Page 36 of Live a Little!

Maybe the air was cool, but she wasn’t. She’d never felt like this before. Feverish with want. Shameless and wanton with the urge to take and be taken. Deep inside herself she recognized that part of the feverish excitement was caused by the fact that the guards were only several yards away and that this game she and Jake were playing was a dangerousone.

She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out as his fingers reached for heragain.

“Now this, I like,” he whispered, slipping his hand beneath the silk thong she’d donned that morning in a fit of bravado. She felt her own slickness as his fingers slid over her, seeking and finding her throbbingclit.

He shocked her by clamping a hand once more over her mouth. Before she had time to wonder why, he plunged two fingers inside her, deep and hard.Once.

Andagain.

Andagain.

She gripped the hard muscles of his thighs, trying to anchor herself as her body bucked helplessly against him. But there was no anchor that could hold her. He wouldn’t allow it, forcing her to the brink, then flinging her over. The climax rocketed through her, urgent and explosive, while his hand silenced hercries.

But it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough. All he’d done was whet her appetite, only reminding her of the depth of herhunger.

As quietly as she could, given the raging need inside her, she turned and straddled him, feeling the cold shock of cement against her knees, startling against the heat in the rest of herbody.

Her trembling hands fumbled a little as she found the zipper of his pants and drew it down slowly and oh, so quietly. His eyes were gleaming slits, mesmerizing her as she released him, warm and solid, into her hand. She took a moment to stroke him, loving the feel ofhim.

Her body ached, wanting him deep inside her. “I don’t supposeyou—”

“In mypocket.”

Even in the dim light her surprise must have registered, for he continued, “I was planning to come by your placelater.”

Feeling wonderfully smug, she waited until he’d sheathed himself, then, lifting her hips, she guided him, pushing her thong to one side, nudged him against the still-throbbing entrance to herbody.

She gazed at his face for a moment. It was rigid with suppressed tension, the jaw clamped, eyes half-shut. Very deliberately, she placed a hand over his mouth and brought his up to cover hers once more. Then she lowered herself slowly, feeling the delicious stretch, taking himdeep.

She set the pace, and she kept it slow, partly to keep the noise to a minimum, but partly, she had to acknowledge, to watch the helpless need build in his eyes as he thrust up against her. Sweat began to bead on his forehead. His nostrils distended as his breathing thickened, sending puffs of warm breath against herknuckles.

Her own breathing was just as thick, her need just as potent. As she struggled to drag air into her lungs, she smelled coffee beans, dust and cement, leather and sweat. With each slide of her body against his, she felt the connection between them deepen, until she couldn’t hold back any longer. Her hand squeezed hard against his mouth in warning, and he responded, pressing his palm more firmly over herlips.

Their gazes locked, saying all the things they couldn’t say with their covered mouths. Unable to keep to her slow pace, she thrust her hips faster, pushing them both beyond control. As her body spasmed around him, squeezed by wave after wave of pleasure, his hand stopped her cries. She kept her gaze on his, watching his eyes widen and darken, until the moment when he also broke. She felt the rigid control slip as he bucked up inside her, once, twice, three times as she felt the glorious rush of hispassion.

She slumped forward, amazed their noisy breathing alone hadn’t been enough to summon the guards. But after listening for a tense moment, she heard a hoarse cry of triumph. “Full house beats yourstraight.”

“Jeez. You got all the luck tonight,” the rat-lover grumbled good-naturedly.

Jake kissed her palm as she started to remove it from his mouth. “He’s wrong,” he murmured. “I got all theluck.”

She wanted to touch him and hug him, snuggle under the duvet and swap secrets in sleepy lovers’ voices. Under the circumstances, she contented herself with leaning forward and kissing him, slowly andthoroughly.

Jake went along with it all right, but she could tell his heart wasn’t init.

“What’s the matter?” she whispered in her sleepy lover’s voice into hisear.

“I don’t want to get caught bare-assed by the guards,” he muttered, shifting her off hislap.

“Oh.Right.”

They fumbled their clothing back into place. She reached for Jake’s hand while they settled back to wait. They overheard the muffled sounds of another hand of poker in progress, and she tried not to wonder about the whereabouts of the rat. And whether or not it lived alone. Jake glanced at his watch from time to time, but otherwise sat as still as the unopenedcrates.

Now that the fun was over, boredom set in. They hadn’t found anything but chopsticks. The floor was cold and hard, she was tired, she wanted to gohome.

Maybe he read her mood, for Jake put an arm around her and pulled her toward him, dropping a light kiss on herhair.

She felt a wash of tenderness for this strong, scary man who made her life so exciting. She snuggled against him and rested her head on his chest. For a while she listened to his heart beat, slow and regular. It was odd to feel so languorous, hiding in a warehouse with two guards, at least one rat and possibly an illegal shipment of drugs. She thought about how happy she was that Jake had showed up. She thought about what they’d just done, and how much she wanted to do it again, at home in bed. Then she justdrifted…

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