“Are you sure you haven’t done this before?” he asked as he kissed her ear. She shivered at the sensual impact of his deep, rough voice.
“Quite sure.”
“Huh,” he muttered, now kissing her neck with warm lips. “You come by it naturally. How lucky am I? Hey—” His lip examination of her throat broke off when she swatted him on the rear. It was the natural thing to do, since her hand was right there. “It was just an observation.”
Natalie grinned as she examined his mussed hair, the shadow of whiskers on his jaw and the humor in his eyes. He looked good enough to eat. She shook her head in admonishment.
“Don’t give me that innocent look,” she murmured.
“What?” he asked in a low growl. He bent his head and spoke next to the upper curve of her breast. “The days of being businesslike are done. Now you have to put up with me saying all kinds of unprofessional things. Hmm….” He trailed off as his lips ran over her skin. “I can’t believe how soft your breasts are,” he murmured, his teasing tone segueing to one of masculine hunger and awe.
“Unprofessional things like that, I suppose,” she said on a sigh of pleasure.
“Yeah, things like that, and things like this—” He lifted his tawny head and whispered hoarsely in her ear. Heat rushed through when she heard those sweet, illicit words. Her cheeks burned. So did other parts of her body.
“I had no idea you were such a dirty talker, Liam Kavanaugh,” she murmured, hugging him closer as he began kissing her ear in earnest.
“You haven’t heard anything yet.”
Natalie chuckled. Her body was responding wholeheartedly to Liam’s erotic playfulness. Because they pressed skin to skin, it was pretty obvious he was aroused once again. They’d already made love once after that first time, and it’d been as sweet and tender as their first time had been anguished and wild. From Liam’s present actions, Natalie surmised this time was going to be different still. Apparently, Liam’s lovemaking had as many faces as his complex character.
His kisses were getting so hungry and hot that Natalie opened her eyes in disappointment when they stopped suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered when she noticed he was staring down at her, his eyes lit like banked flames.
“I think I’ve put you through enough this morning.”
“You make it sound like you were pulling teeth or something. It was hardly grueling,” she told him with a grin.
He stared. His body hardened noticeably next to her and she thought she might have convinced him that she wasn’t going to break like glass when he sighed deeply and rolled off her.
Natalie scowled at the absence of his heat. She’d grown quite used to it in the past hour.
“You’re pretty convincing, you know that?” he asked gruffly as he grabbed his cotton pants.
“Then why are you getting dressed?”
“Because I was damn well near letting myself believe you, that’s why,” he mumbled.
“Liam.”
He pulled up his pants as he stood. He made an impatient gesture when he heard her scolding tone.
“I may not have much experience with…being with someone without much experience,” he said, “but I do know one thing—only a jerk would overdo it in these circumstances.”
“But—”
“Stop testing my better nature,” he said teasingly, but she caught the steel in his stare. “You just get dressed and come on downstairs. I’ll make you some breakfast, and then we’ll go on over to your place to pick up some stuff.”
“What sort of stuff?” Natalie asked bemusedly as she sat up in bed, a sheet clutched over her breasts.
“Whatever you need to stay here for the rest of the weekend, of course,” he said, his gaze lingering on her scantily covered breasts. “I may be cutting you some slack because of the special circumstances, but you better believe after you’re rested and fed, you’re not leaving that bed for a few days.”
Natalie stared after him incredulously, but she was laughing by the time she heard his buoyant-sounding tread on the stairs.
Later that afternoon they lay sprawled on recliners on the sunny portion of Liam’s terrace. Natalie’s skin had dried from their swim and she was getting drowsy from the pleasant feeling of the warm sun. Liam had insisted earlier they stay in the shallows until he had the breakwater repaired, which was fine by Natalie. Not only did she not want to repeat the harrowing experience of this morning, it was much nicer to be in Liam’s solid embrace as the waves rushed around their waists. They’d kissed until Natalie was breathless and Liam was so hot, he suddenly fell comically back into the waves, dousing himself.
She felt a little guilty because she hadn’t thought once about their investigation into the crash all day.