Free Dare She Kiss & Tell? by Aimee Carson

“And I don’t like the term ‘glow’ either,” she said.
    “What do you prefer?”
    “I prefer incandescence.”
    Before she could react, Hunter reached up and placed a finger at the corner of her mouth. Eyes wide, Carly stared up at him as he slowly stroked the skin above her lip…curling her toes as he went. A feat she would have sworn was a myth until this very moment, but her toenails were busy trying to dig a hole into her high heels. Hunter’s finger dipped lightly into the groove bisecting the middle of her mouth, slicking away the few dots of sweat that were immediately replaced by others. Her heart pumped overly heated blood that surely had her glowing by now.
    Damn him, he was right. She was drowning in both anxiety
and
desire. Her breaths came in short, tight increments that sounded embarrassingly like small gasps. As she stared up at him Carly’s mind ran through every reason—and there were many—why she should step away. Despite her previous attempts at flirting Hunter had hung back, watching her with cool eyes, a hands-off attitude, and that emotional wall that was always present. Only a fool would believe he’d suddenly changed his mind. And William Wolfe hadn’t raised a fool.
    So why was she standing here, frozen like an idiot? She knew very well this was part of some master plan he’d cookedup. Had the partners at Firewell Inc. met, given the matter consideration and then voted unanimously to muck with her mind?
    His eyes crinkled in muted humor. Clearly enjoying his effect on her, Hunter said, “You’re definitely incandescent now.”
    Paralyzed by the sensual havoc he created, breathing was all she could manage as he cupped her jaw and finally placed his mouth on hers. Carly’s heart thumped in her chest as her body concentrated on the hand on her face, and the lips that slanted softly, yet insistently, over hers. The rest of his body remained disengaged. Only his warm palm and warmer mouth were involved. With just enough restrained heat to melt her tenuous reserve. Until she was kissing him back, her mind whirling from the barrage of emotions.
    Doubt. Distrust. And a whole lot of desire.
    Being the dominant one of the three, desire seized her in its grasp, and Carly placed her palms on his chest, frustrated by the distance. Longing to feel the hard length of his body again. Why didn’t he pull her closer? Even worse, why was she mad that he didn’t?
    She pulled her mouth from his, her breathing labored, and stared up at the slate-blue eyes. “You’re holding back, G-Man.” The need to feel more was driving her on, despite the embarrassing knowledge the whole thing was a ploy. “That’s no way to seduce a woman.”
    “Maybe my goal was to frustrate, not seduce.”
    Desire still pulsed through her body, but her mouth went flat, the moisture left from his lips momentarily disrupting her thoughts. “Score one for the former FBI agent and his tactics,” she said, as lightly as she could.
    But now she was doubly annoyed. At him for being so damn honest it forced her to confront just how caught up in the moment she’d been, and how easy it was for him to maintainhis distance. That emotional wall was just as frustrating when it was a sensual one. But mostly she was annoyed at herself, for knowing all of the above and
still
being so turned on she could barely think beyond the feel of his smooth shirt, the hard plane of muscle beneath her hand.
    Gazes locked, she pressed on his chest. “Your mission was a success.” If he wanted to resist her efforts he didn’t let on, allowing her to push him back until she’d trapped him against his car.
    “Feeling frustrated already?” he said.
    In every way imaginable. “Very.”
    “Now you know how it feels.”
    Why was she so ticked about his control? She ignored the crippling doubt, beat back the voice that kept telling her to walk away…and popped open the top button of his shirt. Her beef with this closed-off, enigmatic man went