Merlot by nightfall.
“Then again, I do like wine,” he mumbled under his breath. Hell, Chianti might as well have been in his bottle as a baby, it was such a part of Santori tradition.
Her brow shot up. “What?”
“Talking to myself. I’m a little out of my element with this one.”
“That makes two of us.” She shook her head, nibbled her lip, then leaned down to begin picking up the strewn items.
Knowing better than to pick up any of the naughtier things for her, he went for the giving-yourself-pleasure book. Unable to resist, he turned it over and read the description on the back. It hinted that the pages contained all kinds of secrets and tips on how a woman could achieve ultimate satisfaction, sans man.
“You don’t really need this, do you?” he found himself asking, not sure where the question had come from, or why he’d voiced it. His common sense, and tact, seemed to have departed when it came to Lindsey Smith, some inner bad boy making him up the stakes, just a little.
She’d been grabbing sex toys and shoving them into the box, but stopped midway to stare at him before replying to his question. He tried not to look at the Jolly Green Giant–size dong she was holding and instead focused only on her face.
“What do you mean?”
He could blow it off, retreat to safe conversational territory—if there was such a thing, considering she was holding a two-foot-long cock and he a manual on masturbation. But something made him persist. “You’re beautiful. You’re sexy as hell. Why would you need to...”
“Have sex by myself?”
“Something along those lines.”
Her lashes fluttered; she glanced away, twisting the phallus in her hands as if she didn’t even realize she was holding it. He flinched, unable to help it, because, while the idea of having those slim fingers wrapped around his own dick was exciting as hell, he didn’t think he’d be up for that much hand-wringing. Mr. Big Dong didn’t seem to mind, though; those sex-toy makers obviously made their products very sturdy.
“Maybe I just don’t believe in having to rely on anyone else, sexually or otherwise. Some women like having all the control in their hands.”
Her hands? He managed not to smirk at that line, even though she’d practically begged for a smirk.
“I mean,” she said, apparently noticing his expression, “they might prefer to be in the driver’s seat.”
That one he couldn’t resist. “You’d have to be one hell of a driver to handle that stick.”
A tiny smile flitted across her mouth. “I guess. But the truth is...these things aren’t really mine.”
He grimaced. “They’re borrowed?”
“I meant, I didn’t buy them,” she said with an eye roll.
“Did you knock over that big-name sex shop, Bare Essentials, before you left Chicago?”
“Of course not. They’re samples. They were for research.”
“Are you preparing for your entry into the adult-film business?”
“Hardly.”
“That’s good, because I’m fairly sure the ‘hot for teacher’ story has already been done. About a million times.”
“How many versions have you seen?” she asked, her expression unchanged, though her voice held the tiniest bit of suggestion.
“Maybe a few.”
Her wicked smile made Mike realize he wasn’t the only one giving in to some naughty urges here. She, too, was pushing this, even though the safe, sane thing would have been to let the conversation drop along with the dildo.
He stepped closer, pausing only to let the book fall into the open box at his feet. She didn’t move away, tossing her own retrieved item in there, as well. It landed with a thud.
“You could kill someone with that thing,” he mused.
“Maybe I should keep it handy to slam into any potential intruders.”
He rubbed his jaw. Damn, the woman did know how to give a guy an opening. But those green eyes didn’t reveal whether she’d done it on purpose. “Slam it, huh?”
Her eyes flared, even as she inched a little closer, too. “I didn’t mean to say that.”
“I’m sure you didn’t.” He watched her mouth as her tongue flicked out to dampen her parted lips. She was breathing deeply, audibly. But then, so was he. “Maybe you meant to say pound, or thrust?”
She swallowed visibly, that delicate throat bobbing. “I meant, I could use it as a weapon.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that’d scare a home invader to death. Go away or I’ll beat you with my big, giant penis.”
Her dark pupils widened and her eyes flared with excitement, as if she’d felt the electric thrill in the air. Hell, so had he. He’d felt it from the moment he’d seen her on the deck of that ferry this morning.
“This is a dangerous conversation, Chief Santori,” she whispered, even as she wrapped her arms around herself, as if for warmth. Or to hide any evidence of her body’s reaction to that dangerous conversation. Because he hadn’t been able to help noticing that her nipples were pebbled beneath her soft sweater and a pretty flush had risen in her previously pale cheeks.
“I’m not intimidated by your sex toy, teacher,” he said, his voice almost a purr. His turn to give the opening; he just wondered if she’d take it.
Her chin went up. “Should I be intimidated by yours?”
Oh, hell, the woman hadn’t just taken it, she’d twisted his words around and put him firmly on the defensive. His mouth went dry, his hand shook and his whole body strained to eliminate those last few inches that separated them. He wanted to kiss her, wanted to push her up against the wall and cover her mouth with his, to taste her and take her.
It was madness. She was a stranger, they were both firmly opposed to any kind of sexual entanglements and he was in a new job in a place where the walls had eyes and ears.
And yet. And yet...
One kiss. One simple taste. Who would it harm?
He reached for her, cupping her cheek, tugging her toward him. He didn’t try to overpower her, letting her duck away if she chose to.
But she didn’t. Instead, she stepped into him, throwing her arms around his neck and rising on tiptoe to take the kiss he’d been about to offer her. Her soft lips melded against his, and parted. Mike groaned, taking what she gave him, sliding his tongue against hers, exploring that sweet-tasting mouth.
He liked kissing. He’d missed kissing. And kissing this particular woman could easily become an addiction.
Every inch of her womanly body was pressed
