Free Arouse Suspicion by Maureen McKade Page A

straddled her, a knee on either side of her hips, and leaned down. His hard penis brushed against her soft belly. He froze, afraid he'd embarrass himself. God, it had been too damned long since he'd made love to a woman. And even longer since he'd been this excited, this anxious to slide into a woman's wet heat.
    To delay the inevitable, he dropped light kisses on her half-masted eyelids, her cute pug nose, her dainty but oh-so-stubborn chin. He continued the line of kisses down her chest, to each breast, to her belly button, and to the elastic waistband of her bikinis. He raised his head as her warm, musky scent tempted and bedeviled him.
    "Yes," she whispered hoarsely.
    Nick kissed her navel once more, then divested her of the last cloth barrier between them. He nuzzled the juncture of her thighs, where the scent of her was the keenest. He tasted her, and she arched upward, a cry breaking from her parted lips.
    "Now," Danni said, her tone breathy.
    Unable to resist any longer, he quickly tore open the flat pack, and his fingers fumbled with the latex.
    Nick wanted—no, needed—to go slow. But Danni clearly was ready. She wrapped her willowy legs around his waist and crossed her ankles at his back.
    With a groan of surrender, Nick eased into her. Danni's wet, tight heat encircled him, squeezed him. He couldn't not move, especially when Danni rocked her hips upward, taking him even deeper.
    "Please, Nick, please," she pleaded, the pupils of her eyes nearly obliterating the blue. She raked her nails up and down his back, increasing his need to find release.
    Unable to resist both her words and his body's demands, Nick drew back, then plunged into her. She met him stroke for stroke until she climaxed with a strangled cry. The ripples through her body induced Nick's orgasm, bringing waves of ecstasy crashing through him.
    Nick collapsed but remembered to roll to the side so he wouldn't crush her. He took care of the condom, turned off the lamp, and reached for Danni, who was well on the path back to slumber.
    "Thanks, Nick," she said, her voice husky. She curled against his side, her head resting below his chin and her breath creating moist trails across his chest.
    Sated and feeling strangely protective of the warm bundle in his arms, Nick kissed her crown. "You're welcome, Danni," he whispered tenderly.

Chapter Five
    Utter silence and a full bladder awakened Nick. It took him a few moments to realign his brain cells and remember where he was. And why.
    A part of him regretted what he'd done, but she'd been so hungry, so passionate. Only a saint could've refused her, and he was no saint.
    The empty side of the bed was cool, telling him Danni had risen some time ago. He glanced at the digital clock radio on the nightstand: 8:03 a.m.
    Damn the woman! Danni had gone alone to meet Sam Richmond for breakfast. After their conversation about sticking together, she'd still gone without him.
    He threw off his covers and found his muscles were even sorer than they'd been last night. Of course, the sexual aerobics probably hadn't helped. Well, maybe it hadn't helped his muscle aches, but it had helped him overcome his insomnia.
    He stood carefully, tugged on his boxers, and hobbled down the hall to the bathroom he'd used last night. Once that mission was completed, he slowly swung one arm, then the other, in a wide arc to loosen them. A few minutes later, the tight muscles eased enough that he could actually lift his arms without grimacing.
    Grabbing the borrowed bathrobe, Nick went downstairs, the creaking steps a harsh contrast to the empty silence. Gus was sprawled on her side on the carpet in the living room, in much the same position she'd been last night before she'd followed Nick to bed. Rather, his first bed.
    His irritation with Danni grew. Why didn't she understand that she could be in danger—deadly danger? Why did she have to be so damned stubborn about this?
    He smelled coffee and ducked into the kitchen to find a nearly