Chapter Nineteen

“What are you doing up?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” Shane took a step in her direction. Moonlight cut across his face and illuminated his eyes. They were tender yet imploring orbs fixed on her.

“I was, um, getting water.” Air suffered to escape her lungs. The empty glass sat in her palm. She gripped it.

“Kit…”

The way he said her name was like a plea, and her heart squeezed in response. Her feet carried her a breath closer. She put the glass down on the counter. The click of glass meeting the laminate surface was the only sound in the darkened room.

“Dancing, uh, isn’t the only thing I’m bad at, Shane. My heart does some misstepping of its own.”

“I know you’ve been hurt, Kit.” He closed the space between them. He reached for her hand in the darkness and brought it to his chest. He pressed it. “I wouldn’t.”

She lifted her face toward his, and her lips parted naturally. Her heart stammered as her mind buzzed with all the reasons this was a bad idea. But those thoughts disappeared in the hammering of her heartbeats. Was she making one more bad choice? Just this once she was going to trust her feelings. Just this once.

Shane turned her hand over and brought it to his lips. He pressed a soft kiss to her palm, making the skin there tingle. And as if music had been turned on, giving her a reason to move, she pressed to him.

He claimed her mouth in a kiss, and heart thundering, she returned it. Her hands moved to bury themselves in his hair. Enjoying the thickness of the strands, she wrapped her fingers around them and tugged. A low moan sounded in the back of his throat as he circled his arms around her and squeezed her closer. In return she cradled his head and deepened their kiss.

He lifted her into his arms, and she wrapped her legs around him. Their bodies bumped in the doorway to the living room in a hasty move to the sofa, and together they collapsed on the cushions. A rush of greedy hands pulled and pushed at their clothing until their garments were tossed to the floor.

****

Shane pushed himself up and cast his gaze over Kit’s naked form. She was beautiful. Simply beautiful, soft, and female. The tip of his index finger touched tentatively at her shoulder, and the sound of her sucking in her breath stirred him deep in his belly. Even in the darkness he could see her smoky eyes, moist with wanting, were locked on his. He ran that finger down a slow path along her soft, smooth skin. The pad of his finger was alive as it traced her contours, marking a path where his mouth needed to go. He ached for her.

As though reading his mind, Kit reached up and pulled his head down to kiss him again. The cavern of her mouth welcomed him as she deepened their kiss. His lips slid to her neck, the tip of his tongue tasting her salty sweetness. He pressed his mouth to her shoulder and languidly traveled his lips down her form, pausing to suckle and knead, searing a path to her apex.

Her soft moan nearly sent him over the edge. He buried himself inside her, and she lifted her hips to him. They moved together, a perfect rhythm in their fiery, intimate dance until their passion claimed them.