Free Greenshift by Heidi Ruby Miller Page A

been
feeling. Maybe Dale’s appearance at dinner really was lucky for her. And David
needed to control his jealousy, be happy for her. It’s not like their
relationship was serious. A couple of kisses and ambiguous innuendo didn’t
exactly show true progress, yet tonight he thought their connection deepened.
Maybe it was the alcohol.
    Mari laughed, startling him out
of his thoughts. “I get it,” she said.
    He regarded her, wondering what
he missed.
    “You thought I was dragging
you to bed,” she said over her shoulder as she walked toward the door.
    David smiled. “Maybe.”
    She waited for him in the
doorway. “Well, the bedroom’s this way.” Grabbing his belt, she led
him across the hall. He barely noticed the color surrounding him in this new
space, just the flush of color that slid up Mari’s bare back when he ran his
fingers along her arms.
    She dimmed the lights with a tap
to her palm, activating her wrist reporter, then slid it off and threw it on
the lime green rug. David snatched her off her feet and laid her on the bed,
his gaze finding those beautiful coral eyes before his mouth covered hers.
     
    Mari couldn’t catch her breath
because David stole it with each kiss. His hands were all over her—so were his
mouth and his body. She hadn’t expected him to be this aggressive, but she was
thrilled by every second of it. Even the feel of his weight pinning her legs
and hips to the bed.
    His body was solid and muscled
and the hardness of his arousal pressed through his pants. He covered her small
frame until she felt cocooned by him and his wonderful scent. It was unlike
anything she had ever felt before. Of course, anything dealing with coupling
was new to her. Realizing that she would finally be with a man sent shivers
down her spine.
    That her first time would be with
a man like David thrilled her.
    Seeing him take on the six men at
the dock stirred her desire even more than the memory of that beautiful kiss
they’d shared. He easily handled situations that scared her silly. None of the
men from her hometown commanded that kind of presence. Thinking about David
dispatching their attackers made Mari kiss him with a fierceness she didn’t
know was inside her.
    He responded by swirling his
tongue into her mouth. Ever so slowly he slid his tongue over hers. She grabbed
fistfuls of his thick, dark hair, becoming hyper-aware of certain parts of her
body—her lips, her breasts, her….
    “David,” she gasped his
name without completely breaking away from his skilled mouth. Her fingers
fumbled for the buttons on his shirt. He worked from the bottom up until they
met in the middle and she shoved the soft cotton away from his chest.
    She had touched his chest in
greeting dozens of times, but always the boundary of clothing kept her from his
skin. The smooth feel of him now beneath her fingertips sent electric bolts
through her body. His was the kind of body she and her sisters fantasized
about. But here she was touching him, living the fantasy. She outlined his
pectoral muscles, marveling at how his soft skin could cover such hard muscle.
When she reached his nipples, she ran her thumbs over the erect little nubs,
but shyness got the best of her, so she moved on, outlining the tops of his abs.
She’d be happy just to touch him like this for the rest of the night.
    David’s hands were busy sliding
the nightie from her shoulders, his mouth covering each centimeter of skin just
after the fabric exposed it. He definitely knew what he was doing. Would he
notice that she didn’t? The thought suddenly bothered her. What if she
disappointed him?
    Determined that she wouldn’t, she
feigned a confidence that dwindled by the second. Reaching for his belt—the one
she had no problem taking hold of earlier in order to lead him in here—she
fumbled with the buckle. Her hands shook a little, but she managed to unfasten
it and worked on the button of his pants next. That’s when David’s mouth found
her breast,