Page 35 of Falling Fast

Jamie ignored her whimpers, the desperate grip of her hands. He held her hip steady and kept doing exactly what he was doing, refusing to be rushed.

Her breathing grew more erratic, incoherent little sounds coming out of her, then she let out a choked sound and began to come. Her stark cries of pleasure rang unchecked throughout the room, her entire body undulating with each movement of his hand.

Closing his eyes, savoring the moment, Jamie released her nipple and pressed his forehead to the softness of her breast. He stopped the hand between her legs only when she collapsed back against the wall.

Reluctantly easing his fingers from her warmth, he gently cupped her again with his palm, and stayed like that. Soothing her, giving her time to come back down from the high.

When she sighed and stroked her fingers through his hair he straightened and pressed his weight against her to help hold her up, shifting the hand on her hip up to cradle the side of her face.

Those liquid brown eyes were hazy as she blinked slowly at him, her cheeks flushed, hair mussed. She looked like a woman who’d been thoroughly pleasured, and damned if he could summon up even an ounce of regret. “Oh my God,” she mumbled.

For the life of him he couldn’t come up with a coherent response. His cock throbbed like a toothache against his fly where it pressed against the softness of her abdomen.

Unable to resist leaning in for another taste, he gently covered her lips with his, stroked his tongue between them for an instant before sucking at the lower one, then the upper. She moaned and sagged in his hold, her hand dropping from his nape to his shoulder, her entire body pliant.

He pulled his hand from her panties and slid his arms around her, drawing her into his body so he could hold her close. Charlie went willingly, snuggled into him with a contented sigh that made his heart squeeze. She wound one arm around his neck and slid her free hand down his chest, down to his tense stomach.

Jamie grabbed her wrist before she could reach his waistband.

Her eyes flashed up to his, full of confusion. “You’re so hard. I want to return the favor,” she whispered, leaning in for another slow, sensual kiss.

Biting back a growl, he nipped at her lower lip and pulled her hand away. “No.”

She blinked in surprise, her eyes clearing, then frowned and pushed at his chest to put a few inches of space between them. “No? Are you serious?”

God, he would fucking kill to feel her soft hands stroking over him right now. Or better yet, strip that dress off, sink to the carpet in nothing but her underwear and those heels, then unzip his pants and take him out, close those perfect lips around his cock.

His entire body clenched at the image, a tiny shudder ripping through him.

Except she still hadn’t committed to anything more than a fling. And he wouldn’t take her without one. Once she was ready for something serious, they could cross that line.

Instead of answering he just kissed her again, already hooked on her taste, addicted to pulling those sweet sounds from her as he made her come. Next time she would come against his tongue and around his cock.

He smothered her protests with a hot, slow kiss, waited until she melted for him again before ending it. His entire body ached with the need to lay her down and plunge into her but that was the worst thing he could do.

Not until she’d agreed to be his. If he gave in now in a moment of weakness, he’d lose her. And that was a risk he simply wasn’t willing to take.

Cupping her face between his hands, he swept his thumb over her soft, swollen mouth. “Sleep tight, Trouble,” he murmured, catching the flare of shock and vulnerability in her eyes in the split second before he turned away and walked out, back to his empty apartment where a cold shower and a long, lonely night awaited him.

Chapter Nine

Charlie knew she’d found the right dress when she stepped out of the fitting room and Taylor’s eyes went big and wide behind the lenses of her glasses.

“Well?” The stretchy black lace cocktail dress had long sleeves and stopped at mid-thigh. Elegant. Classy. And it hugged every single inch of her body.

It also cost three times as much as any dress she’d ever bought before.

“Oh my God, you have to get that one,” her friend said in her Texas drawl. Just a year older than Charlie, she’d been transferred to the same office nine months ago as part of the Intelligence Division, in the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Taskforce. She glanced around, checking to make sure they were still alone in the room, then adjusted her glasses and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Jamie’s going to forget how to talk when he sees you.”

“No he won’t,” Charlie scoffed, even though she hoped he would.

It still stung that he’d walked away last night. He hadn’t left her hanging per se, but now the power balance had shifted between them, and not in her favor. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. About him. What he’d done to her—

No, thewayhe’d done it, all commanding and forceful…

A rush of heat swept through her as she remembered the strength of his grip, his utter sensuality as he’d held her still and taken her apart right there against the wall. And then walked away.

He seemed to do that a lot where she was concerned. She’d had about enough of it, too.

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