Well, she had, in a clinical way, but when she’d slept with men before, it had always been quick. It hadn’t meant anything, and she’d been only too happy tofinish as quickly as possible. She hadn’t wanted to explore, to spend any time on their body beyond what was necessary to get to business.
This time, however, she wanted to touch, to feel the bumpy skin on the outside edge of his nipples, to feel his breath catch when she raked her nails over his pecs.
Daniel set his reader aside, as though he’d given up trying to pretend he didn’t care or notice exactly what she was doing.
He rolled over her, moving her with such ease that she released a gasp. She’d fought hand to hand enough, been trained enough that she understood how to counter nearly any move, but she didn’twantto counter this.
Daniel pinned her wrists above her head in a single large hand of his, his warm body over and against hers.
The way she spread her legs to give him a cradle to fall into, to keep him close, was so quick she was embarrassed by it.
“I don’t hear you asking,” he said.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
He smiled at her snark. “Yeah, but I need to hear you say it.”
“Do you get off on women begging or something?” Even as she asked, the very thought made her temperature rise a few degrees.
Does she mean to shame or embarrass me? She has a lot to learn, doesn’t she?
“Yeah, I do,” he said. “But this is more about making sureyouknow you want this. The last thing I’m about to do is trick or push you into anything. So if you can’t ask, if you can’t even tell me what you want, well, you must not want it bad enough.”
His lips sat a whisper from hers, and the need to lower his head, to take that kiss, swamped him. He wanted so badly to taste her, to know how soft they really were, to feel her writhing under him as he drove her crazy.
“I’m curious,” she answered.
“Curious? Hell of a way to put it.”
She twisted her hands, and he got the sense she wanted to shove him away. Not because she wanted him gone, but because she wanted to keep him at a distance so she could lie to herself.
He held her still. She could always safeword or even tell him to stop, but the girl needed to learn to use her words.
“I just thought…”
“Thought what?”
The look she gave him would have sent a lot of men running. “We’re doing this until the case is over. You’re right—I’ve never done any of those things you mentioned. “
“But you want to?”
“I want to try. It isn’t something I have in my regular life.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t trust people enough, haven’t ever wanted to trust them enough. This might be my only chance.”
The longing in her voice killed him. She deserved so much, but as time went on, he realized self-denial seemed to be her motto in life.
“But you trust me? Us?”
She shook her head. “No, but we’re here, going halfway with this nonsense. Why not try something here? I can walk away afterward knowing what it’s like.”
He stifled the growl at ‘walk away’. Why the hell that set him off, he wasn’t sure, but he knew he didn’t care for it at all. He wanted her towantto stay. He wanted her desperate for another touch from him, begging for another kiss, not putting timelines on it as if he were nothing more than a sex toy to try out and discard.
And, yes, he realized how stupid that thought was, but it didn’t stop him from having it.
“So what do you want? Make it clear.” He kept his voice low, not bothering to hide the slight growl to it.
