eyes wary, his smile hinting more of questions than answers. He was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, with his close-cropped yet silky-looking black hair, long straight nose with just the slightest flare to his nostrils, and lips that looked full and firm and eminently kissable. Lisa raised her chin and took a deep breath. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, felt the trickle of sweat between her breasts.
Felt the moisture gathering between her legs, her body welcoming this man in a way her mind would never allow. His nostrils flared. Her breath caught. Did he scent her arousal? Did he know how little control she had over her libido? Thank goodness she’d taken the time to clean up in the restroom at the sanctuary, or he’d be smelling more than her arousal!
Lisa almost chuckled aloud. This was so typical of her luck. For the first time in her life she was standing within fucking distance of the sexiest man she’d ever seen, and their first meeting had been over roadkill.
Her glance fell to the front placket of his slacks. There was a noticeable bulge at his groin, a sizeable swelling along his left inner thigh that accelerated Lisa’s already racing heartbeat. Obviously, the whole dead animal thing hadn’t put him off a bit. She licked her lips and looked up, directly at his face, and realized she was concentrating on his mouth, on the full curve of his lips.
Neither of them had said a word, yet the room seemed full of conversation, a silent communion that was pure foreplay of the mind, totally without touch. There was no denying the fact the air was stuffed with pheromones. Lisa cleared her throat. Tinker wiped his palms along his thighs and grinned.
He took a step forward, halted, and shrugged his shoulders, then his smile grew even wider. “I have a suggestion, Ms. Quinn, that might help us with our discussion.”
Lisa nodded. Her mouth was too dry to speak.
“There’s an amazing amount of tension here in this little cabin of yours. It’s a powerful deterrent to having any kind of adult conversation. Why don’t you and I just spend some time taking care of that tension before we go any further.”
Lisa swallowed. The sound practically echoed in the small room. She blinked but couldn’t answer. Of course, she didn’t really know the question, did she? Finally Lisa managed to find her voice. “What exactly do you have in mind?”
Tinker laughed and spread his hands wide. “Well, I think we should both get naked, rub a little, touch a little, and fuck like bunnies. I imagine it’ll take care of whatever it is that’s making you so nervous.”
Lisa blinked. Fought down the giggles that threatened to burst out. Just like that? He wanted to have sex when they’d just met? He had to be kidding!
She took another look at the twinkle in his eyes, the sexy smile on his mouth…and then let her gaze slide lower. The bulge in his pants was even larger, more impressive than it had been just a moment before.
He wasn’t kidding. For all the silly talk, the man was deadly serious. Lisa tried to make some appropriate quip but couldn’t get the words out. The thought came unbidden—there probably wasn’t an appropriate quip to be made. Not to a suggestion like that!
Tinker reached out a hand. Lisa stared at it for what felt like forever. His hand was huge, the fingers long and slim, his palm much lighter than the back. His nails were neatly clipped, and she thought he had artist’s hands, the hands of a man who could create with a touch, hands capable of either strength or gentleness.
For all their artistic grace and beauty, in spite of or because of their obvious strength, she couldn’t allow herself to forget these were still the hands of a stranger.
Lisa glanced up and looked into Tinker’s eyes. Darkest amber with shining fire, there was no threat in them, no coercion. He stared back at her with patience and good humor, and a need every bit as strong as her own. She didn’t know him. Didn’t know anything about him, but looking into Tinker’s eyes, Lisa felt as if she looked into the mirror of her own soul.
She chose then to listen to her libido rather than her brain. To follow her woman’s instincts rather than any bit of common sense that might exist among her suddenly foggy thoughts. Lisa released her death grip on the doorknob, wiped her sweaty palm on her jeans, and, moving in slow motion, slipped her fingers into his. Tinker smiled and pulled her closer, a slow, steady tug on her hand. Lisa knew that if she didn’t want what he offered, he would turn her loose, no questions asked. Knew it as if he’d spoken the words aloud.
He pulled her into his embrace as if they’d been lovers forever. Pulled her close against his body until she felt the thick length of his erection pressing into her belly, smelled the clean, masculine scent of him, tasted the flavors of the man when his lips found hers.
She sighed against his mouth and parted for him, took his tongue into her mouth the same way she wanted the rest of him. She sucked hard, drew him in deep. Tangled her tongue with his as his big hands cupped her buttocks and lifted her against him, pulling her even closer, higher, until her toes left the floor and she was weightless, caught in his strong arms, held by his mouth, his hips, his power.
He scattered kisses along her jaw and throat. Then he lifted Lisa into his arms as if she weighed absolutely nothing and turned, scanning the small room.
She made her decision in a heartbeat, raised her hand weakly, and pointed to a doorway leading to the back of the cabin. “That way. My room is down there. The last door on the right.”
Chapter 3
Tinker grunted in reply, then carried Lisa quickly down the narrow hallway, into her small bedroom. Her queen-size bed almost filled the room, but it was the biggest she’d been able to get inside such a small space.
Lisa’d never shared this bed with a man, not in the two years since she’d worked at the sanctuary. Her sexual liaisons had been infrequent, always with women visiting the sanctuary, sometimes here but generally deep in the cool, dark forest where they could find release under the open sky.
Now this man who was virtually unknown laid her carefully on the quilted spread and sat down beside her. The sense of intimacy with a stranger was almost Lisa’s undoing. She felt the edge of the mattress dip with his weight, felt the heat from his body touching hers. He was a big man, huge, actually, with broad shoulders and powerful thighs to match his height; but as big as he was, he was infinitely gentle with her.
First he untied her boots and slipped them off, along with her thick socks. He spent a moment rubbing and massaging her toes and the soles of her feet, sending shivers up her legs, over her thighs, and straight to her crotch.
He pulled her tank top over her head and gently tugged the loose knot of her hair free. It cascaded down her back in thick tangles almost to her waist, and he spent long moments arranging it over her breasts and across her belly, tickling her navel with a loose curl until she broke into giggles.
He’d managed to cover her nakedness with her hair. A simple thing, but it eased her sense of vulnerability, made her more open to his touch.
Each movement he made was a sensual caress, his touch so gentle it raised shivers over her skin. She felt no fear, no concern at all that she’d barely met him. Instead, Lisa felt her arousal growing, experienced a sense of wonder that a man—this man—could take her to such heights with nothing more than his teasing little touches, his gentle strokes, and his soft laughter.
She never wore a bra for the simple reason that her breasts were too small to need one. She wondered if such a big man would be disappointed by her relatively
