of his clothes.
Naked now, Dan’s raw power excited her all over again. His beauty lay in his solid strength, his massive frame, the tenderness in how he made love and as she gazed below his waist for the first time, she took a big gulp of air.
Dan caught her eyeing him and concern wrinkled the corners of his eyes. He said so much in his expression and she heard him loud and clear in the nonverbal way he seemed to like to communicate. Relieving him of any worry, she rained kisses on him again and tucked her body under him.
Her explanation went a long way in making him understand and he wasted no time in searching through his jeans to pluck out a condom. Then he rose onto his knees, this beautiful man towering above her and the image seared her brain, not to ever be forgotten. Ready now, she pulled him down and dipped her tongue into his mouth. It was heady to be the aggressor, to show him how much she wanted him, to hear him groan and whisper her name.
Dan took over from there and she followed his lead as he feather-touched her breasts until she was ready to scream, nudged her legs apart, grabbed on to her hips and guided himself home.
Erin opened her eyes thirty minutes later and found herself alone in Dan’s king-size bed. Her entire body was one sweetly serene sigh. If only she could bottle that feeling and keep it close, she’d be satisfied forever. It was truly luck and her clumsy attempt at the bull that brought her here, to Dan. She smiled and rolled over and came face-to-face with a gray-and-white fur-ball of fluff. “Hello,” she said to the cat sitting in a regal pose on the nightstand beside the bed. “Who are you?”
The cat blinked several times.
She chuckled. “A big talker, I see. Just like your owner. So where do you suppose he is?”
She didn’t wait for the cat’s reply. She grabbed Dan’s shirt from the floor, laced her arms through the sleeves and fastened a few snaps.
She rose to check out her appearance in the mirror and was happy she didn’t find a bad case of bed head. Considering how often Dan had run his hands through her hair, she took it as a good sign and strode out of the room. As she made her way down the hallway, she was met with a cocker spaniel mix of some sort with short stubby legs who was doing his best to keep up with her. The dog was much too animated for this time of night. As she reached the top of the stairs, she looked into the soulful eyes of a friendly black Lab. Friendly, she assumed, because his tail had started wagging as soon as he spotted her.
“You’re a pretty one,” she said, giving the dog a pat on the head. Then she made her way down the stairs with her entourage following behind.
She entered the kitchen and found Lucky sound asleep on his cozy bed. He was just as they’d left him, dozing calmly, and it did her heart good to see him resting. Then her gaze drifted to the other end of the room, where she noticed Dan by the counter, filling a bowl of fresh water for the dog. His concern for Lucky was touching and incredibly sweet, but nothing, and she meant nothing, compared to how her breath caught at the sight of him.
The dim kitchen light illuminated his very tanned, very bare chest, the dip of his low-slung black jeans and the sharp, almost too rugged planes on his face. Handsome to a fault, she thought. She wrapped her arms around her middle, suddenly a bit shy. “Hi.”
He strode over to her, his eyes narrowed on the shirt she wore that touched her midthigh. His brows lifted in an approving way. “Hi.”
Then his hands came to her waist and he gave a little tug, drawing her closer, and kissed her softly on the lips. Her shyness disappeared and she smiled. “Checking on Lucky?”
“Yep.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Seems fine,” he answered, never taking his eyes off her. “I like you in my shirt.”
“Oh, um, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Hell no, I don’t mind.” He dipped his head to meet her eyes and gave her waist a squeeze. “Everything okay?”
“Mmm, everything’s fine,” she assured him. “I met some of your friends.” She pointed to the two dogs sniffing around Lucky’s bed. The cat began rubbing her cheek up against the edge of the bed tentatively, wary of the sleeping animal she had yet to meet.
“That small cocker spaniel lapping around is Buggy. This big guy is Rio,” and just as he offered that, the black Labrador sat down beside him and nuzzled Dan’s leg.
“What about the cat?” she asked.
“That’d be Juliet.”
“Juliet?”
“Yep, Romeo is probably sawing logs right now with the others.”
“You have quite a family here.”
“I suppose I’m the Pied Piper of stray animals.”
“And of stray women?”
Dan blinked. “No, never have gathered stray women, Erin. I don’t think of you that way.”
She set her palms flat on his chest and his gasp filled the silent room. “I’m very glad about that.”
“Are you?” His eyes flickered and moved over her body lazily, as if physically touching her again, as if thinking of new ways to please her.
Goodness, she was asking for trouble.
He bunched the material of her shirt in his hand and slowly tugged her closer. “I like you touching me,” he rasped, his voice deep and low.
She gulped down a big noisy breath. Her body immediately transformed from sated and relaxed to crazy tingling bouts of tremors. She moved her hands on him, her fingertips grazing over his pecs, and her breathing sped up.
He let her shirt drop and reached up to cup her face in his hands, his eyes two dark pools of deep blue. “You want this?”
He didn’t have to say it, again. She knew what he was asking. “Yes. I want you. Do y—”
“Just for the record, sweetness,” he interrupted. “The answer is hell yes.”
She barely had time to smile before his mouth came down on hers and she was being lifted off her feet, his big hands holding her cheeks from behind. Automatically her legs came around his waist and she clung on to him. Her core pressed against the rigid length of his erection. The impact had her moaning and Dan too was affected. A guttural groan coming from somewhere deep in his gut, sounded in her ears. They were lost in each other, mouths wet and hot and devouring.
He strode forward until her back was against the wall. “Like this?” he asked.
“I’ve never... Yes.”
He crushed another kiss to her mouth and as soon as she opened to take a much-needed breath, he dipped his tongue inside and a hot spiraling fire erupted, melting her bones. Sensation after sensation ripped through her body. She was so ready for him, she could hardly stand it. It was amazing how much she craved being with Dan. He couldn’t
