Can't Take the Heat Read Online Free PDF

her head so that their bodies touched from hips to chest, he began to move. Slowly, a gentle rocking motion that belied the ferocity of his desire to keep her there, trapped between the mattress and his weight, forever. For the first time since she’d regained consciousness, the two of them were truly living in the same moment, with nothing between them but shared pleasure.
    But it couldn’t last, of course. Not forever, and not even for as long as he would have liked. Once inside her, he lost the ability to react consciously. Everything was reduced to instinct, to call and response. When she shifted her hips impatiently beneath him, he increased his pace in answer. At the small hiccup in her breath that signaled her impending release, he slid his hands under her ass and thrust even harder, even faster. And in those few seconds when she went utterly still and stiff right before she came, he could only kiss her and follow her over into the abyss. Into bliss.
    And back, inescapably, to reality.

    Wes wasn’t asleep, but he was drowsy enough that it took several seconds for him to realize someone was knocking on the door. As soon as he did, however, he knew both who was knocking and that he had less than a minute to get there.
    He rolled over and eased off the bed as quickly as he could without waking Delaney. She was asleep, despite the fact that it was the middle of the afternoon. He wasn’t surprised she’d fallen into a postcoital slumber, however, given what she’d been through the past few days.
    Retrieving his jeans and boxers from the floor, he shoved his legs into them and pulled them up just as a second, more insistent knock sounded. He cast a regretful glance over his shoulder. Delaney still slept in the same position he remembered, her tall body curled up on one side, one hand tucked under her cheek, the other dangling off the edge of the bed. The center of his chest ached at the sight. This might be the last time he ever saw her this way. He wanted to bottle the moment and keep it on a shelf somewhere, to pull out and open whenever he wanted to relive it.
    In an odd way, he envied her. He would give just about anything to spend these stolen moments with her in blissful ignorance of the truth. As it was, he felt the proverbial sword of Damocles poised over his head, ready to drop at a moment’s notice.
    And speaking of impending doom…
    He was halfway to the door when the lock clicked and it swung inward. “Remind me to get the front desk to change the key code as soon as possible,” he said caustically as Chelsea strolled into his apartment.
    His sister shrugged. “I’ll just get them to give me a card with the new code. I have the new clerk wrapped around my finger, you know.”
    He did know. In fact, Chelsea had pretty much every male employee of the entire Barrows empire wrapped around her finger, and it wasn’t hard to understand why. He might be her brother, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t see that his baby sister had grown into an exceptionally attractive woman. Even if he hadn’t been able to see it, he would have known, thanks to the number of times he’d had to play the overprotective older brother to discourage some guy from pressing his unwanted attentions on her. Dark-haired, tall, and leggy, she could have given many topflight models a run for their money if she’d been so inclined. Instead, she’d chosen the family business, holding the position of general manager at the smaller Barrows South casino located near the airport.
    “Maybe I should invest in an actual lockset, then,” he remarked dryly. Glancing toward the hall that led to the bedroom, he added, “And I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your voice down. Delaney’s sleeping.”
    Chelsea eyed him sharply, seeming to notice for the first time that he was shirtless. “Shit,” she murmured. “You already slept with her, didn’t you?”
    “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” He stalked toward the