his mouth from hers, Ethan took it on a quick, desperate journey down her throat. Her scent swam in his head, her flavors flooded his mouth. And still greed built inside of him. He couldn’t get enough. He might never get enough.

Unable to stop himself, he brought his mouth back to hers and plundered. No other woman had ever made him feel this way. Weak, winded. He could feel his control draining as if someone had pulled a plug. He nipped her bottom lip and heard her quick, quiet moan. Images cartwheeled through his mind. The bed was only a few yards away. He could have her there, naked and beneath him, in a matter of seconds.

Then he heard his cell phone ring. It was barely more than an irritating buzz, like the sound of a mosquito circling near his ear. But it rang again. And again. One thought managed to penetrate the haze that had settled like a thick blanket over his brain.

Ryder had news about the SUV. Jed had called his buddy as he and Zoë had made their way to the hotel.

It took all his strength to draw away and set Zoë back against the cushions of the sofa. Fumbling for his cell in his pocket, he rose and moved away from her.

“Yeah?”

“You okay?” Ryder asked.

For the first time in his life, Jed realized that he wasn’t sure about that. “Fine,” he said.

“My men have been cruising around the streets in the vicinity of the Blue Pepper, but they didn’t spot the SUV. Those goons must have given up trying to find you.”

“It was a long shot,” Jed said.

“Been nice if it had paid off.”

The fact that it hadn’t meant they weren’t any closer to finding out who’d sent those two men. Probably Bailey Montgomery, but it would have been nice to be sure.

“I’ve got two of my men in the lobby of your hotel,” Ryder continued. “Try not to give them the slip, this time.”

“Yeah,” Jed said.

“And there are another two at Zoë’s apartment who’ll take over once she returns there.”

“I want them to stick close.”

“Like flypaper,” Ryder promised before he cut the connection.

Jed didn’t look at Zoë, not until he’d taken a seat on the sofa across from hers and indulged in a swallow of brandy. Then he met her eyes. “It would be better if we didn’t kiss again.”

She said nothing. But he saw something in those huge eyes of hers. Hurt?

“It’s not that I don’t want to. You must know that I do. But…it’s complicated. I never should have asked you to follow me tonight. I nearly got you killed.”

“You are some kind of a secret agent, aren’t you? And those men were after you?”

He’d evaded her implied question when she mentioned James Bond, but he was going to have to tell her something. “I’ve done some contract work for the government,” he said carefully.

“I knew it.” There was excitement and curiosity in her eyes now.

“The important thing is that you may still be in danger,” he said. “That was the friend of mine that I called on the way to the hotel. He’s going to have two men watch you. Those thugs were after you.”