Suddenly the oxygen in the shed evaporated. “Is that the truth?” Her heart pounded in her chest. Danger. Danger. Danger.
“Why on earth would I lie?”
His shocking candor made her want to be brave. And that desire gave encouragement to the long-suppressed yearnings of Bad Winnie. Here was a man she wanted. And he wanted her. Reluctantly, but still… Her heart raced. “I find you attractive, too, Larkin,” she whispered. “Very. Attractive, I mean.” Daringly, she reached out and traced the curve of one of his sculpted biceps. His skin was warm to the touch. Though the night was cool, Larkin was wearing a short-sleeve polo shirt that stretched to accommodate his hard, taut body.
His stood rigid as she ran her fingers from his shoulder to his elbow. Arousal sang through her veins and urged her on. Her gaze settled on his lips. Being a good girl all the time was no fun at all. Desperately, she wanted to taste him. But at what cost?
Larkin shuddered when she used her thumb to trace the bend of his arm. “God help me,” he groaned. “This can’t happen.”
“What?” She couldn’t make sense of anything. Not now. Not in the middle of the night when the world seemed strange and conducive to madness.
“This.”
He yanked her into his arms, his big body enfolding her smaller one like a warm blanket. She felt his taut rib cage, noted the ridge of his belt buckle digging into her skin, heard the shallow rasp of his breathing. His mouth took hers unapologetically. No buildup, no foreplay. Just a raw desperation that layered confusion upon desire and dragged a whimper from her starved lungs.
When she communicated her need to breathe, he moved his attention to her throat, her collarbone. Her sleepwear consisted of a silky camisole and thin knit boxer shorts. When one of his big thighs pressed between her legs, her knees wobbled. He held her with one hard arm across her back as he ravaged her fevered skin.
“Larkin…”
“Hmm…”
“I thought I was the only one.”
“God no.” His teeth grazed her nipple.
She jerked, struggling to get closer, or maybe to get away. Who knew? Her hands found their way to the back of his head. Playing with the short hair at his nape, she felt reality dissolve in sheer, animalistic hunger. “I don’t even know you.”
His laugh held little humor. “We’re getting closer by the second. Shut up and kiss me.”
Obeying seemed like the best course of action. One of his hands had found its way down inside the elastic waistband of her sleep shorts and caressed her bare bottom. “You’re so damned soft,” he groaned. He squeezed her ass cheek.
She felt his arousal, huge and hard at her belly. With a house full of delightful bedrooms at her disposal, she was chagrined to find herself searching wildly for a horizontal surface in the tiny enclosure filled with potting soil and manure.
“I don’t think this is going to work,” she groaned.
At that instant, a two-way radio in Larkin’s pocket generated static as a disembodied voice intruded. “Hey, boss. Where are you?”
Larkin froze. A heartfelt curse echoed her own sentiments. He released her so abruptly she stumbled. “I’m behind the house,” he said, the words terse. “Don’t move. I’ll come find you.”