His arms tightened around her. “I think you’re pretty damn special too. After reliving near death I want to feel alive. With you. The way I feel with you is exactly what I dreamed about in that prison. I want to make love with you, Brinley.”

*

Jason gently pressed his lips to Brinley’s, overcome with desire, tenderness, and pure emotion for this woman whose mere touch seemed to make everything better. He’d admitted his great flaw, his broken psyche but instead of pushing him away in self-preservation she’d wrapped her arms around him tighter, not scared of him pulling her down with him. He ought to get the hell out of her life when this case was over but damned if he could even fathom the possibility.

He wanted her too badly.

“Jason,” she whispered against his skin as she pressed her lips to his shoulder. She shuddered underneath him as his hands roamed over her curves urgently, barely able to rein in his impatience. He needed to be inside of her. Now.

“Yes, honey. I know what you need.”

Her own fingers were exploring the ridges of his stomach before slipping down to encircle his hard and ready cock. Jason buried his face in her neck, breathing in the delicate scent of her skin as he kissed and licked a trail to her shoulder, shoving her oversized nightshirt aside to reveal her golden sun-kissed flesh.

Hurriedly he tugged the cotton material over her head and tossed it aside, not caring where it landed. Her lacy panties were next to nothing, barely any covering at all but he wanted nothing between them tonight. All of his own armor had been stripped away with her tender questioning and he was laid bare – body and soul. In the morning he’d have to rebuild it but for now it was a relief to shake it off.

Groaning as her hands caressed his cock, he cupped her breasts in his palms before lapping at a nipple with his tongue bringing it to a hard point. He moved to the other, licking and worrying it with his teeth until it sat up tight and proud in pink perfection.

The pressure was already beginning to build in his lower back, the tide battering at the door. Her own movements were frantic as she wriggled underneath him, rubbing her silky soft skin against him and sending frissons of electricity straight to his balls and cock.

Sliding his hand between her legs, he carefully pressed a finger inside her to test her readiness. Hot and wet, her body wrapped around his flesh and he added another digit to rub her sweet spot while his thumb brushed her clit.

“Yes, oh yes,” she moaned, her head thrown back and her eyes half-closed in ecstasy. She was trembling on the brink; he could feel it as her inner walls fluttered around his hand. He withdrew his fingers and reached for the nightstand drawer, fumbling until he found a condom square.

Clumsy in his haste, he ripped open the package and rolled on the protection. Brinley tried to help but it only made it more difficult with every brush of her hands against his already sensitized flesh. Fire licked his skin and his breathing was ragged as he hovered above Brinley, his gaze taking in every inch of the delicious feast before him.

Her long brown hair was tousled around her head like a halo, a few strands hanging down playing hide and seek with her flushed nipples. Her chest rose and fell quickly, her own breathing ragged even as she paused to allow him to look his fill of her beauty. One of his hands skimmed down her side, tracing the indentation of her waist, the gentle flare of her hip, and the long line of her legs, firm from riding her bicycle. He wanted to spend hours drinking in every minute detail…

But not at this moment. He was too needy and from the restless movements she made Brinley felt exactly the same.

“Are you ready for me?” His hoarsely voiced question was met with an eagerness that made his chest tighten. She deserved better and the right thing to do would be to walk away. Let her find someone less damaged, someone who didn’t dread the long, dark nights.

“Yes. Now.” Her fingernails dug into the muscles of his shoulders and he lowered himself between her legs until his cock lined up with her entrance.

Leaning forward, he captured her full lips with his own even as he surged into her with one stroke. So wet and ready for him, he slid in easily and paused to savor the feeling when he was in to the hilt, her channel walls tightly hugging his cock. He had to close his eyes and think cold thoughts to be able to hold back.

Politics. Ranch bookkeeping. Golf scores. Government expense reports.

Dry, bland topics kept him from embarrassing himself but it had been too close for comfort. This woman was hell on any sense of equilibrium.

Slowly he pulled almost all the way out before thrusting back in, tingles shooting from the top of his head to the tip of his toes and settling in his groin, making it damn hard to think clearly—if at all. Brinley’s hips swiveled as he repeated the movement and he had to choke back a groan of pleasure so acute it was painful. Her fingers dug into his biceps as he sped up, pistoning in and out of her until both of them reached the pinnacle.

Brinley cried out his name as she tumbled over the cliff, her sex clamping down on his cock and making it impossible for him to hold back any longer. Stars whirled in front of his eyes as he dragged air into his starved lungs. The pressure in his balls gave way and his seed jetted into the condom. It seemed to go on forever but then finally he was done, wrung out. He rolled over onto his back, carrying Brinley with him and cuddling her damp body close until he was forced to take his leave for a few minutes.

When he returned he slid next to her on the cool sheets, their bodies still overheated from the passion they’d shared. Jason combed back a few stray strands of hair from her face and dropped a brief kiss on her lips.

“It just gets better and better,” she sighed, wriggling until her head was pillowed on her shoulder. “I don’t know any other word but wow.”

Jason chuckled, not at her inarticulate verbal skills but because he completely agreed. There wasn’t an adjective for the incredibly amazing hot sex…except incredible amazing hot sex.

And somehow it didn’t seem enough. Too weak.

“Wow is right. You pack a wallop, honey.”

She balanced on her elbow so she could look into his eyes and poked a finger in his chest.

“I could say the same for you. I don’t think I could sleep after that. Do you want to watch some television or something?”

So sweet and caring but he was on to her. She knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep after the nightmare he’d had but she didn’t want him to feel badly about it.

“I’m not sure there’s much on but we could look for a movie or something,” he agreed. “It will be morning in a couple of hours.”

He reached for the remote but kept one arm around Brinley. He’d have to let her go at some point. It would be selfish to keep her but right now she was all his. He would hold on to her for as long as he dared.

Chapter Twenty-Three

‡

“I’ll be fine here with Logan. Go on,” Brinley urged Jason a few days later over breakfast. “You can tell me about your meeting with Damian Barnes when you get back.”

“Possible meeting,” Jason corrected, helping himself to another waffle and smothering it in syrup. “He hasn’t returned my messages so I’m just going to take a chance and drive to his home and try to corner him. I imagine this is a subject he’s not eager to discuss with me—or anyone else, for that matter.”

“Poor bastard found the body. That will change a person.” Logan leaned against the kitchen counter and refilled his coffee cup. He’d been spending his nights at Brinley’s house to make sure no one broke in but during the day he could keep an eye on it from a distance if needed. “What will we be doing today, Miss Snow? Painting? Wallpaper? No, wait…maybe ceiling fans?”