He stifled a curse. “You’re wrong, Tessa. I’m not accountable to you or anyone else here.”
She crossed her arms, drawing the light cotton against lush breasts. Damn, he hated that shirt.
“Oh, that’s right,” she scoffed. “I forgot I’m just a commodity to you people. One you’re holding for someone else.”
He clenched his jaw until his pulse drummed at his temples. He’d never treated her that way. “What’s gotten into you?”
“I finally realized you’re just like them.” She nodded to indicate the men downstairs.
His lip curled as he corrected her. “I’m nothing like them.”
“You’re a thug, Kris.” She tapped her toes, arms akimbo. “A high-end thug.”
His blood heated, but for an entirely different reason than lust. After all the crap he’d put up with over the past few days, she’d lumped him along those animals with a flick of her fiery mane.
“Fine.” His stomach clenched. “If we’re all the same…” His gaze raked down her body, cataloging every curve and peak he’d tried so hard to ignore. “Why don’t we head downstairs? The guys will be thrilled to have you.”
Her jaw dropped.
“Then I can go to the hotel and be done with you and everyone here.” One last thing remained before he could be rid of her. “But first, I’m going to take back my favorite shirt.”
The first button came open without a single protest from her. His fingers hovered over her breasts, skimming her cleavage on the way to the next button. The shadowed view fueled a longing to explore every curve he’d tried so hard to ignore.
“Stop it.”
Her plea was little more than a whisper above the blood rushing in his ears. A whisper he chose to ignore on his way to the third button.
“S-stop.” She caught his wrists and pulled.
He didn’t budge, but she gave up a half-step.
“We both know you’re not going to do it.”
His eyes locked with hers. “You shouldn’t be so sure, Little Fox.”
“You wouldn’t hurt me.” She shook her head. “If that was your plan, you would’ve done it already.”
He studied her face, empty of bravado. He’d seen her angry, in pain, annoyed, and resigned. Discovering this wary, vulnerable side of her had a sobering effect. He played a part to camouflage himself within the cartel. After so many years, his acting had become second nature. He recognized that, unlike everyone else, she didn’t fully believe the image he tried hard to cultivate. So he’d pushed her. Hard enough for her to admit it, even to herself. “I don’t abuse women, Tessa.”
“I know.” Her voice was hesitant, like she was loath to admit it.
His left eyebrow raised a fraction. “You think you know me so well?”
She shook her head slowly. “Just well enough.”
The tension in his shoulders ebbed. “There’s a flyer posted around town about you.”
Her eyebrows shot up.
“Who’s the guy in the picture?” The question was valid. This was the first solid lead to a possible contact.
She withdrew and moistened her lips, a sure sign she planned to lie.
“You’re going say he’s the friend you came to visit?” He scoffed.
She squared her shoulders. “What? I can’t have a boyfriend?”
“No.” He was too tired to play her game.
Her eyes shot daggers at him. “Why? I’m a woman, same as any other.”
He studied the tense lines of her face, ending at lips that were normally plump and enticing. “Because no man in his right mind would let you go off to Mexico on your own.”
Her chin came up a notch. “You don’t hit me as the kind of guy who believes in having a woman at home, barefoot and pregnant.”
“No.” A smile tugged at his lips. “I lean more toward keeping her in the bedroom, naked and satisfied.”
She caught her breath. Peeling back his hard exterior in the process.
“If you were mine, you wouldn’t travel anywhere by yourself.”
A pink flush made its way up her face as she stood speechless.
“And if you’d come to be with me, you wouldn’t be out with Heather at four o’clock in the morning.” He swallowed up the space separating them, taking a chance that she saw the man he truly was.
Her grasp tightened and her gaze skittered away, but she stayed rooted to the spot.
“I would’ve taken you straight to bed.” His voice roughened with desire. “And I would have kept you there until neither of us could move.”
