Page 51 of Trap ’N’ Trace

As his heart rate slowed, he dragged a hand down his stubbled jaw. Kat’s body trembled from the occasional muffled sob. Angus sat on the foot of the bed, his puppy expression one of uncertainty. The puppy’s confusion was totally understandable. Dayne didn’t know what he should do, either.

What he ought to do was a quick one-eighty and hightail it back down the stairs. That message never made it from his brain to his feet. The next thing he knew, he stood at the edge of the bed. When he sat, the mattress dipped, and her eyes snapped open. A flash of fear flickered in her eyes, dissipating when she realized it was him.

“You okay?” he asked, taking in her red-rimmed eyes and the fresh stream of tears.

Ah, fuck.

Those big, sad tears were his undoing.

He cupped her face with one hand, stroking her thick, silky hair with the other. She covered his hand with one of her own, clutching his tightly. The trembling increased to the point where Remy padded to the edge of the bed, resting her head on the mattress and watching Kat from sympathetic canine eyes.

“I just c-can’t believe she’s gone,” Kat sobbed. “This sh-shouldn’t have happened. It shouldn’t have.”

“Shh,” he whispered, continuing to stroke her hair and trying not to think about how soft it was beneath his rough fingers. The trembling worsened, and her sobs became louder.

He didn’t know what it was—instinct or fear—that if he didn’t do something and do it post-haste, she’d drown in her own tears. Or maybe it was the immense tug on his heart that made him do it.

Dayne gathered her in his arms, rocking her gently while she cried, rubbing her back in slow, easy circles. With every breath, he inhaled her pretty, flowery scent into his lungs. Slim arms wrapped around his back, clinging to him like he was a human lifeline. They stayed that way for several minutes, until her sobs quieted.

He eased her back to the mattress, intending to disengage, but she held fast, forcing him to the mattress alongside her.

Their mouths were only inches apart, and Dayne’s resistance deserted him in less than a second. Warm breath fanned his face. He lifted his hand and rubbed her cheekbone with the pad of his thumb, savoring the softness of her skin. With a groan, she rested her forehead against his. The movement pressed her breasts to his chest, sending streaks of lightning straight to his groin. I’m in deep shit. And getting deeper.

When she tilted her head, their lips grazed. He was sure the contact was unintentional, but he didn’t move one single, freaking muscle. Every part of his body froze like a block of ice. Yep, even that part.

Like the idiot he was, he found himself wondering how soft her lips would be if he kissed her. For real and not by accident. The need to find out pounded in his brain.

He tilted his head a fraction of an inch. When their mouths made contact again, he had his answer.

They were softer and sweeter than he could have imagined.

Chapter Fifteen

Kat’s pulse thumped wildly as their tongues tangled and tasted. Every ounce of grief and fear and desperation that had been building since the morning she’d found Rebecca Garman’s body roared through her like an unstoppable force.

She wrapped her arms around Dayne’s back, digging her nails into the thick muscles beneath his suit jacket. Vaguely, she registered Angus hopping off the bed.

Doing this was a mistake, but she didn’t care. A demon had taken possession of her body. For one brief moment in her all-too-structured life, she wanted—no, needed—to do as she pleased. She just wanted to feel. To eradicate the grief and most of all, to forget—just for a few minutes—that she’d lost a good friend whom she loved dearly.

She slipped her hands beneath Dayne’s jacket, sliding them up his ripped abdominals to his pecs. His big body shuddered beneath her seeking fingers.

Too many clothes.

She wanted to feel bare, naked skin.

His kiss grew hotter, or maybe that was her body temperature soaring out of control. As she dragged the jacket off his shoulders, he broke the kiss and stripped it off the rest of the way. His hands stroked over her breasts, cupping and caressing, making her nipples ache and tighten until all she wanted was his mouth sucking hotly on the sensitive peaks.

He clenched his jaw, sucking in deep, unsteady breaths. “Kat, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Don’t. Think.” She drew his head back down to hers, kissing him with every pent-up emotion screaming to be cut loose. “Please,” she whispered, “make me forget.” Hot tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and he began kissing them away.

She angled her head, allowing him easier access as he kissed his way down her neck to her throat, then to her breasts. He unbuttoned her blouse and tugged it from the waistband of her skirt. With a flick of his thumb, her lacy white bra opened, baring her breasts.

“Jesus,” he breathed. A second later, his lips were on one of her nipples, sucking it into his mouth, licking and nipping gently until sparks shot down her belly, zooming to her core.

She gasped and arched deeper into his mouth. No one had ever made her body feel so good, so alive, and she wanted more. No strings attached. No regrets, and no tomorrows.

Her core pulsed with wild need. “Hurry, Dayne. Just hurry.” Before she changed her mind. Before she regretted doing something—the only thing—in her entire life that wasn’t in perfect line with the exemplary life everyone expected her to lead.