Free MAD DOG AND ANNIE by Virginia Kantra

arms. He slid his hands from her shoulders to her neck, feeling the tension in her, feeling her pulse careen in her throat. Excitement? Or fear? His breath came faster. He was some kind of creep if the thought of making her nervous turned him on.
    He pushed his fingers into her hair, holding her still for his inspection. Her hair was silky fine, soft and slippery. She smelled like baby shampoo. Desire welled dangerously, adding to the explosive mix inside him. Cradling her head, he searched her face for the girl he'd known, the girl who had looked at him with adoration.
    The green eyes meeting his were cool and blank. Her hands came up to curl around his wrists, to hold him away. Frustration shook him. He couldn't find her, couldn't get to her, couldn't protect her.
    "I think you should go now," she said.
    "Yeah," he said hoarsely. She was right. He ought to get out of here before he did something really dumb, something they would both regret.
    He didn't move. Neither did she . Only that heartbeat in her throat, quick as a bird's. Her lips were pale and dry. She licked the lower one, and lust clawed his gut.
    The need to touch her, to reach her, to make her respond, raked him. He kissed the bump on the bridge of her nose and felt her tremble. Hell, he was shaking, too. He kissed the corner of her wide, unsmiling mouth and felt the sharp intake of her breath.
    Holding her still, he turned his head, just a fraction, and laid his mouth on hers. His heart jackhammered in his chest. Her hands tightened on his wrists, but she didn't pull away. He kissed her lips, long and softly, insistently, and felt them warm and cling in reply. But she was still holding back, holding out on him.
    Heat exploded in his brain. He deepened the kiss, diving past her soft lips and her smooth teeth, driving for the heat and the heart and the depths of her mouth. She tasted like the sweet tea she'd served with dinner, and her lips were warm, and her tongue was velvet. He was kissing her. Kissing Annie. It blew his mind. He didn't even register if she kissed him back, he was a teenager again, hot and hungry, pushing into her mouth, desperate to possess, to plunder.
    Her fingernails curled into his wrists. The tiny pain pricked through the overload of sensation, sliced through the haze in his head.
    She was not kissing him back. Damn.
    He dragged his mouth from hers. Her lips were red. Her face was pale. Her eyes were blank and wide.
    Shock, he figured. He'd badgered her into revealing the worst secrets of her marriage, and then jumped her. He'd shocked her, disgusted her. Hell, he disgusted himself.
    "Want to slap my face?"
    Her eyes flickered. "Would it make me feel better?"
    "I don't know," he said honestly. "It might make me feel better, though."
    She angled her chin. Even with his body rioting and his emotions out of control, he admired her attempt at composure.
    "I'm not particularly interested in making you feel better right now," she said.
    He released her. "Yeah, I can see that."
    Her hands twisted together at her waist. "What did you come for?" she whispered. "Answers?"
    Her quiet question pierced his chest. That's what he'd told himself. Gather the evidence, get the facts, see if he could shake her story. That's the way he operated. Well, he had her story now, and all the evidence pointed to him being a jerk.
    "That was part of it," he admitted.
    She nodded. "Well, then, you can leave now. You got what you wanted."
    Anger at her acceptance burned him. He would have preferred the slap.
    "Not even close," he said harshly. "But I will."
    He waited for that to register; watched her green eyes widen. And then he left.
    * * *
    The tables in the dining room needed fresh flowers. Ann collected a tray full of vases and eased through the swinging door to the kitchen, letting herself be distracted by the restaurant's pre-lunch buzz, the smells of baking bread and grilling vegetables.
    She was not going to think about Maddox Palmer anymore. Her heart gave