Her nostrils flared and his cock jerked against his zipper in response. “Haven’t you thought about it?” His tone went low, coaxing the image that haunted him into her mind. “How we could’ve ended the night tangled up in bed together?”
She stifled a groan.
“Maybe we’d still be there now,” he murmured.
“No.” Her voice broke on the single syllable.
“No?” He wasn’t the least bit convinced.
She moistened her lips. “No.”
You lie.
He smiled as his gaze wandered down to the skin he’d exposed. She flushed from her cheeks to her sexy little navel. He knew first-hand how soft her skin was and how incredible she felt pressed against him.
She rolled her lips, trying to figure out her next move, and he’d be damned if it involved her walking away. He ran his knuckles along her chin, making her lower lip tremble for a heart-stopping moment. His fingertips slipped inside the shirt collar and took an eternity to display her graceful neck.
He leaned forward, drinking in the scent of exotic flowers. It was more enticing accented by her warmth. “This”—he swept past her jaw to drop a kiss on the hammering pulse at her neck—“is why I don’t believe you.”
She didn’t move away as he nuzzled her earlobe, kissed her cheek and the corner of her lips.
Thick lashes fluttered as her heavy-lidded, slightly glazed eyes finally opened, making every one of his nerve endings come alive. “I would’ve met you hours before going home,” she murmured. “No matter how hard you make my heart beat, I wouldn’t have gone to bed with a man I knew nothing about.”
He digested the statement. Something lay hidden in her words. He’d have caught it if he could think straight.
He nodded and continued in his husky tone as his lips came across hers, barely a breath away. “A kiss then,” he whispered, hoping she’d allow him the pleasure.
“Mmmmm.” She gave an almost imperceptible nod, parting her full lips ever so slightly.
He covered her lips, indulged, and explored the contours of the tempting bow. His pulse beat throughout his body, urging him to move closer, take more from the woman driving his sense past reason. His consciousness whispered the reminder that she wouldn’t have slept with a man she didn’t know… But what about one she knew “well enough”?
He pulled away. “You’re trembling.”
“Mmm.” She nodded, breathless.
He ran his thumb over her wrist and brought her hand to his chest. His heart hammered under her palm, drawing her attention. Hesitant fingers moved, following the hard ridge of muscles that rose and fell with every breath.
He captured her mouth, this time pushing past her lips so his tongue sparred with hers, setting the world right. His hands played along her lower back and the curve of her hips. He stopped, allowing himself to think. Those heavy-lidded eyes were focused on his mouth, oblivious to anything else. “I want to see that expression when you’re under me.”
“Now who’s too sure of himself?”
He groaned, pressing his eyes closed for a hellacious second. Any hope of exploring that curvy little body was slipping from his grasp. Walking away was going to kill him.
Her husky voice continued. “You shouldn’t assume I’d be okay with you being on top.”
He gathered her close, relieved she was teasing him. “Sweetheart, we can do anything you want. But first, I need your legs wrapped
around me, urging me closer, making those gorgeous breasts brush against my chest while I’m sliding into you.”
Her hands slid up to caress the heavily corded muscles of his neck. “Something like this?” She wrapped her arms around him, fitting herself enticingly close, tempting him with her warm curves.
“Almost.”
He pulled at the last button, allowing them to be skin to skin, the hard nubs to his chest, belly to the bulge straining his jeans. He uttered a sound of satisfaction as a nameless emotion flowed through his veins, burning him wherever her softness touched him. With a low moan, she rocked against him again, seducing him with her clever tongue, distended nipples, and pressure on his sensitive cock.
His mind went blank as the lovely siren called to him with every undulation of her shapely body. His hands, previously relegated to her back, moved along her ribcage to explore her generous curves. He circled her taut flesh, teasing with pressure then pulling away to draw a wide circle around the stiff buds. He kept on until she arched into his hands, begging for more attention at their center.
He was happy to oblige.
She bit her lip, muffling a cry.
