Free Careless by Cheryl Douglas Page A

thinkin’ about makin’ love to you right now.”
    His honesty tore down the last weak barrier
that remained between them. “What are we doin’… this is crazy. I don’t even
like you, so why the hell can’t I keep my hands off you whenever we’re alone
together?”
    Instead of being affronted, he chuckled at
her honest assessment of the situation. “I’ll be damned if I know. I hate the
fact you’re sassy…” He bent his head to swipe his tongue across her sealed
lips. “Opinionated…” Another leisurely stroke of the tongue, this time deeper.
“Insolent…” He grabbed the back of her head and delved in to her mouth like a
man who’d been without a woman’s touch in years. Desperate, hungry… “But no
one, and I mean no one, has ever turned me on the way you do.”
    Tori whimpered, trying to grip his
impossibly wide shoulders for support. She shouldn’t be getting aroused. He was
insulting her, not whispering sweet words of worship in her ear, but she
couldn’t deny she felt the same way about him. 
    “This is the reason I didn’t want you on
this case.” Even as she warred with herself about the mistake she was about to
make, yet again, her hands were reaching for the hem of his shirt. “I knew this
was gonna happen.”
    “It was inevitable,” he muttered, lifting
her hair so he would have better access to that secret spot on her neck. “I
can’t keep my hands off you.”
    She tilted her head back, past the point of
caring whether this was right or wrong. It felt too good for her to even think
about stopping him now. She didn’t even hear the sound of her zipper sliding
down her back; she was too busy trying to stop the room from spinning.
    “You don’t know how many times I’ve thought
about this, baby.” He eased the dress down, pushing it past her hips. “You fit
me like a glove, like you were made for me.”
    The protests and fear swirling around in
Tori’s head started slipping away as her intense need for this man made
everything else seem insignificant. She knew what it felt like to get loaded on
liquid poison, but she had no idea a man’s touch could make her feel as
reckless, as though nothing mattered beyond getting her next shot of him.
    He hooked his thumbs inside of her thong
and tugged them down. “Damn,” he whispered, standing back to admire the outcome
of her drunken episode.    
    Tori felt the heat rising up her chest, her
neck, infusing her cheeks with color. Oh hell, no, he’s seen the tattoo.
     
     
    Mike felt like he’d just won the lottery.
The sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on had his name inked on her luscious
flesh. She couldn’t deny he was the inspiration behind the tattoo even if she
wanted to. The badge with handcuffs and a gun were sweet enough, but seeing his
name in the center of that shield was enough to make him want to drop to his
knees and pay homage to the artist responsible for the masterpiece… and the
woman who’d endured the pain in his honor.
    “I love it.”
    She closed her eyes. “I never intended for
you to see it.”
    He tipped her chin. “Open your eyes.” He
kissed her lips tenderly. “I said I love it. It’s incredible. You’re
incredible.”
    Tori covered her hands with her face. “I’ve
never been so embarrassed in my life. You must think I’m pathetic.”
    “I think you’re gorgeous… sexy… and I can’t
even tell you how much that turns me on, baby.”
    She looked up, peeking through the gaps in
her fingers. “Really? You don’t think I’m a total loser?”
    “No way.” He smiled. “But I’ve gotta know,
why’d you do it?”
    “Like I said, we’d all had way too much to
drink that night, and we got to talkin’ about the guys we’d been with. My
friend, Roxie, said we should get tattoos in honor of the best lovers we’ve
ever had… you know, to remind us that we shouldn’t be willin’ to settle for
less.”
    Mike tried to quash the disappointment. He represented
the promise of great