“Poppy…”
“It’s just a kiss, Jax.” Poppy brought her lips precariously close to his. With a whispered prayer, she practically begged him, “One, harmless little kiss. Just enough to make me feel alive. You can understand my need to feel that right now, can’t you?”
Surely a man like him could understand that.
His Adam’s apple bobbed with a single, hard swallow. When he tipped his head in the affirmative, Poppy knew she had him right where she wanted.
“Okay, then.” She smiled. “We agree. Just one kiss, and then I’ll walk back into that room and go to sleep. Alone.”
A powerful storm began to brew behind the darkness in his eyes. One of fire and heat. Hunger and need. Poppy recognized all those things because…
I feel them, too.
Where this new, brazen attitude of hers had come from she didn’t know. Her recent near-death experience, perhaps?
In truth, it didn’t really matterwherethe sudden rush of confidence had originated from. It was there, and Poppy was damn sure going to take advantage of it while it lasted. As for Jax…
He’s not pushing me away.
Taking it as a sign of consent, she brought herself even closer. So close, the hair framing his lips tickled hers with that first tentative touch.
“One kiss.” He whispered against her lips with his soft-spoken words.
With a tiny nod, Poppy lifted herself higher. Jax leaned in, his hot breath mixing with hers as they brought themselves closer and closer to one another. She brushed her bottom lip against his in a slow, teasing way.
Knowing this was her one and only chance, Poppy closed her eyes, held on tight, and Jax…
Jax slammed his mouth to hers.
8
Heaven.
The powerful word filled Jax’s mind as he got his very first taste of the woman who’d stolen damn near every thought he’d had since they first met.
He hadn’t planned on kissing her tonight. Hell, he hadn’t planned on her even beingawakewhen he got home.
With Ivan watching over her, Jax had spent the past few hours hiding in the shadows. Was what he did tonight legal? Nope. Was it the kind of work that was sometimes necessary for a case such as this?
Absofuckinglutely.
The plan had been to take care of business while she slept, which would avoid any unwanted questions and offer her plausible deniability should she need it later on. But that all got shot to hell and back the second he stepped through his door and saw Poppy standing there in nothing but a pair of skimpy, silky shorts that showcased her gorgeous legs and mouthwatering curves.
And that top…
The loose-fitting tank did nothing to hide the way her nipples had hardened when he’d walked in. Jax wondered if she was even aware of her body’s reaction to seeing him.
He knew exactly what that felt like. Every time the woman was around, his greedy dick hardened with an incessant desire to drive balls-deep inside her and never leave.
Jax was man enough to admit that had also been part of his plan. Finish the case andthenfigure out a way to talk her into his bed.
It wouldn’t have been hard. He’d seen the way Poppy stared at him when she didn’t think he was looking. It was the same way he looked at her when her attention was elsewhere.
So yeah, he wanted her. What man in his right mind wouldn’t?
But when she’d started in, telling him everything Ivan—the loose-lipped bastard—had said to her, he’d fully expected her to grab her bags and run.
She should be running. Far, far away from me.