deeply into her own he would have found the very same shadows lurking there …
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘THANK you for dinner,’ Allegra said once he’d walked her to the door of her apartment block. ‘I had a good time. It was a nice restaurant. Not a pizza in sight.’
‘Aren’t you going to ask me in for coffee?’
‘I was going to but I wasn’t sure if you would take it the wrong way.’
‘I take it the same way you do—black.’
She gave him a quelling look. ‘I meant … well, you know what I meant.’
He smiled at her flustered expression and before he could stop himself lifted a finger to her cheek, trailing his knuckle over the creamy curve where a spot of heightened colour had pooled.
Allegra ran her tongue over her lips in a nervous gesture. ‘I’d better go in. It’s getting late and I’m on early and …’ She stopped when she saw the dark glitter in his eyes as they caught and held hers, her stomach hollowing in anticipation.
His head came down slowly, his warm breath brushing over her lips before he placed his mouth on hers in a soft, hardly touching kiss.
She looked up at him, her heart increasing its pace as he ran his tongue over his lips as if tasting her sweetness.
‘I probably shouldn’t have done that,’ he said.
She swallowed the restriction in her throat and croaked, ‘Why?’
‘Because now I know what it feels like, I want to do it again.’
‘Oh …’
‘It could cause all sorts of problems,’ he said, taking her by the shoulders and bringing her one tiny step closer, her breasts brushing against his chest.
‘You think so?’ she asked, leaning into his hardness instinctively.
‘I know so.’
‘Too bad …’
He held her gaze for several pulsing seconds. ‘The gossip would be unbearable.’
‘Totally …’
‘And then there’s the problem of shifts.’
‘Yes …’ She moistened her lips again. ‘That’s always a downside.’
‘And then there’s the issue of your place or mine.’
‘Tricky.’
He smiled and tipped up her chin. ‘You are one hell of a temptation, Allegra Tallis, but I’m going to be the strong one here and step back before we drift into dangerous territory.’
‘OK …’ She swallowed again as she felt the hard ridge of his growing erection against her. ‘That would be wise, I guess.’
‘Very wise.’
A full thirty seconds passed.
‘So … so why aren’t you doing it?’ she asked.
‘Doing what?’
‘Stepping back,’ she said. ‘You said you were going to be the strong one and step back.’
‘You’re right,’ he said, his gaze dipping to her mouth. ‘Now would be a good time.’
‘A very good time …’
Her stomach did a complete somersault as his hands slid down the length of her bare arms to encircle her wrists.
‘Why don’t we do it on the count of three?’ he suggested, after another heart-stopping pause.
Allegra’s fingers curled around the length and strength of his. ‘Right … let’s do that. On the count of three.’ She took a breath and began the countdown, ‘One …’
‘Two …’ he said, and released her wrists to place his hands on her hips.
Another deep throb of silence passed. Allegra knew it was her turn to say the last number but somehow she couldn’t get the one word past the trembling shield of her lips. Her gaze locked with his as the time beat on, his hands on her hips feeling like a slow burn as his heat passed from his body to hers.
‘Aren’t you going to say it?’ he asked, his breath caressing the surface of her mouth as his head came inexorably closer.
‘I was getting to it …’
She felt the imprint of his lazy smile on her lips before he gradually increased the pressure, each slow drugging movement of his mouth on hers sending her senses into overload. The sexual charge of his tongue probing for entry made her legs buckle with instant uncontrollable need and she pressed herself against him, relishing in the feel of his body’s instant reaction to hers. She wasn’t without experience but never had she felt the energy and force of such fierce attraction before. It was like her body had been storing up its need for this moment when his mouth scorched its timeless message on hers.
Her tongue played with his boldly, each movement inciting her desire to a higher level, moving even further out of her control. Her mind swam with images of how they would be together, his strong leanly muscled body pinning her beneath him.
A passing car’s headlights brought her back to earth with a shaft of exposing light that she knew would do her no credit with her overly conservative neighbours.
She eased her mouth away from his and said somewhat breathlessly, ‘Th-three.’
Joel’s hands moved from her hips, his wry smile sending another wave of longing through her. ‘There, I knew you could do it.’
‘It was a tough call but I guess someone has to do it.’
‘Yes,’ he said, brushing the curve of her cheek once more. ‘Someone does.’
‘So …’ She tried to sound casually unaffected, as if she kissed handsome, full-blooded men on her doorstep all the time. ‘I guess I’ll see you at work tomorrow.’
‘Yes, I guess you will.’
‘‘Night …’
‘Goodnight, Allegra. I really enjoyed this evening. You’re surprisingly good company.’
‘Better than an internet date?’
‘Way better,’ he said, staring again at her mouth.
‘Um … this is the bit where you go down those steps and get in your car and drive home,’ she said, pointing to where his car was. ‘Do you think you can manage that?’
‘I’m working myself up to it.’
She couldn’t help laughing. ‘You have definitely graduated with honours from the school of irresistible
