sound of a key scraping in the lock on the front door echoed across the foyer, Daniel turned toward the sound.
The ornate door opened and Patrick O’Hara entered, closing the door quietly behind him. When he turned, he started. “Oh. I’m sorry, did I wake you?” His gaze went to Kate, his look one of longing.
“No, we were up.” Kate held up her cup, descending the stairs. “Can I interest you in a cup of tea? Daniel was doing a last-minute check of the house.”
“Shelby?” Patrick asked.
“In my bedroom for the moment. She’s okay.” Daniel descended to the first floor. “I’ll only be a few minutes.” He left Kate and Patrick in the foyer and checked all the rooms on the main floor, testing the windows and door locks to ensure they were secure. When he passed the kitchen on his way back to the stairs, he saw that Patrick and Kate sat at the bar, talking softly, mugs of steaming tea in front of them.
Daniel hurried back up the stairs and knocked softly on his bedroom door. “Shelby, it’s me, Daniel.”
She opened the door.
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, then opened his arms.
Shelby went to him, burying her face against his chest, her body fitting close to his. She wore nothing but a sheer nightgown that barely covered her bottom, and he could see teasing shadows of her breasts beneath the thin fabric.
Holy hell. If he’d thought he could resist her, he was sorely mistaken. Once he had his arms around her, there was no going back.
She ran her hands across his chest and around his middle, hugging him closer, her hips pressed against his.
His groin tightened, blood rushing to his head and lower to his throbbing member. The warmth of her skin beneath the sheer nightgown burned through, igniting flames inside him.
He lifted a hand to the back of her head, twisting his fingers in her hair, tugging her head back. “I didn’t want this to happen.”
“So why are you letting it?” She lifted her full, plump lips toward his.
“I can’t help myself.” He took her mouth, crashing down on her, thrusting through her teeth to caress her tongue with his. She tasted minty and fresh, warm and wet.
He reached down, cupped her bottom and lifted with one hand, the other still holding his pistol.
Her legs curled naturally around his waist and her arms went around his neck.
Her silky panties and his denim pants were all that stood between them.
Without breaking their kiss, he walked her to the bed and let her slide down his front to her feet.
Shelby pulled the weapon from his hand. “Can we set this aside?”
“I don’t know. I think I’m in dangerous territory.”
“Damn right you are.” She shoved his jacket over his shoulders and he let it drop to the floor. When she reached for the buckles on his shoulder holster, he shoved her hands aside and worked them himself.
Meanwhile, she unbuttoned his trousers and ran the zipper downward, releasing his member into her palm.
Daniel jerked the holster off and tossed it onto a nearby chair. Then his hands slipped beneath her nightgown, cupping the full roundness of both breasts—so warm, soft and tipped with the tightest buds. He pushed the gown upward and claimed one of the rounded orbs, sucking it between his lips and tonguing the intriguing tip.
Her back arched, her hand pressing against the back of his head, urging him to suck the nipple deeper into his mouth.
He complied, licking the areola, nibbling the bud with the edges of his teeth while his hands roved over her waist and down to the elastic on her panties. Sliding his fingers beneath the fabric, he cupped her bottom, tracing the line between her cheeks.
Her hands grew restless, shoving his trousers down his legs.
He stopped her long enough to unearth his wallet from his back pocket and toss it on the bed. Then Daniel toed off his shoes and stepped out of the pants, kicking them to the side. He yanked his shirt up over his head and threw it across the end of the bed. Impatient to reveal all of her, he grabbed the hem of her nightgown and tugged it up over her head.
The gown flew across the room and he stepped back, his hungry gaze raking over her naked body, the panties the only thing in the way of him feasting on her.
The longer he stared, the brighter the pink in her cheeks became. She raised her hands to cover herself.
He caught her wrists. “Don’t.”
“Then quit staring and do something.”
He laughed, dragged her into his arms and reveled in the feel of her breasts pressing against his chest. “Bossy much?”
“Don’t make me wait. I’m on fire.” She slipped out of his embrace and scooted up onto the bed.
Staring down at her delectable body, Daniel knew he was doomed. “This goes against all the rules.”
“I’m betting you follow all the rules.”
“I do.” This woman had him so tied in knots, he couldn’t back away.
Rules be damned.
The fire in his eyes had Shelby’s body burning. She caught the elastic of her panties, slipping them down her legs in a long, sensuous move designed to leave Daniel panting. “In this case, I think you can break them.” She let her knees fall to the sides.
Her entrance was slick and drenched with her juices. All she needed was him inside her, filling her.
He crawled up between her legs and kissed a path along the inside of her thigh to the center, the feathery-soft touches of his lips sending tingling electric shocks throughout her body.
Shelby ran her fingers down through the curls covering her mons, sliding a finger between her folds. She wanted him there.
Daniel tongued the tips of her fingers, pushing them aside to access the tiny strip of flesh packed with a plethora of nerves.
On the first flick, she moaned, her back arching off the mattress.
The second one had her grabbing his hair, her fingers digging into his scalp. “Oh, my,” she whispered, her voice choked with desire.
Daniel slid two fingers into her and tongued her nubbin at the same time, catapulting her to the edge. “Yes! Oh, my, yes!”
He focused on that spot, flicking and tonguing until she hurtled over the edge, her body growing rigid, her insides a cascade of sensations, rippling over and over one another. Just when she thought she could die like this and be happy, Daniel moved away. “No!” she moaned.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He reached for his wallet, extracted
