Carly Phillips - Hot Stuff

"Well, she can't stay."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Until I find her owners, yes she can."

Her determined tone brooked no room for argument. Yet once again, instead of inciting his anger, she made him laugh. "Anyone ever tell you that you're a stubborn little thing?"

"Not in those words, no. But Uncle Yank always said that as the oldest, I like to assert my control." A soft smile surfaced on her face.

Vaughn stared at her intently. "I think it's more than that." And he intended to analyze her the same way she'd scrutinized him last night. At least then he'd know they were back on even footing.

"What do you mean?" she asked, eyebrows raised, her curiosity evident.

"I think your control issues are a reaction that goes way back to your childhood. You said yourself you were afraid you and your sisters would be separated. You were determined to never let that happen. To do that, you needed to be in control at all times."

She remained silent.

Since she was being unusually quiet, he took advantage and continued. "I think that saving animals is yet another means for you to have control. It lets you to accomplish exactly what you feared you couldn't do for your sisters."

She shivered, not spitting or hissing back at him, confirming his theory. He'd nailed her insecurities the same way she'd nailed his.

Funny though. Evening the score didn't feel as satisfying as he'd thought it would. Instead his stomach churned with the knowledge he'd brought back painful memories for her. Yet he couldn't deny he liked knowing he could read her as well as she could read him.

Annabelle rose and walked to Vaughn's side of the bed. He'd hit the mark, she thought, shocked at how well he understood her and even more stunned he'd bothered to try.

She seated herself by his side and tried to look nonchalant, hard as it was with the heavy weight of the emotions he'd brought to the surface. And then there were those damn pheromones flying around them-the attraction and desire that grew as they got to know one another better, even as they fought against it.

She licked her lips. "Whether or not you're right and I'm not saying you are, the cat has nowhere to go"

"I know." A smug look pulled at those sexy lips.

"Vaughn, you can't possibly turn it out on the street or bring it to a shelter where they might have to put it down."

"I know that, too." He sounded resigned.

She wondered if she dared to hope. "It's only for a short time. I'll try to keep her out of your way. And your bed," she promised.

Which reminded her. The lucky stray had woken up in bed with a naked Brandon Vaughn. Annabelle had tried without success to keep her gaze averted from that nude body barely hidden by a low-slung sheet. Now she fought to keep her mind from the fact that she was sitting on his bed, so close to all that heated masculinity.

His gaze dilated and a look of pure, seductive need crossed his face, until he, too, moved forward. Their lips were inches apart and only one thing separated them, Annabelle thought.

"The cat?" she asked.

"Stays."

"Thank you!" She knew he'd given in for her and her only. Grateful, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her mouth deliberately grazed his. Tingling excitement rushed through her and she remained there, waiting.

"This is a mistake," he said, not pulling back an inch.

"Probably a big one," she agreed.

But he didn't seem any more inclined to stop than she did. And she'd already decided to push forward with seducing Brandon Vaughn.

Their gazes held and her heart pounded so loud in her chest she thought even he could hear. And then finally, blessedly, he was kissing her. That well-defined, full mouth was hard on hers, taking possession.

He set her aflame and a burning heat rose inside her. His tongue darted into her mouth and the rest of her body responded. Her nipples tightened into hardened peaks. A wave of arousal washed over her and she felt a delicious pulling sensation from her breasts to the fullness pulsing between her legs.

She shivered, trembling with desire and the need to feel his hardened body and warm skin touching hers. She placed her hands on his bare shoulders. His heat and breadth were overwhelming and she was grateful when he took control and rolled her onto her back.

She was in Vaughn's bed, tangled sheets around them and his hard, sexy body aligned with hers. Excitement and anticipation built to a frenzied peak.

"This is heaven," she murmured.

Vaughn had to agree. Her voice had affected him on a gut level and just looking at her made him hard. But touching her silken skin and feeling her stretched out beneath him, soft, supple and willing… Well, he'd never experienced anything this close to perfection.

Glancing down, he brushed her tangled hair off her cheek. She thought she'd seen heaven? "You ain't seen nothing yet, baby."

A low, seductive purr rumbled in her chest and reverberated through him. He trailed kisses over her cheek, inhaling her feminine scent, and as he breathed in deep, the weight of her chest pressed hard and enticingly against his. He needed to touch her. Needed to feel those hot, heavy mounds in his hands.

"Touch me," she said, reading his mind. And in case he wasn't sure what she meant, she grabbed his hand and placed his palm firmly against her breast.

He liked her aggressive nature, appreciated that she wasn't afraid to take what she wanted. Unfortunately the jersey prevented him from really caressing her breasts the way he wanted to. He pulled the oversize shirt up and over her head, then tossed it onto the floor.

He took a moment to savor the sight. She was straight out of his fantasies. Her breasts were large and full, her dusky nipples tight and begging for his attention. Attention he was all too willing to give and he put his hand back on her breast, cupping the full mound completely.

At the first touch of bare skin, she moaned, the sound getting lost in his own low groan of satisfaction. She was a perfect fit, her nipple pressing insistently into the' center of his palm, her malleable flesh ready and willing. And if that weren't enough, his groin nestled in the moist, damp vee of her legs as her hips swiveled beneath his. Maintaining focus and taking it slow had never been more difficult, yet somehow he managed.

He cupped her in one hand until he'd branded her skin everywhere, then held her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, rolling gently. Her hands tangled in his hair and she arched her back, seeking more.

The sound of the telephone ringing penetrated his consciousness and he muttered a low curse.

"Don't answer it," Annabelle whispered. At the same time, her lips trailed over his neck, punctuated with enticing licks of her tongue until he trembled above her.

The need to take a woman had never been stronger. The desire to possess her nearly consumed him. The phone rang again and he jerked up in bed.

His bed.

With a half naked Annabelle beside him.

"I have to get it." With the problems at the lodge, he had no choice and reached for the phone. "Vaughn here."

The answering machine picked up at the same time and he had to wait until his voice recording finished before he could talk and hear the person on the other end.

"It's Mara. We have another problem, boss."

He broke into a sweat that had nothing to do with Annabelle. "What the hell happened now?"

"What's wrong?" Annabelle placed a comforting hand on his arm.

He held up one finger and she nodded in understanding.

He listened to the rest of Mara's story in stunned silence. "I'll be right there," he said and hung up.

"Vaughn?"

He blinked, trying to focus on Annabelle's question. "Someone broke into the lodge last night and spliced the electrical wiring in strategic places around the site."