Free T is for Temptation by Jianne Carlo

from head to toe.
    “It seems the only time we’re in harmony is when I’m making love to you.”
    His right thumb drew a gentle caress on her cheek, the touch so slight, so delicious she couldn’t resist leaning into it.
    “So, we’re making love first, and then we’ll talk.”
    Flustered and panicky, determined to control her powers, she hissed, “Don’t kiss me.”
    “Huh?” His dark eyebrows did an uphill drive, and three deep lines etched the bronzed skin on his forehead.
    “I’m fine for the making love, but you can’t kiss me.”
    “I’m good enough to screw, but not upper class enough to kiss?”
    His hands fell away, his movements taut with barely controlled fury, and the momentary flare of grim acknowledgment in those sable pools lanced a sword into her heart.
    “No, no. Damn, I didn’t mean it that way.” Her trembling hands flew to his chest and she waited, hoping he wouldn’t reject her conciliatory words. “I can’t think when you kiss me, and there’s all this tension, and . . .”
    It wasn’t a frog clogging her throat, it was a damned alligator, and for the life of her, she couldn’t get another word out. It seemed he didn’tcare one way or the other.
    “Good,” he said, his voice gruff and low, and he kissed her, a brief, hard contact.
    Her mind whirled, and she yielded as he pulled away and led her to an emerald sofa dappled with delicate pink rose petals. Heat washed across her cheeks, Tee shuffled the cushions so they concealed the flowers, and glanced at Jake, who wasn’t looking in her direction. When he left to retrieve the wine, Tee covered her face with her hands and willed everything away.
    “I swear every room you’re in smells of roses.”
    She cringed and tried to hide the reaction by pasting a smile on her face.
    He dropped onto the now-clean upholstered furniture, deposited two wine glasses and the bottle on the table, and draped an arm across her shoulders, tugging her against him.
    “Okay, Tallulah Inglefield, we need to talk, and while all I want to do is be inside of you, we’ll settle matters first.”
    He dropped a kiss on her forehead and lifted his warm arm away, leaving her bereft for a few moments.
    “Why did you leave Trinidad ?”
    She’d anticipated the question and had a ready reply. “I didn’t want you to think you owed me anything. And afterwards, you seemed angry. I figured we both needed some time and space.”
    “Delaying tactics, Tee. You don’t want to explain why you were a widowed virgin, am I wrong?” He sipped his wine.
    “Yes and no. I didn’t want to talk about it, but I also wanted to give you an out.” Embarrassment had her in a vice grip. “Truly.”
    Taking her hand in his, he flattened out the palm, traced its circumference, and kissed the center, a wet, slow kiss. “For the record, I don’t want out, and if I did, I wouldn’t need your permission.”
    “Are you still angry?”
    Something about her hand seemed to fascinate him.
    “Again, for the record, I wasn’t angry. I was shocked.” His black eyes glinted with puzzlement and his full lips pursed. “I would’ve taken care not to hurt you if I’d known. There are ways to make it easier the first time.”
    “Jake, I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
    “Okay, we’ll table the topic, for now. That still doesn’t explain why you left.”
    “And you still seem angry.”
    “More pissed than angry. You left me to sit through a seven-course meal surrounded by two of your mother’s friends, who made the Spanish Inquisition seem like a pleasant soirée. They put me through the wringer. Ah hell, Tee. You could’ve told me where you were going, a note, a voice mail. Why didn’t you?”
    “You know the fight or flight reaction?”
    He nodded.
    “I’m a big coward. I ran.”
    “Why?”
    She suppressed a sigh and wondered if perhaps Dee wasn’t right. She should be honest. “It’s complicated.”
    “Okay, you don’t plan on answering that one