Free Hot for His Hostage by Angel Payne Page A

of things up, baby girl.”
    “No shit.”
    She wasn’t sure how he’d react to that. She was guilty as hell when it came to deliberate
     goads of the man tonight, but her new confession was simply the truth. Thank God he
     discerned that, proving it by emitting his sexiest growl of the night. He ended the
     eruption by turning her around again, bringing her body flush with his once more,
     not wasting another moment to slam his mouth back down to hers.  
    Before their lips touched, Zoe caught a glimpse of his face. The glory of him flipped
     her heart all over again. The passion on his stunning features was defined by the
     gold hues of the hotel’s floodlights, sifting in through the curtains. With his prominent
     jaw and cheekbones cast into such dramatic relief, her imagination re-outfitted him
     from the business attire into a gladiator’s galerus.
    It was her last cognizant thought for a while.
    Forget nirvana. The man’s embrace took her straight to heaven. She moaned as he opened
     her wider, tangling their tongues, filling her mouth with his. Heat blasted her like
     desert wind as he ramped his assault on her lips, inviting her vital organs to join
     her heart’s acrobatic act.
    A deep sigh vibrated her throat. She felt sixteen and breathless and new again. She
     was certain she blushed to her toes as he forced her jeans and panties down her legs,
     then simply hoisted her a few inches off her feet in order to kick off her boots himself.
     Her jeans followed within seconds, leaving her completely naked before him. Thank
     God for her Spanish and Greek heritage. Olive tints were awesome for hiding the pink
     of uncertainty.
    After he set her back down, Shane relocked his stare with hers. The light from outside
     hit his irises directly now, turning the caramel silk into an amber glow that was
     almost intergalactic. With his chest pumping on hard breaths, he pressed her hands
     to the buttons on his shirt, silently ordering her to set them free. Inch by tantalizing
     inch, she released the fabric, exposing the naked breadth of his torso.
    “ Dios mio ,” she whispered.
    “What?”
    “Maybe you are an alien.”
    “ What ?”
    She shoved the shirt farther back, then all the way off his torso. His pecs were like
     twin plates of steel, his abs twin ridges of defined perfection. A tattoo of swirling
     smoke covered his left shoulder and bicep, with a bold capital I wrapped in the middle. His right bicep was circled by a band of tribal-influenced
     chain. “You. You’re—” She bit her lip. “I’m a dancer. I’ve been around some beautiful
     men in my life. But this—you—” She stepped back, letting him laugh at her quivering
     cry. “You’re otherworldly.” The itch from the back of her mind pushed forward again,
     begging to be let out. “Either that or you secretly moonlight as a model.”
    “Do I look like I model?” His gaze narrowed. “Answer that very carefully.”
    She laughed. He didn’t. “Fine. You’re leaving me only one other option for a conclusion.”
    “I’m afraid to ask.”
    “Conditioning this excellent usually comes courtesy of the United States military,
     Mr. Burnett. Or is it Sergeant? Or Captain?”
    She almost held her breath waiting for his answer. If he confirmed her contention,
     what would she do? She’d declared a freeze-out on military men once, not a surprise
     to anyone considering the ordeals her sister had endured by falling for a string of
     jerks in uniform. That was before Ava found herself a soldier who obliterated those
     stains, then put a giant ring on it for good measure. After witnessing Ava’s happiness
     with Sergeant Ethan Archer, Zoe had reconsidered her stance, even giving it another
     go with Bryce. He’d been a proud member of the Las Vegas PD for a year at that point,
     collecting some department commendations and seeming like he’d gained enough distance
     from his US Marines days to accept a few imperfections in people—perhaps