November Harlequin Presents 2(194)

Something he couldn’t define made him pause and turn around.

‘I really am fine to drive…’ Very slowly, very deliberately he turned to face her. ‘I’d just rather not.’

Her eyes jerked to his and the lust blazing in them was so blatant there was no question of mixed messages, his meaning utterly, utterly clear. As Lily stared back, transfixed, she begged for reason to descend, for her usually ordered mind to focus, to give an appropriate response to his terribly inappropriate proposal.

She wanted to say yes!

One hand was leaning on the wall behind her as his other smoothed another imaginary lock from her forehead, tracing again the path he had blazed so easily before, infinitely kissable lips literally a breath away, the taste of him an imagined delicacy on her tongue, and lust battled with reason. Surely she’d regret this. To contemplate sleeping with this man was something every woman in his path surely did, but to actually fathom it, to know that for tonight at least all this could be hers, was a conundrum Lily had never in her life envisaged. He was as out of place in her bedroom as he had been at the community centre, a divine prototype that didn’t belong in the parameters of her existence. Yet here he was, adoring her with his eyes, lifting the silver lid and tempting her with laden, flambéd plates of passion—the ultimate, most elicit dessert menu thrust in front of her to break her diet. She toyed mentally with the delicacies on offer, knew that a flavor of nectar would surely sour her tastebuds for ever, that to taste him now could only render any future offerings lacking.

But she wanted this.

Wanted to taste him, to feel him, wanted that moment on her lips to spend a lifetime in her memory…

The brush of his mouth on hers almost made her faint, her flesh swelling with ripeness as he graced her with his presence, a tiny shocked gasp as instead of a kiss, first he licked her, his tongue tracing the Cupid’s bow of her lips, then bit her lower lip, and if it had been anyone else she’d have recoiled, but not with Hunter, it was the single most erotic thing she had ever experienced in her life—and it wasn’t transitory, tasting her, circling her lips, till he had to stop, till he had to end this delicious torment with a kiss…only he didn’t. Instead, he gently bit into her lower lip, sucking her till she was swollen, till her body was writhing with want, yet his hand was still leaning lazily on the wall behind her as he urged her body closer with sheer magnetism.

Then he kissed her.

She’d never been kissed like this before. He tasted divine, his lips moving slowly against hers, almost lazily, but his indolent lips served a purpose—such a contrast to the hard skilful motion of his tongue, creating a frenzy in her body, his tongue cold against hers, until it was Lily pressing her lips harder on his, Lily wanting the full weight of the passion he had allowed her to glimpse.

And he reciprocated, in the tiniest but most erotic of ways, his hand moving to the small of her back. Long-fingered, warm-palmed, the weight of his hand didn’t guide her forward, just radiated a heat that moved her closer to him. Pressed against him, she was lost. Lost in a the sensation of his sensual body, the lean, toned hardness of him, the heady smell of him, the luxurious feel of his hair beneath her fingers. All she wanted was for this kiss to last for ever, to feel as she did at this moment, while knowing it couldn’t, their bodies just too aroused to linger in this ecstatic moment for long. And when Hunter broke the spell, moved his mouth away a fraction, Lily couldn’t believe what she was contemplating but couldn’t fathom saying no either.

‘We c-can’t…’ She stammered the words out, breathless, stunned. Still reeling from his kiss, she attempted reason.

‘Why not?’

‘Because…’ Her mind flailed for a suitable response but how pathetic any excuse sounded when her body was screaming otherwise. ‘I’m not into one-night stands.’

‘Who said anything about one night? I like you, Lily—I think I could get to really like you.’

‘It’s not that easy…’ Her breath was coming out in small hard gasps. ‘I don’t know a thing about you.’

‘There’s plenty of time for that.’ His hand was still on the small of her back, more firmly now, welding her to him, letting her feel his hardness, glimpse what could be hers—for tonight at least and tomorrow at best. Because, despite what he was saying, Lily knew she could never hold him, that for him the flare of attraction would be extinguished the second the real world invaded or his needs were met.

But?

Didn’t she always say to go with one’s instincts, to listen to that inner voice? And right now hers was screaming! Her instincts were all pointing in one direction only—this beautiful, beautiful man who was here and now, who was making her feel more of a woman than she had ever felt in her life, who was offering her a delectable sample of what she could never really own. And it was truly easier to go with the flow than reject him on principle. Up close and personal with Hunter was the most intoxicating experience in her life to date and one she wanted to savour for as long as the moment allowed.