hers.
“And I can tell you right now exactly how this game will end,” he added, his voice rough.
“How?” God, why had she asked? She didn’t want to know the answer at all.
He let out a harsh laugh. “You’re a fool if you don’t know that.”
“Luke—”
He slammed his mouth on hers and parted her lips with his tongue without invitation.
Oh God. His mouth felt and tasted like heaven. With the skilled ease of a man who’d obviously kissed many women in his time, his tongue explored her mouth, hot and greedy.
He demanded and all she could do was give. The sharp, urgent thrusts of his tongue, as it swirled and pushed against hers, were almost too much to bear. Heat spiraled down her body, hardening her nipples, making her clit swell. When he shoved a knee in between her thighs and pressed his straining erection against her, it was all she could do not to sink to the pavement.
Against all common sense, she reached up and held onto his shoulders, steadying herself, searching for the strength to put an end to this explosive, body-numbing kiss. But she couldn’t. As one of his hands tangled in her hair, angling her head to give him better access to her mouth, she simply whimpered. When his other hand cupped her breast over the thin fabric of her dress, the whimper became a moan.
The sound reverberated against their mouths, sending a tornado of shivers spinning through her body, until she could barely let out a breath. Her breast throbbed under his touch, and a desperate wave of hunger crashed over her. She wanted his hands and mouth on her. All over her.
Pulling back, Luke’s lips hovered over hers. “This is what happens when you play games with me,” he muttered, keeping his hand firmly on her breast.
Wordlessly, she met his gaze, shocked by the need and urgency she saw in those gray eyes. “Luke—”
He didn’t let her finish, just covered her mouth with his, and gave her another toe-curling and knee-buckling kiss, before prying his lips away and taking a step back.
His eyes glimmered with desire. Anger. Satisfaction. He looked pleased with himself, like he believed he’d won this round. And truth was, he had.
“Remember this.” His voice was low, tinged with danger. “Because the next time you flaunt yourself in order to get to me, it won’t end with just one kiss. And believe me, I won’t be as gentle.”
Ellie forced her mouth closed. Gentle? What on earth was his definition of gentle? The way her body still ached from his erotic assault, she wondered, what did he consider rough ?
And a better question—did she even want to know?
Chapter Six
“It’s time for Plan B,” Ellie announced the next morning. She turned to Vivian with a look of steel in her eyes.
“What’s Plan B?” Vivian asked, her expression distant as she stirred the iced-latte in front of her with a plastic straw.
Well, this was odd. Ellie had never seen her boss look as distracted as she did now. Vivian was the epitome of cool, calm and collected. Always alert, always ready with a sharp comeback. Not today, though. Ellie had a feeling she could declare aliens had landed in her backyard and demanded she board their ship and Vivian wouldn’t even blink.
But Ellie definitely understood distraction. Her head had been all over the place since the moment she’d opened her eyes this morning. Not only that, but she’d had to take a cold shower. A cold shower. It was seriously sad that twenty-four hours after Luke’s kiss she still needed to cool the desire raging her body. Even sadder that the shower hadn’t helped at all.
She’d hoped going into town with Vivian might help her organize her thoughts and regain focus. So far it hadn’t.
They were seated in the outdoor patio of a little Mexican restaurant Ellie loved. Overhead, the sun dominated the clear blue sky, its heat sweeping through the main tourist strip of San Valdez in the form of a balmy breeze. Most of the shop owners had rolled out racks of