Marco smiled approvingly. “That’s right, focus on the positive. Word in the department is that if Reed can bring this one in successfully he’ll get that promotion he’s been looking for.”
The thought made her lips curve upward. “I sure hope so.”
CHAPTER 20
Marina got home early from work to cook dinner and do a last-minute cleanup at her place. Reed was coming over for the first time since he’d gotten out of the hospital. He’d been staying at his mother’s for weeks while his wounds healed and it had been hard on Marina and him. Now, she could barely contain her excitement.
In the early days of his being back to work on half days, he’d talked a good game, but she’d seen the sheer exhaustion in his eyes and demeanor when she’d dropped by his mother’s house after work. She hadn’t been ready to risk a setback in his health and healing for a few nights of pleasure. She’d already been waiting for Reed Crawford for a while and knew that a few more weeks wouldn’t break her.
Humming to herself, she checked the contents of her refrigerator for the umpteenth time. That’s how many times she’d changed her mind on the menu. No matter how much she considered cooking steak or preparing a host of fancy recipes she’d copied off the Internet, the image of them lingering over a romantic spaghetti dinner stayed with her.
Removing the ingredients from her refrigerator and cabinets, she washed her hands and began to chop the vegetables. With the noodles done and sauce simmering, she escaped to her room to change.
The dress she’d chosen for tonight left no doubts as to her intentions. Reed has chosen it at the store where Jasmine worked. It was red, her favorite color. The halter top dipped low between her generous breasts and the dropped waist hugged her hips. She wore her hair down, adding light makeup and big earrings that framed her face. When the doorbell rang she stepped into rhinestone-studded mules.
Marina opened the door. Reed stood on her doorstep looking extra good in his blue suit. “Reed,” she said, pure joy adding an extra lift to her voice, “you didn’t have to wear a suit. It’s just us for dinner.”
He was staring at her dress so hard that heat rushed her face. “Seeing you and that dress, I’m glad I did.” His voice took on a husky note. “You look like the present I always wanted but never got.”
Widening the door opening and thanking him, she moved aside to let him in.
As soon as she closed the door he pulled her into a tight embrace. Up against his lean-muscled body and sculpted chest, her breath came out on a sigh. She closed her eyes. Being in his arms was heaven. It had been too long since they’d been alone together.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
Her gaze locked with his. “I missed you, too.”
For several moments they simply held each other, hugging and kissing.
“Are you hungry?” she asked, tearing herself away from him.
“Starving.” The light in his eyes let her know that he wasn’t just talking about food.
“The…the food’s ready. I just have to finish the garlic bread and dish up the salad.”
“Let me help you,” he said, following her to the kitchen.
“Did you have a hard day at work?” she asked, bending to put the sliced bread in the oven.
“It was the usual.”
Marina straightened. He was so busy staring her behind that he nearly spilled salad from one of the bowls.
Something curled deep in the pit of her stomach. “Would you like a glass of wine?”
“Sure.” He busied himself pouring salad dressing.
Retrieving the open bottle of red wine she’d left breathing on the countertop, she filled two wineglasses and gave him one.
He accepted the glass, his hand massaging hers and moving up her arm. “What do we toast?”
Marina smiled. “Your good health? Your new promotion?”
“Yeah, I got the promotion and the doctor gave me a clean bill of health yesterday. I’m down for anything now.”
“Anything?” she asked with a teasing lilt to her voice.
“Anything,” he confirmed, pulling her closer.
She chuckled. “Then we should certainly drink to your health.”
They toasted his health and stared at each other over the rims of their glasses. They moved closer, like opposite ends of a magnet, destined to meet. Their lips came together. She slipped her tongue inside to taste Reed and to touch her tongue to his. Tilting her head up, she leaned into him. They both sighed.
The buzzer on the stove went off.
“The b-bread,” she stammered, looking for a pot holder. “I’ve got to take the bread out.”
He nodded, watching her silently.
“I’ll put the salads on the table,” he said, lifting the bowls and exiting the kitchen.
