“I like my rules and regulations. It orders my life.”
“It boxes you in, too.”
“Freethinking might be admired in the SEALs, but I’ve found that procedure works for me. It’s gotten us far on this investigation.”
“I can’t argue with that, but that doesn’t mean that some of my methods weren’t effective.”
He put the car in gear, pulling away from the curb. On the ride over to her apartment, she wondered if he felt as unsettled about their relationship as she did. Letting him off the hook seemed to be the best idea.
She waited until she was inside her apartment before she turned to A.J., putting her hand against his chest. “I’m not asking for any promises from you, A.J. We’re clear on that score.”
“I’m not good at making promises I can’t keep. I wish I knew where we were going, but I don’t.”
“The future always takes care of itself. Why don’t we just worry about the here and now?” she answered.
She gave him her honesty and felt certain that enjoying the moment with him while it lasted was all that she could do right now. Pursuing a relationship with A.J. would lead her inevitably to heartache. They were of two different mindsets without common ground.
“Then we go on and find out.”
“I guess so.”
He drew her deeper into the apartment and she reveled in the predatory light in his eyes. She gasped when he swept her off her feet. “In case you didn’t realize, Lieutenant, I’m a tough cop. I don’t need to be carried.”
He set her on the floor close to the bed. “You’re lovely,” he murmured, one finger outlining the skin along her collarbone.
Sienna felt hot blood rush to her face and burn. “You’ve obviously been on one mission too many,” she replied awkwardly.
He was amused at her obvious embarrassment but declined to answer. He concentrated instead on dropping kisses lightly over her face, her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks.
Sienna had a hard time letting her guard down, but with A.J.’s mouth on her, she found it easy to succumb to the heightened pleasure, seduced away from caution and safety.
His hands went to her clothing. Wasting no time, he stripped her heated body, each touch of his hand making her heart beat wildly for more, each breath he took making her own breathing align with his.
She removed his clothes just as quickly, taking no time. His hot, wet mouth moved down her neck to her collarbone, gently nipping the ridge of flesh, then to her aching nipples. Everything in the world ceased to exist. There was just A.J., hot and hard, darkly seductive. A moan caught at the back of her throat, clamoring to get out. She could feel his body pulse with passion, strength, need, and she knew a wild desire to hold him in her hand, to feel the length of him, to feel him hard with the promise of sensual satisfaction.
She could feel the heat of his arousal rubbing against the apex of her thighs. He moaned softly, his intense eyes closing, his chest flattened against hers, the hard ridges of his chest a sensual goad.
The pressure of his weight was wonderful, the scent of him thick with male muskiness and arousal. She reveled in the feel of him against her.
It was sheer madness on her part as her hands stole around to his firm, muscled buttocks, sliding over the hot taut flesh to pull his hips against hers. He twisted his head to the side, his breathing catching on another moan. His hands moved into her hair, his fists clenching and releasing to slide through the length.
He pressed his hard arousal against her belly. Nothing else mattered to Sienna at this moment, not her loss of control, not anything. Her hands tightened on his sleek backside, bringing him close, wanting more, wanting him inside her.
He looked into her eyes, studied them. “Sienna?”
In answer, her head fell back, and her lids half closed at the warm, seductive lights in his eyes. “A.J., I want you. I want…”
“This?” he said, his voice hitching. His head dipped and his smooth lips sent ripples of sensation skittering down her back, his fine white teeth nipped her skin, and Sienna gasped as goose bumps swelled all over her body. His warm, wet tongue stroked her skin, and her nipples tightened into hard, heated tips. She moaned. Her hands came up and delved into his hair as soft as strands of hot, wet silk. Sienna gently cupped his head as if it were the most precious thing on earth.
And it was.
He was.
So precious.
“Sienna, I can’t get enough of you.”
She saw her own hunger mirrored in his eyes. He wanted her hunger; he wanted her so badly that she could feel his body shudder with a keen, pulsating pain.