Free Midnight Action by Elle Kennedy Page A

stroke of his tongue stirred the fire inside her, until her entire body felt consumed by flames. His stubble scraped her cheeks in the most delicious way, and when he drew her closer so that their chests were flush against each other, she could feel his heart hammering against her breasts.
    She kissed him back like a woman starved, taking every ounce of pleasure he had to offer. When her tongue slipped into his mouth so she could do some exploring of her own, Jim’s low groan of approval vibrated between them and made every inch of her melt.
    “Christ. Noelle.” He pulled back only to whisper those two passion-laced words, and then he was kissing her again, while his hands traveled down the length of her back and settled over her bottom.
    He cupped her buttocks and thrust his lower body into hers, and a moan escaped her lips at the feel of his erection pressing into her belly.
    So this was desire. This was lust. She’d feared that René had destroyed her ability to experience such powerful sexual emotions, and triumph soared through her when she realized that he hadn’t. He hadn’t stolen this from her.
    As a wave of liberation crested inside her, Noelle dug her fingers into Jim’s shoulders and kissed him back hungrily. She didn’t care that he wanted to take things slow. She wanted him. She
needed
him.
    With frantic hands, she tugged on the hem of his T-shirt, desperately trying to lift it up, but he stopped her by stumbling backward.
    “No,” he said hoarsely. “We can’t.”
    Determination hardened her features. “We
can
. I want to.”
    “Not yet.” He practically choked out the words, as if he didn’t want to say them but was forcing himself to.
    She could see in his eyes that he didn’t want to stop. His gaze burned with need, and his cheeks were flushed from passion. He kept his hands at his sides, curled into tight fists, like he was trying not to reach out and touch her.
    “Why not?” she pressed.
    “Because I don’t want to rush it. You’re special—don’t you get that? You deserve more than...than
me
, damn it.”
    She furrowed her brows in surprise. “Don’t say that. I’m lucky to have you—don’t
you
get that?”
    His expression went shuttered, but not before she glimpsed a flash of anguish.
    “You really want us to wait?” she said slowly.
    He released a ragged breath. “I do. I know it doesn’t make much sense to you, but I can’t just rush you into my bed. I need to earn it.”
    He was right—his cryptic words didn’t make a lick of sense to her, but he sounded so tormented and looked so upset that she decided not to push him.
    “Okay,” she murmured. “We’ll go back to taking it slow.”
    The relief that flooded his face was unmistakable. “Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “Do you want to go out for dinner?”
    Dinner? Uh, yeah, right. What she wanted to do was kiss him again. To lose herself in those incredible sensations and never leave his side.
    But after a beat, she simply nodded. “Sure.”
    “Okay, cool. Let me just grab my coat and wallet.”
    He took several steps toward the bedroom, but stopped before he reached the door. “Noelle?”
    “Yeah?”
    When he turned to face her, her breath lodged in her lungs.
    He swallowed, looking more vulnerable than she’d ever seen him. “That was the best kiss of my life.”

Chapter 7
    Present day
    The second she and Jim got back to the town house, Noelle made a beeline for the living room bar and poured herself a glass of brandy. She heard him come up behind her, and his proximity raised her hackles. For some inexplicable reason the man seemed determined to stick to her like glue—and she didn’t like it one damn bit. Bad enough that he’d joined her at the club, but now he was crowding her in her own home?
    She spun around and scowled at him. “Quit shadowing me. It’s annoying.”
    “Why couldn’t you just say you were working a job back there?” he said gruffly. “Why all the