Desire heated his blood. He captured her mouth, trying to convey the urgency. Coaxing her tongue out again, he caught the tip and mimicked the attention he was giving her nipple.
Her leg wedged between his, pressing against his balls.
He cupped her bottom, lifting her, and her silky legs wrapped around his waist.
This will be so perfect.
She pulled away, eyes wide.
“What’s wrong, preciosa?” He gave her bottom a playful squeeze.
Her lips curved into a smile. “I’ve never looked down at anyone.”
She was breathtaking. He’d carry her everywhere for a smile like that.
“Having you on top is sounding better every minute.”
She chuckled. “First things first.” The shirt she wore landed on the floor beside them as he put them to bed.
So perfect.
…
Tessa’s pulse thundered as he followed her onto the mattress. Their lips struggled to stay together while they worked him out of his jeans. She chuckled, tugging at the waistband, pushing them down his hips a few inches. Kris retrieved a condom before he flung the jeans away.
God, the man was unbelievable. She’d have to touch every delicious inch to be sure he was real. A sliver of concern tickled at the edge of her conscious. To say she’d been with a handful of guys would be generous. Though not a single one of them measured up to him in any aspect.
“I’ve been wanting this forever.” He cupped her sensitive breasts and laved a tight nub.
She gasped, arching closer, pushing her fingers through his hair. On his second pass, he swirled his tongue around the peak before he sucked it into the heat of his mouth. She melted.
“Such beautiful breasts.” He groaned as his cheek rubbed against the swell. He caressed each mound, kissed, licked, and pulled at first one aching tip then the other before starting over.
His hands were everywhere, teasing her, waking her senses on the way down her body. Her lips were parted, unable to form words. But her shifting hips drew his attention to the sparse curls that lay against his wrist. Tessa gasped, bucking at the intimate touch. Sure fingertips ran along swollen inner folds to the edge of her core then over, filling her, curling as he pushed in and out.
“Jesus, Tessa. You’re so small.”
A sweet arrow of pleasure shot up to her breasts, making her back arch off the mattress.
He stretched her, adding another finger, more pressure, and his thumb to tease her clitoris.
“Come for me, preciosa,” he said from around her nipple.
Head thrown back, lips open, hand clutching his arm as her legs closed around him, she did as he instructed. Sparks burst inside her, showering down against tightly pressed eyelids.
“Beautiful.” He moved over her, easing his arousal into her with gentle pressure.
Tessa shifted, welcoming his heated skin against hers. She bit her lip, swallowing a whimper as her body gave way.
He backed off, returning with slow, deliberate strokes to push deeper.
“Kris…” She groaned, still high from her orgasm.
He nipped her neck, finding a spot to nibble on as he pressed her further into the mattress. His fingers slipped between them, teasing her, stroking every sensitive spot with unrelenting pressure until she spasmed around him. He went still, groaning against her shoulder. She settled back, dragging in breath as she shifted under him.
“Stop, woman!” His hand pressed down at the curve of her hip to keep her in place.
Within the cradle of her thighs, he lay buried, still as rock hard as when he’d entered her. “Mmmhmm, you didn’t finish.”
“Uh-uh.” He shook his head, running his tongue down the shell of her ear.
She shivered.
He took her nipple between his fingers, playing it to a firm tip. “Up for more?” His words were coarse, his voice tight.
Her heart skipped a beat. “Again-more…or more-more?”
Warm breath fanned along her cheek as he nudged her walls. “Both.”
Her fingers strummed his back as she worried her lip. She’d underestimated his size. He moved again, with more patience than she would have credited him with. She wrapped her thighs around him, bringing him flush against her with a quick tug. The unexpected pressure drew a sharp hiss. She wasn’t used to feeling so full.
“That was rough,” he groaned. Even now, his balls pressed tightly between them, he tried driving deeper.
A shiver shot up her back to fan around her body. “Amazing,” she responded in a tight whisper.
He groaned.
“Mmmhmm, I wanted to feel you brushing against me.”
