She reached for him. He didn't hesitate, though he didn't hurry either. He glided over her body, taking time to draw her taut nipples between his lips when the head of his cock nudged her entrance. Leigh brushed her hands over his shoulders, silently begging for more, yet content to let Dan have his way with her. He suckled her breasts until she writhed, until her clit was hot, hard, and ready, then he eased his cock inside.

A moan of appreciation blessed his possession-a moan Dan answered with one of his own. She clenched her muscles around him, loving the shudder that rippled down his body.

Dan pulled her right arm from his shoulder until he could grasp her hand. He kissed her palm, sucked each digit between his lips, then braced himself on his forearm and guided her hand between them.

"Make yourself come while I fuck you, sweetheart." His voice rumbled over her, begging and ordering her at the same time.

Leigh slipped her fingers over her clit. His kiss rewarded her compliance. Then he plunged his tongue between her lips and really took her. Slow strokes built her up for what she knew was to come. Leigh savored every one, pushing her clit into each rake and letting him build her to the peak.

Strokes turned to hard, slow stabs. She locked her ankles around his waist and pivoted in time with him. "Give it to me, Dan. Don't hold back."

He froze, gaze locked on hers. Then he closed his eyes, clutched her to him and let go. He plunged into her with a speed and strength she'd dreamed of, growing harder and hotter with every stroke. Her clit needed no guidance now; his big dick dragged it with every thrust.

Leigh clutched his back, burrowed her face against his neck…and came. Dan tensed on a hard plunge, grunting, then groaning with force of his ejaculation. He pulled out and sank in again, grinding into her clitoris in its final throes. She thrashed against him, and he plunged again, then sagged with her in the aftermath.

She listened to their hard breaths, felt their pounding hearts gradually subside to normal. Bliss set in amid gentle kisses, caresses, and sexy glimmers that said they were definitely going to be doing this again.

"Ready for ice cream now?" she asked.

Dan brushed his fingers over her cheek. "It'd be a great way to pass the turnaround time before we go again."

She giggled. "Yes, I suppose it would. I understand ice cream's better than sex."

"Depends on who you're having sex with." His voice was raw and husky…sexy all by itself. "It's definitely not better than making love."

What did he mean? Leigh didn't want to ruin the moment by tearing it apart with questions. She treated it as a tease. "Oh? Is that what we've been doing?"

Dan stared into her eyes with an intensity that made her heart skip. "If I'd wanted sex, any woman would do and I'd be home in pajamas by now scratching my balls and watching TV. I wanted to make love. With you."

Now how was she supposed to respond when he had her all choked up?

She cupped his face. "You did. We did." She kissed him and pressed her forehead against his. The emotion was almost too much to bear.

Leigh drew back. "You wear pajamas?"

Dan laughed. "I do. And you if make fun of me, I'll turn you over my knee."

"Weren't you going to anyway?" she asked.

"In due time, sweetheart." He gave her a coveted smack on her thigh, then rolled out of bed. "Turnaround time, you know."

Leigh smirked. "So I hear." She admired his backside while he hauled on his boxers, then crawled from the bed.

Chapter 6

Dan crushed graham crackers over his ice cream. The crumbs showered down the chocolate syrup, nudging Oreo cookie crumbs farther down the slope.

"Chocolate or butterscotch chips?" Leigh held out the two bags.

He weighed his choices, eyeing her concoction for ideas. She had a can of whipped cream at the ready to top off the treat. "Both," he decided. "I'll let you do the honors while I slice that banana."

"Good, and then I think that'll just about do it." She sprinkled the chips in the peanut butter base around the edge of the bowl. "I have to admit you have me curious." Leigh placed the banana as he sliced it. "If you're with NCIS, you already have a degree-"

"I do and will be starting on my masters soon." He got up to throw the banana peel in the trash and put what little remained of the ice cream into the freezer. It felt good, them like this, so easy with each other. He wore his boxers, and Leigh had on a threadbare green velour robe that had clearly seen better days and looked comfy as hell.

"Then why are you taking an English comp course from a community college?" A spoonful of ice cream was halfway to her mouth when she suddenly put it down. "Please tell me it's not undercover work and I'm collateral damage."

He lifted her chin on the pads of his fingers. "It's not, and you definitely aren't. You are like the bonus prize for me actually having the courage to take the course." He kissed her, then licked his lips. "Sweet…someone's been nibbling."

"So has someone else." A smile lit her eyes. "Courage?" She took up her spoon and then rolled her eyes closed with the first delectable mouthful.

"Don't laugh." Dan scooped up a healthy taste for himself.

"I won't," she said around her ice cream.

He knew she wouldn't, but he'd never told a soul. It'd been his little secret, nothing more than a fledgling dream. "I got an idea about a story. It just wouldn't go away, so I decided to write it. Only once I got started, I realized I needed a refresher on fictional composition. I couldn't believe how little I remembered. I've been doing reports and technical information all these years, but writing fiction is another thing entirely. So I finally decided if I was going to write, I needed to brush up."

"You write very well, by the way." She blushed and ducked her gaze. "Tell me about your story."

Dan wasn't going to, but the words poured out on their own. She listened with rapt attention, asking questions, helping him pull out threads and plot on details. By the time he'd finally shut up, the ice cream was gone and he was washing the bowls at the stainless steel sink, while Leigh put a pot of coffee on the timer for morning.

"I love it," she said, taking his hand. "Let's go sit on the sofa. You can tell me more while our dessert settles."

He let her lead the way. "I don't know if there's much more to say. I'm surprised it's taken hold of me the way it has. Now I have other ideas trying to nudge their way in." They sank onto the dark red sofa and stretched out, each taking an armrest so their legs draped over one another. "Another reason to take the course."

Leigh twirled a tendril of blonde hair around her finger. Her gaze focused outward. Dan knew that feeling well. He often zoned out when he was thinking about his crazy story.

"I wish I could say you were going to get some benefit out of Hilary's class," she said. "Her curriculum isn't exactly designed to nurture creativity. She's very methodical and by the book."

"Unfortunately for me, the cool teacher appears to be off limits." Dan kneaded her foot.

Leigh smiled and flexed her toes for more. "I would consider tutoring you privately."

"Would you now?" He winked.

She gave him a nod. "I'd consider it a pleasure."

"Honestly, so would I…and not in the context of bed and ice cream. You challenged your class to explore their minds and put those thoughts into form. Hilary…well, made me want to-"

"Cut your eyes out with a spoon?"

He laughed. "Yeah."

"Drop the class," she said, lifting her other foot. "You don't need her; you have me."

Did he? Dan liked to think so, in every context.

"So, why NCIS? I knew you'd probably wind up in law enforcement since you'd mentioned that before, but I figured you'd be local."