He ran a long, suntanned finger down her cheek, tipped her head back, and his mouth claimed hers. For several long moments, he nibbled and tasted, altered his kisses between soft and sweet, and hot, long, and deep. She slid the white shirt off his shoulders and ran her hands over his naked chest.
Hard, lean muscle flexed and tightened. She thought of the beautiful tattoo on his back, imagined tracing the intriguing lines, imagined pressing her lips against his hot skin.
Reese pulled her soft yellow top over her head, unhooked her bra and tossed it away, and his hands closed over her breasts. Fresh need poured through her and a noise that sounded like a plea slipped from her throat.
“Reese...”
His mouth replaced his hands and she felt a tug on her nipple that made her knees go weak. Desire pulsed like a drumbeat in her core.
Reese gently kissed her. “We don’t have to do this now,” he repeated, cupping her face between his palms and looking deep into her eyes. “I don’t want to rush you. I want to make this good for you. I want to make it right for both of us.”
She thought of the problems they would be facing when they got back to Dallas, the helicopter crash, the accidents that had been plaguing the Poseidon. She thought of Griff and the custody battle she would be fighting in the days to come.
She thought of Reese returning to his office, resuming his duties as CEO. Would he still want her? Or would he come to his senses and realize what a mistake it would be to get involved with one of his employees? Would he simply replace her with someone else?
She couldn’t continue the way she had been. She needed to get on with her life, and ending her obsession with Reese was the key.
“Do you want me, Reese?”
His eyes found hers. He took her hand and pressed it against the fly of his slacks. He was big and hard. A little thrill shot through her at the power she held. “I want you, Kenzie. So much.”
Desire curled like smoke through her veins. Leaning toward him, she pressed her mouth against his chest over his heart, and Reese hissed in a breath. When she looked up at him, his expression darkened. In a heartbeat, his careful control vanished. One of his hands slid into her hair to hold her in place as his mouth crushed down over hers.
Hot, wet kisses followed, his hands on her breasts, his body hard against hers. Kenzie clung to his neck as he walked her backward till her shoulders came up against the wall, and his mouth claimed hers. Long fingers moved over her body, touching, stroking, setting her on fire.
“Stop me, Kenzie,” he whispered, his teeth grazing the side of her neck. “At least tell me to slow down.”
“Don’t stop,” she said. “Please don’t slow down.” She was burning for him. She wanted everything, all he could give her. “I need you, Reese. I need you so much.”
Reese didn’t wait for more, just stripped off her stretch pants and the tiny white thong she wore underneath. His belt buckle jangled. She heard the buzz of his zipper. He paused for a moment to dig out his wallet, then he was lifting her up, wrapping her legs around his waist.
“I need you, too,” he said. His hands gripped her bottom to hold her in place as he buried himself deep inside.
The heat of his body engulfed her and a whimper escaped her throat. Dear God, nothing had ever felt so good. She clung to his neck as he drove into her, out and then in, pushing her toward the brink. She could feel his pulse thrumming beneath her fingers, the hot dampness of his skin.
Faster, deeper, harder, driving into her, taking her until her womb tightened around him and everything inside her broke apart. She was flying, repeating his name over and over like the chorus of a song. Pleasure tore through her, seemed to go on forever.
Reese didn’t stop. Just kept kissing her and moving inside her, driving her up again, then once more over the edge before he gave in to his own powerful release.
Long seconds passed. Little by little, her pulse began to slow and awareness returned.
Reese softly kissed her. “Kenzie? Honey, are you okay?”
She wanted to laugh. She wanted to sing. She wanted to weep. She knew the consequences of what she had done and yet she couldn’t regret it. She looked up at Reese and managed to smile.
“I’m fine. Better than fine.” Reese set her back on her feet and left to deal with the condom she had barely noticed him putting on. He returned as she was picking up her clothes, preparing to dress and return to her own apartment.
Reese snagged the clothes out of her hand and tossed them up onto the sofa. “You won’t be needing those,” he said with the sweetest smile she had ever seen. “At least not until morning.” Then he scooped her up in his arms, carried her into his bedroom, and firmly closed the door.
They made love twice more, once with hungry abandon, then tenderly. Exhausted, she finally fell asleep hoping he would wake her one last time before morning. She would have stayed awake all night if she could have. She didn’t want to face the dawn, face the consequences of what she had done.
In the end, she’d woken to warm rays of sunlight filtering through the window curtains. But as she had feared, when her hand went to the other side of the bed, she found it empty. Reese was already gone.
THIRTEEN
Friday was still muggy and damp in Houston. Reese parked the Land Rover in a space in front of the Harris County Jail. He had pulled some strings and managed to get in on a special visitor’s pass to see Rico Alvarez, who had consented to the visit. Apparently Rico preferred conversation to sitting in his cell.
As he got out of the vehicle, his mind strayed to the hours he’d spent last night with Kenzie and a smile softened his lips. The sex had been better than any of the fantasies he had worked so hard to keep out of his head.
