arched, throwing her breasts forward with their berry-hard tips, begging for more attention. Her entire body was erotically beautiful in the morning sunlight.
He lowered his head again, hungry for more of her. He feasted on her body, carefully tasting the moist flesh between her legs. He used his teeth, tongue and fingers to bring her to the brink of climax but held her there, wanting to draw out the moment of completion until she was begging him for it.
Her hands grasped his head as she thrust her hips up toward his face. But he pulled back so that she didn’t get the contact she craved.
“Lance, please.”
He scraped his teeth over her clitoris and she screamed as her orgasm rocked through her body. He kept his mouth on her until her body stopped shuddering and then slid up her, holding her tightly in his arms.
He rolled over, keeping her with him until she straddled him. “Sit up, honey.”
She did as he asked, bracing herself on his shoulders. He shifted his hips until the tip of his cock found the portal of her body. The warmth of her against him made him realize he wasn’t wearing a condom. He reached for the one he’d left on the nightstand last night.
He quickly opened it. “Sit up.”
“Let me do it,” she said.
He handed the condom to her and with a little help from him, he was sheathed. He shifted his hips again and slipped the tip of his erection into her.
“Take as much of me as you want,” he said.
“I want it all,” Kate said. “But I’m not sure…”
He put his hands on her hips and guided her down on him. But the feel of her around him quickly eroded his self-control and he found himself holding her hips tightly while he thrust up inside of her, trying to get deeper. He pulled her legs forward, forcing them farther apart until she settled even closer to him.
He slid deeper still into her. She arched her back, reaching up to entwine her arms around his shoulders. He thrust harder and felt every nerve in his body tensing. Reaching between their bodies, he touched her between her legs until he felt her body start to tighten around him.
He came in a rush, continuing to thrust into her until his body was drained. He then collapsed on top of her, lying his head between her breasts.
A week later, Lance still hadn’t had the chance to talk to Lexi, who had gone back to DC. But he had managed to keep Kate on as his assistant. And he’d taken her to dinner every night—and made love to her most of those nights, as well.
The investigation into the fire was going painfully slowly. Mitch was back in DC and Lance hadn’t spoken to him since the Fourth. They were ready to get back to work at the main refinery. They needed to be producing barrels of oil each day, not sitting idle.
He picked up the phone and dialed Darius’s number.
“This is Darius.”
“Darius, my man, what news do you have from the refinery?”
“Not much. The arson investigator is still tracking the accelerant to try to find the source.”
“Do you trust the man?” Lance asked. “Is he competent?”
“Yes, I think he is. I’m going to call his office later. I’ll follow up with you when I have news.”
“Thanks, Darius. I appreciate you taking this case.”
“That’s what friends are for, right?”
“Indeed.”
“Speaking of friends… what’s this I hear about your engagement?”
Lance looked at the open door leading to Kate’s desk. He could hear her hands moving over the keyboard of her computer.
“It’s complicated.”
“With women, that’s the only way a situation can be.”
Lance laughed. “More so than usual. I can’t say any more until I talk to the lady involved.”
“Gotcha. I can appreciate that.”
“Thanks, Darius.”
He hung up the phone as Kate entered his office. “Marcus needs five minutes to talk to you later.”
“Anything else?” Lance asked. Marcus was hanging around the office too much lately and Lance knew it was because of Kate.
“This came for you via courier. Said it was urgent,” she said, handing him a letter-sized envelope.
He stopped her with a hand on her wrist. He suspected the envelope held the bracelet he’d ordered for her last night. He wanted Kate to have something, and until he could talk to Lexi, a ring was out of the question.
Was he really thinking of marrying Kate Thornton?
“Close the door for me.”
“No. People will talk if we close the door. It’s never closed when I’m in here.”
“Katie-girl… what are you thinking?”
She blushed and gave him a hard stare. “Nothing.”
She turned on her heel to leave. He stopped her, reaching over her head to close the door, trapping her.
“Turn around.”
She did, slowly.
“Was that so hard?”
She shook her head. “You are way too bossy for your own good.”
“You like it,” he said, thinking of last night when he’d ordered her to come while they were making love, and she had.
She blushed.
“What did you want from me?”
Everything, he thought. He wanted every secret in her dark brown stare to be revealed to him.
“I think this package is actually for you. Have a seat in my chair.”
“Lance…”
He gestured to his chair and then followed her back across his office. She wore a short skirt and a sleeveless sweater today. Her hair had been left loose and hung down her back in silky waves.
Each day, instead of growing used to her look he found something new about her that attracted him.
He wondered if that would stop or go away with familiarity. But somehow he doubted that it would. There was something about Kate that just kept deepening for him each day.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Just thinking about how pretty you are.”
“I’m
