Chapter 9
NINE
Derek knew he was screwed. He might as well kiss the last of his career good-bye and apply for a security position at the mall.
The minute his mouth touched Reese’s he forgot about the case, Nordstrom, and his ulcer, feeling nothing but a hot pit of desire, intense aching want that was owned by this woman.
He thought to be cautious, to taste and savor before going deep.
But Reese didn’t wait for him to do more than brush her lips, and took him instead.
She grabbed on, held, sucked on his bottom lip and moaned an honest pleasure into his ear, making him feel about as manly as he was capable of being.
Reese kissed the way she talked, with vibrant movements and a single-minded determination to get what she wanted. She wanted the upper hand and having caught him off-guard by her response, she had it.
Until Derek broke off and trailed his lips down her long smooth neck, touching the tip of his tongue along her clavicle bone. Reese’s grasping, taut fingers slackened a little and a funny little sound like a hiccup came out of her.
He loved the way she tasted, soft and sweet, like sucking on a juicy apple, golden delicious. Settling all of her body against his, he moved up to her ear, tickling it with his tongue and dusting kisses across her cheekbone until he was back to her mouth.
This kiss was his, slow and soft, wide open lips and gentle pressure. Nudging tongues and quiet sighs. Reese’s fingers slid down off his shoulders to the edge of his shirtsleeves, then clung there.
He moved his knee between hers, wanting closer, everything touching, and he felt the crush of the neck of her robe between them. Taking her mouth again and again he wondered through a fog of lust if this was a good idea, before his fingers ignored the question and headed for her belt.
But Reese stepped back, knocking his hand away, the complacent passion receding a little from her eyes. She panted as he clenched his lips together, disappointment pulsing through him, paralyzing him for a minute while he regained control.
“While this is a nice distraction, we haven’t settled our bet. You haven’t actually agreed to information share with me.”
Derek should applaud her for bringing them back around to the subject. But all he wanted was to toss that robe out the window and spend about a million years tasting every inch of her.
His hard-on ached in agreement.
Reaching out, he played with the belt of her robe, debating just tugging her back into his arms. “I’ll information share. Now let’s get back to what we were doing.”
Her shove at his hand wasn’t convincing. But she still persisted, “I’m serious. You have to tell me everything.”
Everything was a very broad and all-inclusive word that he had no intention of committing to. He smiled at her, slow and deliberate. Her eyes went wide.
“There are things I can show you, too, you know.”
Starting with his chest. He wanted out of this T-shirt, so when he got her naked she would slide across his bare skin with her nipples.
She eyed him, her arms snaking across her chest. “I just bet you could. But I’m not interested.”
“You don’t want to see it? I’ve been told it’s big, hard, and fast. Stop you in your tracks and rip the breath right out of you.” He bit back a grin.
“Knight!”
“What?” He laughed, undoing the shoulder holster as a prelude to taking his shirt off. “I’m talking about my gun.”
“That’s inappropriate.” The shock on her face gave way to annoyance.
That auburn hair that he was fast starting to develop an obsession for pooled around her face, and she tucked it behind her ears.
“See?” He held his gun up for her to see before strolling to the closet with it.
Reese shrugged. “I’ve seen bigger.”
That pulled a surprised laugh from him. Damn, she was unlike any other woman he’d ever met. And a fascinating complication he really didn’t need in his life right now.
“Ouch. Talk about cutting a man down to size.” He turned the room room safe, put the gun in, and closed it.
“Well, I didn’t say it’s small, I just said I’ve seen bigger. Don’t feel bad. Not every guy can be issued the big guns.” She didn’t even bother to hide her smirk.
Derek took a step towards her. “It’s all about how you use it, isn’t it?”