Page 42 of Hunted Hearts
Juliette’s eyes blazed at him with an unspoken heat, and Theo felt his control snap like a thread pulled too tight.
The quiet of the library—lit only by the soft glow of the late-fall sun streaming through the windows and the last notes of Mussorgsky still echoing faintly from the speakers—was suddenly electrified.
Her gaze didn’t waver from his.
He didn’t even remember closing the small gap on the sofa between them, just the rush of his pulse and the warmth of her skin when he cupped her jaw.
When he captured her lips, he didn’t ask permission. The hungry look in her eyes was enough.
Her lips parted on a soft gasp before she curled her fingers into the collar of his flannel and pulled him closer. The scent of her—something faintly floral, warm, undeniablyher—made thought impossible.
He did what he’d been longing to do since she walked out onto the porch—he buried his fingers in her hair as he angled the kiss deeper, his tongue sweeping against hers.
A quiet moan broke from her. Her nails grazed the back of his neck, a featherlight scrape that sent a shiver racing down his spine.
Without realizing what he was doing, he cupped the back of her head, thinking to guide her down on the sofa and feel her thighs wrap around him again. To shimmy that long shirt up her leg and hear her sigh as he found her soaking—
But they weren’t alone, not really. Not as long as he could still hear the clanking of pots and pans in the kitchen and voices carrying across the house.
He broke away and stared down into her beautiful eyes. They were both breathing harder than they should’ve been. Her lips were swollen, her cheeks flushed. The sight alone made his gut tighten.
“This is…” She trailed off, her voice strained, eyes searching his face like she might find her answer there.
“Yeah,” he muttered, thumb stroking along her jaw before he inched back, just enough to keep his head clear. He glanced toward the door, listening for any sound right outside the door. When he didn’t pick up on any, he tugged her hand. “Come on.”
Juliette hesitated a heartbeat before nodding, her lips curving in a faint smile more dangerous to his restraint than anything yet.
They slipped through the house like teenagers sneaking out after curfew, their footsteps light on the hardwood floor. When they reached the hall leading to several of the bedrooms, he guided her closer to the wall because he remembered the old floorboards creaked in the middle.
Every distant sound—the engine of a vehicle on the ranch, the faint rattle of a window in the breeze—seemed amplified in the stillness. Theo couldn’t shake the strange mix of heat and mischief twisting in his chest, like hewasa kid again, doing something reckless behind his family’s backs.
Halfway to her room, he leaned close, his lips caressing her ear just enough to make her shiver. “You look tired,” he murmured, his voice low, teasing. “Guess I’ll have to tuck you in.”
Her quick inhale was answer enough. She tilted her head just slightly, her lips grazing his jaw in the faintest tease before they kept walking.
By the time they reached the guest room, Theo didn’t bother with subtlety. He caught her by the waist and spun her gently so her back hit the door, his mouth finding hers again as he nudged it closed with his foot. The softclickof the latch might as well have been a starter’s pistol.
Juliette melted against him, her arms winding around his neck as the kiss deepened, hotter, hungrier. The attraction that had been simmering between them—since they met, if he had any read on it—boiled over, spilling out in every press of their mouths, every brush of fingertips over heated skin.
He slid his hands to her hips, flexing his fingers against the silk of her robe before slipping beneath, finding the edge of her nightshirt. He groaned into her mouth when his palms met the bare, warm skin of her thighs.
As he plundered her sweet mouth, he dragged his thumbs upward, under the nightshirt, stroking the curve of her waist.
She broke the kiss just long enough to whisper, “Bed.” Her voice was soft but commanding, threaded with the same need coiling in his gut.
Theo didn’t take orders from just anybody, but this was one order he’dgladlytake.
With a growl, he backed her toward the mattress with steady steps. When the back of her knees hit the edge, she sat, her fingers already finding the buttons of his flannel. He stood over her, watching the determined way she worked each one, his chest rising and falling faster with every second. And his cock battering his fly.
When she pushed the shirt off his shoulders, she raked her gaze over his chest, issuing a soft puff of a sigh.
“You’re…so…hot.”
His ego liked the stroke it got from her words. She deserved some in return…and so much more.
He tugged the sash of her robe. “You’re overdressed.”
Slowly, he peeled the robe down her arms and then yanked her nightshirt over her head. The instant her breasts were bared to him, he cradled them in his hands, learning the weight of them, the shape of them…how she moaned when he strummed his thumbs over her nipples.
