Taking her time, she slid her mouth away from him. A spear of glistening flesh appeared before her. A thing of pure masculine beauty.
He lifted her up off the mattress and spun her around so her back leaned against his front. He plunged his hand between her legs and clamped it against her wet sex. She cried out—already turned on, that one touch nearly sent her over the edge. He spanned her breasts with one of his big hands as he stroked her with the other.
A second ago, he’d been at her mercy; now she was completely at his. She writhed against him as want and need coursed through her. The only thing that mattered was the electric contact of his flesh against hers.
“On the bed,” he growled. Together, somehow, they collapsed onto the mattress. He tugged her pants off and pushed his own jeans down his powerful thighs. When he’d gotten rid of his pants, he turned his attention back to her. With a firm hand on each of her inner thighs, he spread her open.
And put his head between them and licked her, up and down. The pleasure felt like an electric shriek. Her back arched all on its own and she dug her fingers into his thick hair. His sensual lips parted her softness, kissed her most intimate self, explored, tasted, savored. Lashed her with one overwhelming sensation after another. The way he drove his tongue against her—no mercy, no hesitation—sent her onto a wild plane of pure sensation. She had no control there, all she could do was hang on and let Darius’ magic mouth do whatever he wanted to her.
And then he was gone…and he was reaching for the pocket of his jeans. He slid a condom on that jutting cock and her heart was pounding and she couldn’t wait…couldn’t stand to live another second without feeling him inside her.
He moved on top of her and slid his belly against hers. “You good?” he murmured.
She nodded, almost frantic. “Do it. I’m good. We’re good.”
A slight smile flashed through the scruff already darkening his jawline. This man was one hundred percent testosterone, damn it.
Except he was so much more than that. He was gentle power, aching restraint, exquisite control as he eased his swollen erection inside her. She was so wet from all his suckling that he entered easily at first. The deeper he went, the more her channel contracted around him. Flutters of pleasure accompanied his slide, little promises of the ecstasy to come.
Her eyes drifted shut as he seated himself fully inside her. A sense of satisfaction came over her. Even if they did nothing else, they were joined together as intimately as two people could be. She felt the beauty of that down to her soul.
He slid his hand between them, to her clit. His big thumb found a spot that sent searing pleasure to every one of her nerve endings. She cried out and trembled under his rubbing.
“I can’t…Darius…I’m going to come…I can’t…”
“Do it,” he commanded. “Don’t fucking hold back for anything. Just come.”
She didn’t know what he was doing anymore—she couldn’t keep track. All she knew was that everywhere she needed it, there was pressure and friction and heat and wetness. There was a man growling in her ear, there was hot skin sliding against her, there was a huge cock moving inside her, filling her up—and that hand sending her higher and higher, up and up until she exploded into a sky full of fireworks.
He stayed with her, not letting up as the spasms ripped through her. Only when she’d started to float down from that other planet did he pump himself into her with wild, almost desperate thrusts. With her knees wrapped around him, her body arched, she welcomed every feverish bit of him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Darius surfaced from a fog of afterglow to remember that he actually had a reason to be here that didn’t involve sex.
With the two of them sprawled in a naked tangle on Kate’s queen-size mattress, he settled his hand on her ass. Her curves settled so sweetly into his palm. She lay face down, her eyes half-closed, lips parted.
“You awake?” he said softly.
“Mmmm.” If a sound could express pure satisfaction, that would be it. “Barely. Get it? Barely?” She gestured toward her naked form.
Trust Kate to crank out the bad jokes even on the verge of sleep.
“I didn’t actually come over here to tumble you into bed.”
“I know. I had to work hard for this. I think you owe me a thank you.” One eyelid dropped closed in a sleepy wink.
“Thank you,” he said without a second of hesitation. “Seriously.”
She gave a soft chuckle. “Any time, big guy.” She rolled onto her back and stretched her arms over her head. He visually traced the line of her body, from pointed toes to linked hands. She was a long, tall drink of something strong, Kate was. Something that went right to his head.
Then she sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. All serious business.
“Hey, you’re hiding all the naughty bits,” he complained.
“We can’t be naughty all night,” she said reasonably. “There’s something you want to talk about. Go ahead, I’m ready now. My brain cells have reassembled in their proper order.”
He loved the idea that he’d helped scramble them in the first place. “Maya came to see me with some data analysis she did about the fires we’ve been having.”
“Fires?”
“Backing up. Lost Harbor has been experiencing an abnormally high rate of nuisance fires. No one hurt, no real damage. But they’re a problem because they could spread if we don’t get to them in time and they’re taking up fire department resources. After the first few, we began to wonder if they were deliberately set.”
“You mean arson?”
“I mean arson.”
She frowned in thought. “Isn’t it pretty easy to tell if a fire is due to arson? I remember a case my law firm was involved with.”
“It usually is, but so far there’s been nothing especially obvious. The fires aren’t big enough to be destructive, indicating that the firebug isn’t using accelerant.”
“If there’s a firebug.”
“Right. Anyway, our dedicated police chief, Maya, made a chart of all the fires that lays out the timing and she noticed something very strange and interesting.”
“Well, they do say strange things happen around Lost Souls Wilderness,” she quipped.
“Yes, they do. And it’s a hundred percent true. But I’m not willing to shrug off an arson spree. That would be a dereliction of my duty as fire chief.”
She gave a delicious shiver. “I love when you use legal terms. So hot.”
He laughed. “I’ll have to remember that. Writ of habeas corpus. Appellate brief.”
“Okay stop, you’ll get me going again. Back to Maya’s chart. What did she discover?”
“That the only extended gap in the fires happened when we were in Los Angeles.”
It took a moment for that shocker to sink in. “What? Why? What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. I wanted to talk to you about it.” He held her gaze, hoping she’d jump to the same logical conclusion he had.
“Could be a coincidence.”
“It’s possible.” He shrugged one shoulder, dismissing that idea. He didn’t really believe in coincidences, not when it came to fires. “Can’t assume that. I can rule out myself as the cause.”