AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve had worse.”
Being a firefighter, he should know. She carefully lifted one arm and eased the shirt from his shoulder. His bulky, muscled, breath-snatching shoulder.
Good Lord, the man was ripped.
His muscles bunched and tightened as he pulled one arm through the sleeve. She stepped around him and bit her lip, watching the ripples expand on his back as he twisted the second arm free.
The breath caught in her throat. Never had she seen more contours on a man. Damn, he was pure sex appeal. Her hands shook. Get a grip.
She wet the cloth again and dabbed around the wound. “You really had me scared. Maybe it’s not as bad as I thought. But you should still see a doctor.”
Mike had known he would eventually see revulsion on Cassie’s face. And tonight, he had. At the accident. A shocking expression of horror and distress. The same expression he’d seen on his mother’s face every time an alarm sounded. Every time the scanner went off. The way she’d stare at the door after his dad had closed it behind him on his way to a fire. The fear and panic she could not deal with. She’d left his father. But she’d also left him.
He ought to say the hell with it. A man has needs. And here was a woman for the taking. Every move she made screamed sexuality. She didn’t do a very good job of hiding her emotions. Maybe she didn’t want to hide her interest. Maybe she wanted him to make the first move.
Before he could change his mind, his hand lashed out capturing her wrist. He searched her eyes for long moments before his gaze lowered to full, plush lips. Her pulse leaped beneath his fingers, and he jerked his gaze back to hers. Heavy lids drooped, not enough to hide her desire. He rubbed his thumb in a circle over her flesh—teasing—caressing.
Slowly, he tugged her closer. The sweet smell he remembered from their first meeting invaded his senses. Her chest expanded when her leg brushed his inner thigh. Encouraged by her response, he drew her nearer still, until she was close enough for them to breathe each other in.
Suddenly he was starving. Hungry for a buxom blonde with green yearning eyes. She leaned forward and he sank his hands in her thick, silky strands. Mouths opened, tongues tangled, and he lost himself in the fervor of her kiss. She moaned, the sound going straight to his erection. He tightened his arms and shifted, forcing his knees between her thighs and settling her on his lap. She gripped his shoulders as he squeezed her bottom, expertly positioning her intimately against the bulge of his arousal.
Pain – an instant flash of fire to his side. “Arrrr …”
“Oh my God. I’ve hurt you.”
He’d never seen a woman move so fast. One minute, she was as deep in the throes of passion as he, and the next she’d jumped off his lap like her pants were on fire. Right when they both had been about to go up in flames.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t … apologize,” he gritted through his teeth. He flung back his head and took a few calming breaths, waiting for the nausea to clear.
“Oh, God. What do I do? I’m sorry …”
“I said don’t,” he barked as he scowled at her. He just needed a minute.
Her concerned expression turned into one of disbelief. Now he’d gone and done it. She’d burst into tears any minute.
He was wrong.
Her eyes lit up like glistening diamonds. She placed her trim hands on her perfectly rounded hips and gave him a cold look that clearly indicated this woman was pissed.
“Don’t what? Don’t say I’m sorry you’re hurt? Or don’t make an idiot of myself by falling all over you?”
Was she kidding?
He’d like nothing more than to have her fall all over him. Around him. In him. Him in her. That wasn’t going to happen if she got up on her high horse.
Mike believed in quick action. As a firefighter, his life depended on it. He needed to defuse this temperamental situation fast. He grabbed her again, jerked her onto his lap, being mindful of his side, and firmly planted his mouth on hers. Her struggles didn’t last long. His thumb added just the right amount of pressure on the bone in front of her ear, making her mouth open, and he took full advantage.
He traced the shape of her lips, tasted her sweetness, and slowly slid one hand over her ribs, caressing, nudging the underside of her plush breast. Her fingers roamed through his hair and danced across the back of his neck, drawing him in deeper. He could kiss her forever.
Suddenly she stiffened, sending his instincts on full alert. He feared opening his eyes, but did so anyway. She leaned back and sucked in a deep breath. When her eyes opened, her blue-green orbs glowed with passion. With a gentle touch, she trailed a fingertip down his right cheek.
“I don’t want to hurt you again.” Before he could protest, she placed the tip of her finger to his lips. “Let’s clean you up. And then we can get more comfortable.”
More comfortable?
He wondered if they had the same idea of comfortable. She’d already felt the bulge in his jeans.
