Slow Burn (Smoke Jumpers) Read Online Free PDF Page B

“So you need a place to stay.”
    “Other than in my car? No. I need to take my pics and leave. It’s almost too bad,” she said, and she smiled her Mona Lisa smile. “There could be a whole lot to like about this Strong of yours.” That trick she had of looking up at him from the corners of her eyes was pure sex kitten. But there was something else—someone else—hiding behind those eyes.
    He was suddenly sure of that much.
    Playbook said kissing her would be a mistake. She’d be entitled to call a penalty, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He had to taste her, had to find out if she lived up to the promise of those mischievous eyes.
    “I’m going to kiss you now,” he warned, because giving her fair warning he was taking her up on her earlier offer was the right thing to do.
    “That right?” she asked. The words were pure challenge, but she glanced over his shoulder, toward the door and the buzz of noise outside warning him he didn’t have much time left. He needed to go.
    Still, he’d make this kiss his opening salvo in the battle they were apparently waging.
    She didn’t say no. He gave her the time, and she stared up at him, impish challenge painted all over her lovely face. “Well,” she said, “I guess a guy’s got to do what a guy’s got to do. So you go off now and save us all from the fires. The incoming. Whatever.” She shrugged, and his T-shirt slid down her shoulder in a little tease that had his blood heating right up. That shirt always had been a favorite of his.
    “I do need to go. But that’s not all I need.” The words coming out of his mouth didn’t belong to him. The words were smooth, the practiced lines of a player. He’d never been a player. Funny thing was, he meant them. And that was almost enough to send him running for the door.
    She hummed, a small sound of doubt and feminine pleasure, and nodded. “Guess that makes two of us then, smoke jumper.”
    So he wrapped an arm around her waist and swung her beneath him. Got her pressed right back against his mattress.
    This time, it was arousal that pinkened her cheekbones, and when she turned her head, last night’s earrings kissed the line of her jaw the way he wanted to do. The silver sparkled and moved along her skin in short, teasing strokes.
    “I’m going to touch you now,” he warned.
    “Are you?” She tried to shift backward, the mattress halting her little retreat.
    The soft cotton of his T-shirt slid farther down her shoulder when he hooked a thumb in the stretchy fabric and tugged. That white cotton coming down her tan shoulder undid him. He wanted to see the rest of her, but that would be too much, too soon. He didn’t want to scare her.
    He wanted to taste her.
    All of her.
    Wanted to lay her down here on his bed and taste every secret she was hiding beneath his T-shirt. “You’re not going anywhere,” he said, and it was more delighted observation than statement. “Not now.”
    She leaned her head back against his sheets, all tousled hair and sexpot smile, watching him with those curious eyes of hers. He wasn’t stopping her from escaping. Not really. If she wanted to get out from under him, she could take one little wiggle to her left, and she’d be free and clear.
    “Not yet, but I will,” she disagreed, putting a hand on his arm. Her face said she wanted to ask him something, but he didn’t want to talk anymore. All he wanted was to taste.
    Bracing a hand by the side of her face, he threaded his fingers through the teasing mass of hair and lowered his head, wrapping an arm beneath her to gather her gently up toward his body. Strong and firm, she felt even better than she looked. Stroking a thumb over the small of her back, he stole a moment to savor the heat and the softness of her through the fabric.
    His lips against hers were a simple little tease, a gentle brush of his skin on hers. He’d meant to fire the opening salvo in this sweet game they were playing, but sensation rocketed