“Relish each second of contact with your skin like it’s the final bite of the best—”
Heath’s words dissolved into a low moan as Bella pulled his lips down to hers. Before she could think twice about the impulsive kiss, his hands were buried in her hair, fingertips digging deliciously into her scalp as he pulled her closer. His tongue slipped past her lips and swept through her mouth, tasting her, devouring her.
He tasted of melted caramel and coffee, with an overtone of baked cloves that made Bella’s mouth water. He was delicious and she wanted to do all the things he’d said, all of them and more. She wanted to savor the sweep of his tongue in her mouth like the last sip of a dark chocolate latte, wanted to feel him ravishing her center, opening her, penetrating her, fulfilling her in a way she’d never been fulfilled before.
“Bella.” He hummed her name into her mouth, and every inch of that hard male body pressed into tighter contact with hers. Her breasts smashed into his chest and the solid ridge of his arousal nudged her belly, reminding her that this wasn’t a fantasy or a dream.
This was the real thing.
There was a man in her house, in her arms, in her mouth, and if she didn’t put a stop to this pretty soon, there was little doubt that soon he’d be sliding inside somewhere else. He’d push himself into the slick, aching place between her thighs that she’d guarded more closely than the top secret Quinn family candy recipes.
And once she let that happen, there would be no going back.
“Stop!” She wrenched her mouth away from Heath’s, shoving at his solid chest.
“Okay. Sorry.” He stepped away and crossed his arms, looking like a boy who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“No, I’m sorry,” Bella said, fighting the urge to cry. “But you have to go.” She slipped past him and made a beeline for the door.
This wasn’t safe—Heath was too tempting.
“What?” he asked, obviously confused by the mixed signals.
She almost felt sorry for him, but forced herself to remember why he was really here. Though he’d seemed to enjoy that kiss as much as she had, he was loaded with ulterior motives. She’d already made a fool of herself, and he had to be sent on his way before she did something she would truly regret.
“I want you to go,” she insisted, opening the door wide and indicating the way out into the crisp autumn evening.
“But you just kissed me like I was the last man on earth.”
“Hardly,” Bella muttered, knowing he hadn’t glimpsed the depths of her need. If he knew how badly she wanted him, how long she had waited to know what it would feel like to give in to the kind of passion she’d just had a taste of, he would run screaming from her cottage.
No man could stand up to that kind of pressure…or so she’d always assumed.
But looking into his eyes right now, she began to wonder. If there was ever a man who was up for the job, Heath Miller seemed to be it. He was intense, driven, unswerving and—if the erection tenting his pants was any sign—still “up for it” in every sense of the word.
She wanted to hold that hard length in her hand more than she wanted her next breath, and that was enough to scare her into action once more.
“Go. Now,” she begged
Please go, before it’s too late.
Heath shook his head. “No, we’re going to discuss my reasons for coming here before you shove me out into the cold.”
“I already told you I’m not interested in helping you make edible underwear!”
“Not just edible underwear, the most amazing tasting edible underwear the industry has ever known. Together, we could make edible underwear that will make people come with their mouths at the same time they’re coming with their—”
“Please!” Bella snapped, unable to handle whatever he was going to say next.
If someone had told her this morning that she’d be turned on by hearing a man talk about edible panties she would have called them a liar and probably laughed in their face. At the moment, however, laughter was not the response she was considering.
“Please what!” He raked an angry hand through his shaggy blond hair. “You’re the one who took this to a different level. I was being professional.”
“You said…stuff,” Bella said, blushing. “Before.”
“You mean about your body? I told you I was sorry. I mean you’re beautiful, but I just… I didn’t think…”
“What?” Bella asked.