Jo Leigh - One-Click Buy - September Harlequin Blaze

“Yeah?”

She licked her lips. “Yeah.”

“Go ahead, hit me with your best shot.”

“Oh, it’s on,” she said, and proceeded to untie the string of her halter top.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Getting naked.”

“Give the man a cigar.” She grinned and let her top drop to the floor.

Liam ogled as she reached for the zipper of her white denim shorts. Did the woman have any idea how hot she was making him?

She wriggled out of her shorts and kicked them across the room. She stood, hands on her hips, wearing nothing but a skimpy peach-colored strapless bra and matching thong panties. In her navel, she sported the cutest little gold ring.

Sassily, she stuck out her tongue, and then reached around to unhook her bra. She twirled it over her head a few times before tossing it in his direction.

“It’s not working,” Liam said through gritted teeth. He could handle this. Yes, he could.

“Coulda fooled me with that world-class boner.” She cast a knowing glance at the zipper of his pants, strained with the outline of his rock-hard erection.

She shimmied out of her panties and strutted out onto the lanai naked as the day she came into the world.

He followed her. The sun was warm on his skin, the ocean spray salty against his tongue. Watching Katie’s bottom twitch as she strode toward the lounge chair at poolside, experiencing his desire for her rocketing hard, made Liam feel as if he were a one-celled animal, responding to every stimuli.

Everything about her was intoxicating-the wave of her hips, the perky jut of her breasts, the patch of pecan-blond hair curling at the apex of her thighs.

Glancing over her shoulder again, she gave him a saucy wink and settled herself down on the chaise lounge, legs provocatively spread. She wet her index with her mouth, and then slowly trailed it down to her breasts.

She was driving him insane.

Every whim of her body made the hairs on his wrist quiver. Every vagary of sunlight dappling across her sumptuous breasts registered spiky and vibrant on his retina. Sensation after sensation washed over him. Nothing was lost in translation.

His senses were on high alert, his body tuned for pleasure.

She looked at him with an extraordinary light in her eyes. It worried him and he evaluated her, trying to decode what was going on inside her head. His body took stock of his surroundings, of this moment, like a strong but cautious corporate raider moving through an intricate negotiation, searching for hidden agendas and subterfuge. The novelty of her, the surprise of the expression she was giving him, riveted him.

Life had taught him to be wary. His mother had taught him to be strong and in control. It was difficult for him to drop his emotional armor and allow her to see his vulnerabilities. But he was willing.

Too willing.

She astonished him. Not only by her stunning individuality but also by the way she made him feel special. He had to face up to what was happening inside him, but at the same time he feared it.

It was time to let go of his fears. Time to understand there was something valuable to be had in this experience. Time to realize there was always something new to learn, always valuable insights to be gained. His life did not have to be buried in work, success and the pursuit of revenge.

“Make love to me, Liam,” she begged.

“Dammit, woman.” His cock throbbed as he watched her touch herself.

“You know what you gotta do to have me.”

Liam stalked across the patio. He grabbed her by the shoulders, pinned her against the chaise and kissed her with a fierceness that pulled a feral growl from his throat.

Katie let out a soft, whispered breath.

In that moment, her small sigh told him something important. She had goaded him into this because whenever things started to get emotionally intimate between them, she reached for a physical remedy.

Katie Winfield, he now recognized, was afraid of her tender feelings.

The seductress image was all a ruse, a protective defense mechanism she hid behind. She cloaked her real self with sexy clothing, adventurous sex and casual relationships. The real Katie disappeared inside parties and flirtatious behavior and frisky role-playing. But there was so much more to her than her sexuality.

Here, with his body pressed against her, he could feel the emotional surging of this deeper, richer, more complex personality. He wondered if she even understood the dynamics of her alluring behavior. Somehow, he doubted it.

Liam felt himself dragged down into the tempting whirlpool of mystery. They stared into each other’s eyes and his world narrowed to one simple thing.

Katie.

She was right. He couldn’t resist her.

Compelled, Liam scooped a giggling Katie into his arms and carried her back toward the bedroom. She nibbled on his upper arm, driving him straight to distraction. He couldn’t wait to get out of his clothes and into her.

He laid her gently down on the bed, but immediately, she popped to her feet.

“Let’s do it on the floor.” With a wicked gleam in her eyes, she reached for his belt buckle.

“The bed’s more comfortable,” he said, tussling his T-shirt over his head as she pulled his belt through the loops in a sensuous slither of leather.

“The floor’s more adventuresome.” She undid the snap on his jeans.

“Adventuresome sex makes me come too fast. For once, I want to take things nice and slow.” He kicked off his shoes. “Which is damned hard to do.”

“How about on the bathroom counter in front of the mirror?” She tugged down his zipper.

“How about you resting on fresh sheets with a pillow tucked under your beautiful butt while I find new ways of pleasuring you with my tongue?” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“How about in the swimming pool?” She tugged both his jeans and his underwear down his hips in one fluid motion, releasing his aching erection from its restraints.

Liam kicked out of the jeans. Feeling giddier than he had the first time he’d made love, he flung himself onto the bed, grinned at her wolfishly and patted the spot beside him. “Come here, Miss Winfield.”

KATIE SHOOK her head. Her throat constricted and her fingers went inexplicably numb. “How about we do it on the kitchen table?”

He lay on his side, propped up on his elbow. He looked like a lion, long and lean and powerful. “I know you like adventure, sweetheart, but there’s something to be said for tradition. Let’s just rock this bed till the slats break.”

Sweetheart.

It was the first time Liam had ever called her sweetheart. The word formed a precious knot of terror inside her stomach.

She shook her head. “How about in the shower?”

Liam sat up, cocked his head and gave her the strangest look. “What’s wrong with the bed?”

Katie shrugged. How could she begin to explain this nameless sense of dread at the thought of sinking down onto the mattress with him?

A look of sudden insight crossed his face. “You’re afraid to make love in a bed.”

“I’m not,” Katie denied.

“Then prove you’re not afraid. Come here.”

Katie stayed at the door. Her knees wavered strange and loose and her hands were shaking. “I don’t have to prove anything to you.”

“Why, you’re stone-cold terrified.”

“No one is scared of making love in a bed,” she scoffed, but her voice came out breathless, airy.

He held out a hand, curled his fingers in a come-hither gesture.

She hung back.

“What’s wrong? I thought you were hot for this?”

She shrugged.

“Katie?”

“It just feels weird.”

“It’s not weird. You’re used to hiding behind masks and darkened movie theatres and the shadow of midnight.”