Free In Love and War by Tara Mills

haven’t been kicked out of a furniture store since. I admit it’s still hard to drag me away from paint displays, but at least I’m allowed to take samples.”
    “Where did you come from?” Dylan stopped and turned, his arms going around her. His smile was cockeyed, but it sorted itself out when he moved in to kiss her.
    Max tugged against the leash, but to no avail. Giving up, he plopped down on the pavement to wait.
    The scent of Dylan’s aftershave mingled seductively with the soft feel of his lips pressed against hers. The combination tipped Ariela into an honest-to-god swoon. If he weren’t holding her, she would have ended up as a puddle at his feet.
    “I really want to cuddle with you on the couch, but I don’t think Max will make room for us. Is your place free?” he asked against her ear, his warm breath doing a little stroking of its own.
    Feeling a bit warm all of a sudden, Ariela nodded. “Jean and Ron are going out.”
    Dylan’s smile grew. He kissed her temple and sent her pulse into orbit. “So my thoughts aren’t out of line?” he asked.
    Ariela’s eyes rolled closed, and she swayed against him. “God, no.”
    He grinned. “Good, let’s cut through here. We’ll take Max home the back way.”

Chapter 6
    Dylan never stopped touching Ariela in the car on the way to her house. It started simply enough, a gentle stroke up her arm that ended under her hair. His fingers began kneading her neck muscles, and her eyes shuttered closed, and her head fell back against the headrest. She bolted up with a yelp.
    Dylan shot her a look of concern. “You okay?”
    “I was terrific until I forgot about my lump.”
    He chuckled and drew his hand out, caressing her cheek before returning it to the wheel and signaling his turn.
    Ariela had described the unsettled feeling Dylan gave her as a tornado, but now she wasn’t sure that was the right comparison. A tornado was loud and violent, certainly, but after careful consideration, that seemed too dry. No, this was closer to a tsunami or hurricane churning through her insides because there was moisture, a great deal of very unmistakable moisture to go along with the roaring in her ears and the rumbling in her chest.
    As they climbed the staircase, her footsteps felt springy, buoyant on the treads. It was as if her legs were pogo sticks. Did he feel any of this? Could he tell she was lost in a maelstrom he’d set off?
    Inside the apartment, Dylan allowed her just enough time to hang up her purse before he caught her around the waist and turned her in his arms. There was something in his eyes, those luscious, blueberry eyes, that sent tension vibrating along her spine. For a fraction of a second, he simply looked at her with just a hint of a smile. Then he moved on her, decisively, closing the space between them.
    Ariela looped her arms behind his neck and held on, perfectly ready and willing to be plundered. Her feet left the floor at the same time their lips connected and suddenly they were collapsing on the couch. Dylan’s hand protected her head down to the cushions. That simple, thoughtful act undid her . Ariela kissed him long and hard, rewarding his consideration.
    Finally coming up for air, she nuzzled along his jaw. “You smell fantastic.”
    “So do you,” he growled, diving at her throat.
    “My perfume wore off hours ago.”
    “I know.”
    That was it —she was his if he wanted her. What an easy conquest she’d turned out to be. She couldn’t even summon up disappointment in herself. The reality was, she’d never wanted anything, anyone more, and it was no use fighting it.
    Dylan pulled his head back, his lust for her unmistakable in his smoldering eyes. “Are we on the same page here?”
    She cracked a little smile. “God, I hope so.”
    With a groan, he crushed his lips to hers and Ariela felt a slight sting against her teeth. Then his tongue ventured out and soothed the pain away. Now his kiss mellowed from one of heated urgency to a