Page 61 of Native Hawk
“Let go of me!” She twisted in his grasp.
“Not unless you promise me you won’t go out there.”
“Do not bossy me!”
“Fine.” He continued to grip her wrists.
Compressing her lips, she reared back her foot. He could see the kick coming. So he hauled her forward, turning her and pinning her on her back to the bed. When she tried to knee him, he threw his leg over hers to hold her still.
She spit out a long string of what he guessed were Italian swear words as she tried to work herself free.
“You are a bad man,” she spat.
“Am I?” He leaned in close to her until their faces were almost touching. “Because if you thinkI’mbossy, you don’t know anything about men. Thosegentlemendownstairs? If they had you on your back like this, they’d do whatever they wanted to you, whether you liked it or not. At least you know your virtue’s safe with me.”
Catalina glared into the dark, burning eyes of her captor. As he loomed over her, she felt anything but safe. She was breathless from the pillow fight. Her blood was running hot. And the pressure of his thigh across hers was doing strange and lovely things to her.
Of course, she’d been bluffing all along. She had no intention of striding out onto the balcony in her camisole and drawers, much less inviting any of the men downstairs to join her in bed.
She’d only wanted to prove to Drew that hedidfeel something for her, even if it was only jealousy.
But things had gotten out of hand. True, he had thrown the first pillow. But she could have laughed it off. Instead, she’d let her temper get the best of her. In a childish fit of fury, she’d escalated the fight.
She should have realized it was a fight she couldn’t win. Now she was at his mercy.
Yet that wasn’t at all how she felt. She didn’t feel threatened in the least. On the contrary, she felt empowered. Though she was trapped like thatmindichin the snare, her quickening pulse had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with excitement.
She lowered her gaze to his mouth. She wanted to kiss that mouth. And she was feeling bossy enough to do it.
She craned up her head, pressed her lips to his, and stayed there.
He didn’t move away. But he didn’t respond either. At least, not at first.
But as she pressed softly against him, remembering how he’d taught her, he gradually grew more receptive. She tentatively opened her lips to him.
“Oh, Cat, what are you doin’ to me?” he murmured against her mouth.
His words thrilled her. A heady rush of desire coursed through her veins. She might be pinned beneath him, but she felt intoxicated by her own power.
His mouth slanted against hers as he deepened the kiss. When his tongue touched hers, a current of lust sizzled through her like lightning. She moaned as fire seemed to lick her nerves to life, culminating in a bright point of flame between her legs.
His grip loosened around her wrists. But the instant he released her, she reached up to delve her hands into his hair, holding his head still for her eager exploration.
The thick black waves, strewn with white feathers, curled around her fingers as she traced the shells of his ears. Her thumbs rasped over the coarse stubble in the hollows of his cheeks. His breath blew hot across her face as she tasted him again and again.
Then he lowered his body gently to hers, taking her breath away. His hard male body pressed against her like a hot iron on cloth, smoothing away her rough edges and making her feel beautiful. She arched toward him, and he slipped his arm beneath her, pulling her even closer.
The need she felt was stronger than hunger, more intense than thirst. The sharp craving between her thighs transformed into a dull ache in her belly. She wanted him there, deep inside her, filling her.
As if he understood her silent plea, he moved one hand to the very spot of her longing, all the while raining kisses over her cheek and along her neck, nuzzling her ear with sensuous whispers, words she didn’t recognize.
His fingers found her through the thin cotton, and she pressed up against his palm, gasping at the divine sensation.
He responded with a soft, rueful chuckle. “Is this what you want?” he murmured.
“Si,”she begged. “Yes.”
When he slid his fingers away, it was only to untie her drawers and slip his hand inside, against her skin. She held her breath as she felt his warm fingertips glide downward over her abdomen, through her curls, parting her to nestle with reassuring pressure on that throbbing part of her.
