“Saint.”
He kissed his control goodbye. His hand pulled from her clit, and he grabbed her legs so that he could lift them over his shoulders. Frantic passion took over in the fierce drive for his release, and when his climax hit, it detonated through his entire body. The pleasure was so intense it felt as if it consumed him, and all Saint could do was hold tight to the woman beneath him and enjoy the hell out of the ride.
***
It was quite possible that she had made a strategic error.
Alice stared up at the ceiling and tried to catch her breath. Pleasure hummed through her. Not a soft afterglow of sated bliss, but more of a body-shaking quake that would shiver along her nerve endings every now and then.
She’d expected good sex. All the promise had been there, in the heated, instant attraction that she’d felt for Saint. Giving in this once had seemed…okay. Safe enough.
A miscalculation on her part.
One that, Alice hoped, would not come to bite her in the ass.
Saint pressed a kiss to her forehead. An oddly tender gesture that she hadn’t expected from him. They were more about hot lust, not tenderness. The kiss made her feel funny. Uncertain. But she didn’t get to analyze that uncertainty because he pulled out of her, and her greedy body resisted the withdrawal, clamping around him.
“Ready again?” Saint murmured, as he flashed her that deadly smile of his.
Oh, yes. But she didn’t say that. Because once had been too tempting. Twice—twice would be dangerous.
He padded into the bathroom. She knew he’d gone in there to ditch the condom. She didn’t want to just be lounging in bed when he returned, so Alice hopped up and rushed to her closet. She grabbed her silk robe and wrapped it around herself as—
“You didn’t have to cover up on my account.”
Yes, she had. Alice belted the robe and stared down at her hands as she did the small movement in order to buy a little time to school her expression. The truth of the matter was that Alice felt off-kilter. Unsettled. She hated to feel that way. “I dressed so I could walk you out.” Her head lifted. “I’m sure you have quite the busy day planned. I do, too. Places to go, people to kill and all that.”
He was still naked. Dammit. He was gorgeous naked. Sometimes, men could look all awkward when they were naked. Too hairy. Too pale. Slack muscles.
Uh, no. That wasn’t Saint. Saint looked incredible naked. As in, the man should never, ever wear clothing again because she was pretty sure that covering him up was a crime.
Alice knew a thing or two about crimes.
His muscles were magnificent. Enough to make a woman drool. And those tats…they swirled up his arms. Over his powerful chest. Twisting and turning and looking tough as hell. “Love the tats,” she heard herself say.
“Some people don’t like them. Say they make me look too rough.”
“I’m not some people.” Why was she talking about his tats? She’d planned to get him out of there, and instead, she was thinking that she should lick the tats to show her appreciation. So wrong. “But then, I often like what others don’t.”
“Are you saying you like me, Alice?”
Her heart beat a little faster. “Well, we both know you adore me.” She waved vaguely in the air. “But time is ticking, and as I indicated, I have quite a number of things on my to-do list so…”
His hands went to his hips. The movement just made his muscles flex. Made his abs stand out in all their glory even more. Wide shoulders. An eight pack. Maybe a ten when it came to his abs. Powerful arms and thighs. Giant cock.
Stop noticing everything about his body!
“Ahem.” Alice cleared her throat. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
He smiled at her and closed in. There was something about his smile that gave Alice a very, very bad feeling. “Sweetheart.” Saint stopped when he was right in front of her. His gaze seemed—dammit—tender as it rested on her. “What makes you think I’m going anywhere?”
Chapter Seven
Alice lifted her brows. “Well, I’m afraid you’re wrong on that point.” He needed clothing. “You can’t stay here all day. As much fun as our bout was, round two will have to wait.”
“Ah, so you’re already planning for next time? Me, too. I can hardly wait.”
Crap.
“And did you just say ‘fun’ when you described what we did?” Saint scratched his chin. Didn’t seem to notice that he had on zero clothing. “Is that the word you want to use?”
Do not look down. “What word do you prefer?” Alice asked him politely.
“Oh, I don’t know. Primal.”
It had been.
“Consuming.”
She’d felt consumed.
He nodded. “Addictive.”
That gave her pause. “You think you’re addicted to me?”
“I think it could be very easy to get addicted to someone like you.”
She stiffened. “Well, all the more reason for you to be on your merry way.” She skirted around him. Made her way to the bathroom. Ah, yes, there were his jeans. She grabbed them and turned to toss them back to Saint.
Only to find him frowning at her. “I hurt you.”
“No, you made sure I was quite ready for you.” Pain had been the last thing she felt. Primitive, consuming pleasure? Double check.
“No, something I just said hurt you.” His head tilted to the right. “What was it?”
She tossed the jeans his way. Of course, he caught them with one hand. Lifting it casually at the last minute. “I have no idea what you mean.” She looked at her wrist. No watch, of course. She’d taken it off before hopping in the shower. “I do have a lot on my plate today so…”
“Do you always kick out your lovers after they give you two orgasms?” He pulled on the jeans. Left the top unbuttoned.
“Kicking out is better than killing them, isn’t it?” Earlier, lust had fogged her brain. He’d been right. It had been a very long time for her. She’d given in, and now she had to get her footing back, fast.
Saint stalked toward her with that lazy grace of his. “Why are you afraid of me?”
“Maybe I’m afraid for you.” No. She had not just said that. Alice barely stopped herself from slapping a hand over her mouth. What? Did good sex make her chatty? Was this some new, horrible character trait that was emerging?
Or…her heart twisted…was this part of Saint’s plan? “Why did you have sex with me?”
A hard shake of his head. The intensity of his stare strengthened. “Let’s get back to why you’re afraid.”
“I’m not afraid.” Her spine stiffened. “Of anything or anyone. Haven’t you heard? I’m the—”
His fingers curled under her chin. “Let me in.”
His touch sent a surge of need through her. A bad thing. “Didn’t you notice before? Would have thought it was hard to miss. I already did let you in.”
His lips twitched. “You are dangerous.”
“So I’ve been warning you.”
He leaned closer. “I also think you were right.”
“I’m always right.” Except when she was wrong. Then she was very, very wrong.