He put a finger underneath her chin and nudged upward until she stared him in the eye. Slowly, he lowered his mouth to hers in a tender kiss. It wasn’t intended to overwhelm her with passion. Rather it was a soft gesture, one for comfort.
To his surprise, she took an active part in the kiss. The arm with the brace slid up his back while she pulled her uninjured arm from his waist and moved it up his chest and over his shoulder and around to his neck. Her fingers slid into his hair, glancing over his scalp as she returned his kiss.
Her tongue met his in a delicate duel. She caught his lower lip between her teeth and nibbled. Then she sucked it further into her mouth.
He was hers. He relinquished every part of himself to her in that moment. Time seemed to stop, and he wanted it to. He wanted to remain in this moment, shutting everything else out around them. For just this minute, only the two of them existed.
He loved her taste, the feel of her all soft and warm against him. He ached. His chest ached. His groin was heavy with warm, fluid arousal. Desire whispered through his veins. He wanted her. Needed her as he’d never needed another woman. There had never been anyone else like her in his life.
She pulled away, her eyes glazed with the same passion that burned inside him. Her mouth was swollen, a temptation that beckoned to him.
He cupped her cheek and ran his thumb over her lips. She opened her mouth and sucked the tip inside the warm, moist haven. He groaned, whisper-soft, at the image of her sucking at his finger. It was too easy to imagine her lips surrounding his cock, coaxing him deeper.
“We should go,” he said hoarsely.
She slowly let go of his thumb, and he let his hand drop to his side. She turned and he put his hand at her back to guide her from the bedroom.
CHAPTER 11
Dusk was falling when Cam pulled up to the house and parked. Sawyer drove in beside him, and they both got out.
Cam looked over to see Hutch’s truck parked and Birdie’s car gone. He reached into the back of his SUV for a suitcase then slammed the door shut.
“Let’s get all the office shit tomorrow,” Cam said as he walked around the front to where Sawyer stood.
“Yeah, good idea. I’m looking forward to a cold beer.”
They mounted the steps, and Cam reached for the doorknob, only to find the door locked. He frowned and reached for the keys he’d shoved into his pocket.
“Hutch getting paranoid on us?” Sawyer said dryly.
Cam inserted the key and turned it. He opened the door, shoved his suitcase inside and set it down in the foyer. As he and Sawyer walked in, he glanced into the living room to see Hutch sitting on the couch. The television was on, but the sound was way down.
He walked farther in, and it was then that he saw Reggie lying on the couch, her head on Hutch’s lap. Hutch’s hand was resting in Reggie’s curls, and she was fast asleep.
“Drugged her again?” Sawyer asked in an amused voice.
Hutch didn’t smile. There was a darkness to his expression that Cam didn’t like. Sawyer caught it too. Hutch held up a finger to his lips then nodded to the chairs beside the couch.
Sawyer slouched into the first armchair, and Cam settled on the couch at Reggie’s feet. He slid his hand up the leg of her sweats to rest just below her knee.
“What’s going on, Hutch?” he asked.
Sawyer leaned forward in his chair, his elbows propped on his legs, his fingers forming a vee at his mouth.
“Someone broke into the house while we were gone,” Hutch said in a low voice.
“What the fuck?” Sawyer immediately turned his head away to staunch the outburst then turned back again. “What?” he asked in a quieter voice.
“Reggie stashed Birdie in the upstairs closet and went after him with one of your baseball bats.”
“Christ,” Cam muttered.
“It’s worse,” Hutch said. He looked at both Cam and Sawyer. “They think it might be the same guy who attacked her the other night.”
“Who is they, and why would they think that?” Sawyer demanded.
Hutch scowled. “I spoke to Jeremy after Birdie took Reggie home to get her gun.”
