Free Dancing with Detective Danger by Lynn Crandall

voice thick.
    Effortlessly, he wrapped Sterling in his arms, lifted her off her feet and carried her through the apartment to his bedroom. Gently, almost reverently, he laid her on his bed. Sterling felt his strength and knew he could overpower her. Ben stood above her, lean, agile, and assured, like a wildcat. But gentleness softened his power and she knew she wasn’t his prey. Compelled by some deep hunger of her soul, she wanted this as much as he did.
    His eyes — dark blue pools of heat — drew her in. Fears of the future drowned in those steady, simmering eyes. Ben pulled off his tie and shrugged off his suit coat. It fell silently to the floor and lay in a pool of moonlight filtering in through the window.
    Starkly, his holster contrasted against his white shirt, reminding her: Danger rode on Ben’s coat tails.
    Quickly, he tossed the holstered gun into the corner, unbuttoned his shirt, and stripped naked. Just as quickly, the fearful thoughts were driven from her mind by the restless winds of passion Ben stirred inside her.
    He lay down beside her and slid a warm hand inside her blouse, slipping it off one shoulder, then the other. Her breathing grew ragged as he took a nip of her shoulder. Traveling up to her waiting mouth, he teased it, taking his time to appreciate every sensuous delight.
    Sterling couldn’t stand it. The love she’d denied herself coursed through her body, firing her senses as though no time had passed. She wanted to feel him, all of him, with no holding back. She nipped at his ear, traced kisses down the angular line of his jaw, then gave life to her passion with a long, furious kiss.
    Ben wrenched off her remaining clothes and pulled her on top of him. Sterling moaned instinctively as he ran a finger down her spine and caressed the small of her back. Hungrily, he kissed her lips, plunging his tongue to taste of her deeply. Delicious tremors shivered through her as their thighs slid side by side.
    Slowly, Sterling raked her breasts against the curling dark mat on his chest, savoring the feel of Ben.
    He took her breasts in his hands, cupping them firmly but gently, and stared transfixed. “So beautiful,” he murmured and rubbed his thumb over a rosy circle. His mouth fastened to her, his tongue driving her passion. A low, primal moan escaped Ben’s throat as he plunged his head between the soft swells, then grabbed hard of her head to face his smoldering gaze.
    Ben’s eyes held Sterling’s, coaxing her to match his unabashed intensity. She felt carried along on a wild current of wind so strong, neither one could stop it. Nor wanted to.
    Ben pulled her tight and gracefully rolled over on top of her. Her body arched with abandon and she plowed her fingers through his thick, dampened hair, pulling his head close. His lips pressed hot kisses to her abdomen, licked playfully at her navel, then trailed more kisses along her thigh, taking her faster and deeper into the center of her being where the perfect love waited. Unleashed, it felt so right. She wanted nothing but to fuse completely with him.
    Urgent with need, Ben paused only long enough to ensure protection, but coming to her more fiercely, he melted to Sterling, meeting the aching inside her.
    As one with Ben, Sterling felt the primal rhythm take her over. Her body rising and falling in synchrony with his, she reveled in the hardness of his sculpted muscles. Her breath was his breath. His tender musings were her thoughts.
    As though riding with Ben on a wild wind, Sterling sailed higher and higher into a delicious paradise, where calmness and peace shuddered through her. Breathless and locked with Ben in intimate embrace, she tumbled with him straight downward toward earth, carried by the gentle breeze of satisfaction. Exhausted, she felt a contented rest take her over.

Chapter Six
    “You should try to get some sleep,” Tyler’s nurse told Lacey. “We’ll keep an eye on your son and if there’s any problem we’ll wake you. But