Free Shifting Gears by Audra North Page B

as he seemed to think. She could fight her own battles, and she could win. That was who she wanted to be.
    She lifted a hand, intending to push him aside, but even before her palm made contact, she knew it was a mistake to touch him at all. The memory of that kiss they’d both been ignoring, pretending had never happened, exploded in full force between their bodies, and the second her fingers curled around his shoulder, the anger between them changed into something else.
    Lust.
    â€œFuck. Annabelle.” Grady’s voice had changed, too, from an angry growl to a low, guttural groan, and the next thing she knew, she was tugging him into his office, slamming the door shut behind them and attacking his mouth with hers.

Chapter 6
    There was no way Annabelle was letting Grady back away from this kiss. Not this time.
    Not that she was worried he would, given how his mouth was sliding over hers in a hot, frantic caress, his hands squeezing her waist like he wanted to crush her to him and never let go.
    She loved it.
    His lips felt amazing. Soft but firm, pulling and sucking at her like she was some kind of delectable treat that he couldn’t get enough of. She could taste the bitterness of his morning coffee on his tongue when he licked over the seam of her lips, and she opened herself to him, wanting to take all that bitterness and turn it into something sweet. Something hot.
    His tongue slipped inside her mouth with just the right roughness to make her think of how he might thrust between her legs, hard and sure, but also with enough gentleness to make her feel like he really cared about her. About the Annabelle she was, not the expectation of what she should be.
    And wow, did he make her feel like a woman. He nibbled her bottom lip between his teeth and she arched, rubbing her suddenly-achy breasts against his chest and pushing her hips into his.
    No. Not pushing. Grinding. So blatantly sexual that she felt desire start to overwhelm her again, just like it had the other day. But this time, she fought it. This time, she was going to see things through. And oh, my. She moaned at the feel of that thick, hard ridge between her legs.
    Would it feel uncomfortable, or would it feel like the greatest, most sensual experience? All that hot hardness inside of her body. The very thought made her more aggressive, and she pushed harder against him, licking into his mouth, imagining being on top of him, riding up and down …
    She moved her fingers to the buttons on his shirt and began to slide them open.
    â€œHoly shit, Annabelle.” Grady tore his mouth away as he bit out the words, making them come out on a growl. He looked wild and flustered and so very sexy.
    She undid another button.
    His hands rubbed down her hips, grabbing the material of the skirt and pulling it up until the hem was at the top of her thighs and his fingers could easily reach between her legs and—
    â€œOh my God, ” she gasped, her body jerking in pleasure as he cupped her mound through her pantyhose, making her arch and rub into the pressure. She had to bring her hands to his hard, flexing upper arms just to have something to hold onto so she wouldn’t melt into the floor, but he didn’t even flinch as she dug her nails into his muscles. Just pressed the heel of his hand even harder into her, moving it in slow circles until she was panting and moaning.
    â€œGrady.” She needed him to stop, so she could get back to undressing him. She couldn’t do anything like this, too lost in her own pleasure to focus on anything but that hand and those biceps … she didn’t want to come and have it all end before she’d had a chance to do all the things she wanted to do.
    â€œGrady,” she repeated, trying to wriggle away, but that only intensified the sensation. Oh, dear. She was so close. Too close. “I don’t want—” she gasped. “I don’t want this—”
    She was going to