He lowered his chest until the hard muscles met her breasts. The first heavy strokes wrung a long, satisfied purr. His features were tight with barely controlled restraint. She was lost as they moved together. She surrounded him, caressing his body with shaking hands while he continued the exquisite rhythm.
She purred again, deep in her throat. “Soooo good.”
Her fingers curled rhythmically into his heavy shoulder muscles, urging him past the measured strokes until the headboard barely kept pace.
I never imagined…
His name echoed off the walls as fireworks exploded behind her eyelids.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Tessa’s head rested on his bicep instead of the damn pillow. Her chest rose and fell with her steady breathing. Maybe, like him, she’d finally rested. The past hour weighed on him until his pulse pounded against his temple with enough force to drown out all rational thought.
He’d held back from waking her, unable to satisfy his true hunger without a condom. But her scent, a mind-numbing mix of lotion, flowers, and him, tempted him more than he’d expected. He caressed the soft skin of her hip, her ribcage then moved up to cup her breast. The edge of her areola puckered against the side of his thumb. He strummed against the sensitive spot while two fingers outlined the other side of the stiff bud.
She breathed deep, shifting as she woke.
Kris kissed her shoulder, watching his thumb and finger curl around her nipple and play.
She moaned deep in her chest, triggering the memory of her release. The sound bounced around his mind. A blend of hesitation, surprise, and satisfaction rolled into one amazing cry. He wanted that. Again and again.
“Kris,” he murmured in her ear.
Her lashes fluttered. She tipped her face toward him, sharing a sleepy smile. “Who else would you be?” She reached back to caress him, sending a shudder down the length of his body.
His hard-on was cushioned against the V of her bottom, the head insisted on creating a third dimple at her lower back. He wanted her—needed her warm, wet, sexy, little body squeezing him tight.
They could indulge for a bit, a few measured strokes to tide him over and let him thi
nk straight. If she was up for it. If she was ready. His fingers skimmed down her torso, drawing a gasp when he reached the neat rectangle of sparse, red hair. The way she trimmed made him think of hot sun and tiny bikinis, but her creamy skin didn’t show a single tan line.
He slipped between her thighs, groaning approval at the invitation her body extended. Together, they rolled until she lay under him, their legs tangled together. He kissed her pulse point. “Say it. Kris. I want to hear you.”
“Kris…” A breathless whisper wasn’t what he wanted. Far from it. She just needed incentive, which he’d be happy to provide. He’d hold back, let her come without him like he’d done before.
A roving hand stretched down her ribs, waist, and hip until he brought each leg up and nestled between them. He moved against her folds, covering his shaft in her juices before he attempted to enter. She whimpered and arched against his chest, bringing her breasts to crush against him, sliding her arms around his shoulders.
His lips skimmed her throat as she turned to allow him access. “Mmmm, you have incredible stamina for a high-end thug.”
Her impertinence earned a nip to her earlobe. Stamina? She had no idea. But she’d find out tonight, he’d make damn sure. He shifted his hips, nudging her entrance, enjoying the heat capping his sensitive head before he filled her. “And you’re incredibly tempting, for a drug mule.”
…
Tessa’s eyes snapped open. Her legs dropped away from him. “A drug mule?” An iceberg surged from the pit of her stomach, sending icy chills to her extremities.
He went dead still above her.
“Kris.” She pushed at his shoulders. “What are you talking about? I’m not a drug mule.” How could he think she’d be involved with drugs? She didn’t even take vitamins, for goodness sakes.
He pulled back, his breathing coming in measured doses. His eyes focused on her, his brow scrunched as he studied her.
She twisted, trying to get out from under him. “Get off me.”
“No.” He dropped his weight, pinning her to the bed. “Not until we clear this up.” The Kris she’d discovered last night was gone. She was buck naked under the cold-hearted interrogator, and side-stepping his questions wasn’t gonna be easy. “If you’re not a mule, are you a buyer?”
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