At the stove, Marina found herself shaking. She swallowed more wine and worked on her breathing. The bread had browned beautifully, but she was no longer hungry, at least for food. She placed the garlic bread in a basket and set it on the table. Then she fixed plates of thin noodles covered in meat and vegetable sauce for Reed and herself and carried them to the dining area.
“Looks good and smells good,” he remarked, looking down at his plate. He glanced at the plate she’d fixed for herself. “Is that all you’re going to eat?”
“I’m not that hungry,” she explained. “I guess I’m just excited.”
“I’m excited, too,” he murmured, his brown eyes deepening. “I haven’t been able to think of food since I saw you in that dress. Come here.”
Reaching across the table he took her hand and tugged her toward him. Marina let him pull her down onto his lap. Their lips met in a voracious kiss. She tangled her fingers in his thick hair. Reed’s mouth traced a path from her neck into the deep valley between her breasts left bare by the dress.
Reed whispered against her skin. “I want…I want…”
She lifted his chin with her fingers. “What do you want?”
His brown-eyed gaze burned into hers. “You, Marina. You’re all I can think about.”
She cupped his face in her hands. “I want you, too. I’ve been dreaming it for weeks.”
Placing her feet on the floor, he stood, taking her hand.
“This way,” she said, leading him to her bedroom.
Inside, she pulled back the sheets and stepped out of her mules.
Reed shrugged out of his suit coat and placed his tie on the nightstand. Marina helped him hurry through the buttons on his shirt. With it open, she pressed her lips to the warm caramel skin on his chest and playfully tongued a nipple. She felt him tense and heard his quick intake of breath. Looking at him, touching his toned and fit body, made her that much more excited. She pushed the shirt off his wide shoulders.
“Marina.” He moved his hands down her sides, curving them around to squeeze her buttocks. She pressed herself against the hard heat of his body. Pulling her into his arms, he slid down the zipper on her dress. The soft red silk fell from her like skin on an exotic fruit. With a groan, he placed her on the bed and covered every inch of her bare skin with his hot mouth. Moaning and shaking beneath his passionate assault, she felt Reed hook his fingers in the sides of her red lace panties and slide them down and off. She sat up and helped him remove his pants and boxers and pull on a condom.
They came together, touching, feeling and kissing. She locked gazes with Reed, her mouth falling open as he pushed into her. She hooked her legs around his waist. He covered her mouth, nibbling her lips and sliding his tongue against hers as he moved in and out of her, hard and hot.
Shoving her hips upward, she felt him go deep. She rocked with him in a wild and funky rhythm that kept them both breathless and panting. At the peak, they held each other tight, tumbling forward in a free-fall rush to earth.
Afterward they lay together, hot and sweaty and satisfied. Reed tucked her into the curve of his body and put his mouth close to her ear to whisper, “Querida Marina. Estoy enamorado de ti.”
Marina’s lids opened. “W-what did you say?”
He repeated the phrase.
She smiled and snuggled closer. “I’m in love with you, too. You’ve been taking Spanish lessons?”
He gently nibbled on her ear. “Javier’s been helping me out to sort of make up for backing the wrong guy last time.”
“Whoo, my dad is full of surprises,” she exclaimed. “And so are you.”
Reed’s mouth burned a path down her neck to linger on her breasts. “Javier’s determined to make sure I feel welcome in the family.”
She gasped softly. “Oh, you are so welcome in the family. Next you’ll be telling me that we’re going to work another task force together.”
“Well, I was saving that for later…”
“What?” Her lids lifted as she reached for him.
He moved down to tongue her navel.
Her breath came out in a rush as he nipped her waist and continued down the length of her leg. “Reed?” she gasped.
“New FBI and C.P.D. task force,” he murmured against her skin on his way back up. “We’ll talk about it later. Did I ever tell you what gorgeous legs you have?”
“Reed!” Marina threaded her fingers through his hair, moving them down to massage his powerful shoulders as he lifted her leg and began to thrust into her again. She couldn’t think with him moving inside her like that, but she’d get the details later.
ISBN: 9781426802331
A SERIAL AFFAIR
Copyright © 2007 by Natalie Dunbar
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Visit Silhouette Books at www.eHarlequin.com
A Serial Affair Page 19