Free In Hot Pursuit by Joanne Rock Page A

his fingers, spanned her belly with his palms.
    Lexi hadn’t even thought about protection. She had no intention of getting personal with Josh Winger, but she had to admit, he was the kind of man a woman could trust to protect her in every possible way.
    Searching over her bedroom carpet with her hands, Lexi found the packet and handed it to him.
    A snicker of satisfaction rolled through her when she thought about the stud on the condom-dispensingmachine she’d seen in the women’s restroom earlier tonight.
    Josh was ten times the stud that man was. And she’d snagged him.
    Josh handed the condom back to her, and the packet brushed her fingers in the darkness. “Will you?”
    Not a simple request for a woman who had never put a condom on a man before. Lexi’s snicker faded.
    â€œI’m no good with those things.”
    She could hear the condom packet ripping open and Josh rolling on the device without her aid.
    â€œI hope you mean the condom and not what’s inside.”
    â€œI’m very good with what’s inside.” She hoped. She wanted to be. After that orgasm he’d given her, Lexi wanted him to see stars. Solar systems, maybe.
    Luckily, the impersonal dark gave her the brashness to straddle him. She never would have been able to carry off tonight’s sexy scenarios with the lights on, but the utter blackness of the room gave her permission to be daring. The darkness gave her confidence a boost, removed all insecurities about her appearance, making her feel beautiful.
    Taking what she wanted most, Lexi guided his rigid length inside her by slow degrees.
    He filled her so completely, stretched her so lusciously. Her world narrowed to the hot, seductive sensations he imparted.
    She tested the length of him, easing herself away from him until he nearly withdrew, then edging back down to join them together fully. Lost in her enjoyment of a body that brought her so much pleasure, Lexi was surprised when he flipped her to lay on her back again.
    His chest seemed to surround her in a wall of fur-covered muscle. She couldn’t see him—but everywhere she reached, she felt him. Soft velvet hair over steely sinew.
    She wanted to remain there, wrapped in the safe, sexy haven of his powerful body, but he reached between her thighs to touch her again.
    That unerring thumb found the source of all her pleasure and gently plucked. Sensual satisfaction pulsed through her like electric waves. Lexi would have lost it again—if he hadn’t nearly withdrawn for a moment.
    She lingered on the brink, her body coiled with pleasure, until he slid back inside her and sent her hurtling headlong into the sultry abyss. His groan of fulfillment comforted her, assured her she wasn’t the only one flying apart in the haven of a chaise longue tonight.
    As aftershocks rippled through them, Lexi marveled that a certain dangerous detective had lost his cool right along with her, and it couldn’t have been more satisfying, more rewarding, or more terrifying.
    Lexi had allowed herself to be far more personal with Josh than with any other man she’d slept with. If she wasn’t careful, she’d find herself caring about him—about what he thought, about whether or not he liked her in return.
    And she wouldn’t allow that. Not when she’dfought for so long not to care what anyone thought of her.
    All she had to do was make sure he left before dawn. Then maybe she could pretend this had all been a regular one-night stand, instead of something earth shattering.
    But the heat of his body was mesmerizing now, and dawn was blessedly hours away. She snuggled closer to his shoulder, reveling in yet another heady experience she’d always missed out on—wrapping herself around a man’s body and cuddling into the crook of his arm.
    She could afford herself a few more hours with Josh, a little more time to enjoy their over-the-top chemistry. Just as long as he was