And then he was kissing her, and everything faded away—her inexperience, their history, the tragedy, the hurt…the unanswered questions.
Nothing existed but Liam’s hungry mouth and her own erupting need.
Chapter Seven
He felt her heat beneath him; he felt her soften. The wholehearted consent of her body was even sweeter to him than her small nod of agreement had been.
Desire roared through his veins when she put her hands on his shoulders and caressed the muscles, making it the hardest trial of his life to keep a tight reign on himself. He couldn’t stop his hands from moving, though. As he discovered the secrets of Natalie’s mouth more thoroughly, his palms and fingers explored the mysteries of her body. She was like magic made into flesh: all taut, delicious curves and supple straight lines. He ran his hands from the indentation of her waist to her hips, finding the swell intoxicating. He settled on those curves and caressed them softly.
Her taste was like lust double-distilled.
When he realized he was quickly getting drunk on it, he sealed their kiss with effort. Her kisses were so sweet, but her occasional hesitance made him suspect she wasn’t all that experienced. He should go slowly with her or he’d risk ruining things. He couldn’t stop himself from plucking at her damp, warm lips, though. His hands moved, seemingly of their own accord, sweeping up the sides of her body.
He gave a restrained groan at the sensation of her full breasts against his palms. The rough sound seemed to startle her.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. He lifted his head and watched her exquisite face cast in moonlight as he pressed the center of her breasts into his palm. “I know I said I wanted to make love to you, but I’m not going to tonight. I just want to touch you a little. You’re beautiful.”
“I am not,” she replied in a choked voice.
“You are. I’m going to show you some day just how beautiful you are. If you’ll let me.”
She blinked. Perhaps she’d been surprised at his intensity, but he’d stated a simple truth. He didn’t know precisely when it had happened, but it had become an imperative for him to show Natalie Reyes how bright she shone in his eyes.
Her lips parted and he nuzzled them with his own, a bee drawn to honey.
“Does that feel good?” he murmured huskily as he cradled the weight of her breasts in his palms and whisked his thumbs over two taut peaks. It aroused him immensely, how responsive she was to his touch. He could feel the stiffness of her nipples directly through her bra.
“Yes.”
He caught that small whisper with his brushing lips, treasuring it. He went very still when she began to move her hands, touching his upper arms lightly at first, then squeezing his biceps in her palms.
He lowered his head, the need to plunge back into the warm, wet cavern of her mouth too overwhelming at that moment to restrain himself. She jumped when something thumped against the passenger door.
Hard.
Liam reacted instinctively when he saw a hulking shadow outside the window. He unlocked his car door—leaving Natalie’s locked—and got out of the car rapidly. If whoever was standing outside the passenger door was a threat, he’d be a sitting duck trapped in the car, unable to do anything to protect Natalie. He cursed himself for not carrying his weapon, but it was Harbor Town, for Christ’s sake, and he wasn’t even technically the chief of police yet.
“Get away from that door,” he barked at the man who stood on the other side of the car. The figure was as tall as Liam, which was alarming. He experienced a mixed feeling of annoyance and relief when the man’s features were revealed by moonlight.
“You get away from my sister and get the hell out of here, and I’ll think about it, Kavanaugh,” was Eric Reyes’ harsh reply.
“Great,” Liam muttered under his breath when he heard Natalie unlock her door. Liam and Eric had never gotten along. The last time he’d seen the great doctor was at the opening ceremony for the Family Center over a year ago, where they’d kept a wary distance from each other out of respect for the occasion and Mari Kavanaugh.
The last time he’d seen Reyes before that, the two of them had almost had a fistfight in the parking lot of Jake’s Place.
“Eric! What are you doing here?” Natalie said when she opened the car door.
Eric unglued his glare on Liam and transferred his gaze to his sister. “I came to see you. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but I do tend to do that, now and then. What are you doing?”
A tense silence ensued. Eric’s voice had been thick with sarcasm and fury. Liam didn’t have to see Natalie’s face to sense how uncomfortable she must be feeling at that moment. Surely Eric had seen enough through the steamy windows to know precisely what they’d been doing.
“Don’t use that sanctimonious tone of voice with her,” Liam growled. “She wasn’t doing anything wrong. You’re the one who sneaked up on us and scared her half to death.”
“Be quiet, Kavanaugh,” Eric commanded, pointing across the hood of the car. “This is none of your damn business.”
“Wrong,” Liam said quietly through a clenched jaw. “This is none of your damn business.
“Stop it. Both of you.”