“Little witch,” he moaned in a voice laced with a combination of denial and desire.
Slowly, as if in a dream, she raised her hand to gently touch his cheek. And like the witch he named her, enchantment flowed from her through that gentle touch. Warmth spread with gentle probing fingers, seeking out the coldest, deepest part of his soul, filling it with light.
He closed his eyes to better concentrate on the way her hand felt against him. “Have you wanted to touch me?” he demanded hoarsely.
“Yes, forever,” she whispered, her hands traveling over the contours beneath her probing fingers.
Kate’s hands on his chest felt like two fiery brands burning his skin. He was burning up with need.
Her hand moved down his torso, running over the ridges of muscles along his ribs to the thick, seriated muscle of his abdomen.
When she reached the waistband of his slacks, she tucked her fingers inside and ran them around.
She groaned heatedly, and the sound of it skated along his nerve endings like quicksilver igniting pleasure centers.
* * *
With a quick, lithe movement, he grabbed her hands and twined them around his neck. He jerked her against him with such power that the force of it wrung a cry of surprise out of her. Without giving her a chance to even think, his lips descended to hers, fiery and demanding, as if his very life depended on her response.
Her breath was dammed in her lungs and the hard pressure of his mouth sent delicious sensations to pool with hot tingles in her lower body.
She wanted more yet felt as if she couldn’t possibly get close enough to him. She was aware of the hardness of his big, strong body and she wanted to explore every muscled inch.
His hand slid over her buttocks, holding her in place as he pushed against her softness, kneading the firm curves while he pulled her tighter to him. And Kate stilled suddenly, her breath caught between breathing in and breathing out as she felt the hot, rigid length of him pressed against her clothed hips.
Unable to help herself, her hands went to the part of him that was quintessentially male. With the flat of her hand, she pressed against him, then cupped him, squeezing gently. It was so arousing to touch a man like this. To take him like this. She hoped she wasn’t being clumsy.
A full-throated grown escaped Jericho’s lips as he abruptly stopped moving. Kate could feel the coiled need in him as he strained to hold on to his self-control. She felt the quivers throughout his body as he tried to master his raging desire, and she felt him lose the battle with himself. He gripped her buttocks tighter and drove himself upward, grinding his hips against her hands and stomach.
“Jericho,” she breathed. Kate had had sex before, but Jericho made her feel inept. Beneath her innocence pulsed the need to be filled by this man.
His hand closed around her breast, his thumb brushing over the nipple. Kate felt as though she was going to come out of her skin.
He wrapped his arms around her and whirled, setting her on the edge of her writing desk. His eyes captured hers, a glittering light so full of stark desire for her that it made Kate groan.
He pulled her T-shirt over her head, forgetting her protests as his warm hands caressed her through the lace of her bra. She arched her back, instinctively giving all that she had.
He filled his hands with the soft weight of her exquisite flesh, flicking his thumbs over each nipple, liking her soft gasp each time he did it.
“We don’t need to wait, Kate.”
The words reverberated in her head. And she managed to say, “Jericho, no. Stop. Now.”
He convulsed against her, his mouth going back to hers. She could feel the trembling in his hands, his body—or was it her shaking? She couldn’t tell.
“What are you saying? Are you teasing me, Kate?”
“Every time you come near me, I lose control.” She pushed against his chest. “I told you it’s my call.” Her breathlessness betrayed her state of arousal.
He braced his hands against the desk and breathed in and out forcefully. “You’re kidding?”
She stared at him, still unwavering, and she saw when he believed her.
“I guess the living room would be a little too adventurous for you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
He did up the studs on his shirt but left his bow tie loose. “Come on, Kate. You don’t seem very adventurous to me. Ask anyone. They’d say the same thing. Cool, calm, and collected. Kate always gets the job done.”