Page 59 of Sirens
“Off,” he commanded, grasping the hem of the slip.
She hurried to comply, tossing the silken sheath aside. His gaze raked over her, hot and appreciative, before he swooped in to capture one nipple in his mouth.
“Please,” she gasped, desire burning white-hot in her veins. She needed more, needed all of him. “I need you again.”
McGarvey chuckled. “Patience.”
Dizziness swept over Maggie, and she clutched at him for support. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in close.
“We’re doing it my way. Understand?”
Only when he guided her up to her knees on the bed facing the mirror affixed to the back of her bedroom door did she understand what he had in mind.
Maggie swallowed, heart pounding, and met his gaze in the mirror. His eyes were dark with desire, but there was a question in their depths. She knew, then, that he would stop if she asked. But she didn’t want to stop. She wanted everything he was willing to give her.
And more besides.
“Now, look at yourself,” he added, positioning himself behind her, his hands resting gently on her hips. “And see what I see.”
Maggie’s reflection stared back at her, flushed and bright-eyed. Her tousled red hair framed her face like a corona of flame, making her eyes look greener in the dim light. But it was the array of freckles scattered across her skin that caught McGarvey’s attention next.
“See this?” he murmured, tracing one finger over the constellation, starting from her neck down to her shoulder and further down across her bare torso.
Maggie shivered under his touch, goosebumps blooming over every inch of her skin. “Yes.”
“This is mystery,” he whispered. “Even if it took me a hundred years, I’d want to map every single one. And this?” He traced the curve of her shoulder down to the swell of her breast, cupping it to relieve her of its weight. “This is beauty.”
He kissed the spot he’d traced, his lips hot against her fevered skin. Maggie arched toward him instinctively.
“And this,” he murmured, trailing his hands down to cup her ample hips. “This is desire.”
She met her own eyes in the mirror—flushed and wanton, lips parted and eyes heavy-lidded with need. She looked…like sex.
Like passion.
Like need.
Like a woman.
He moved his fingers lower to circle her navel. “And this?” he asked. “Curvature that invites my touch.” Maggie felt a shiver run down her spine at his words, her entire body humming with anticipation. “This,” he continued, sliding one of his hands down to trace the outside of her thigh, “is strength.”
And then he was moving her, guiding her onto the bed until she was on her back and he was above her, his body a delicious weight pressing against hers. His mouth found hers again, hishands wandering over her with a possessive touch that left her gasping.
“Tell me you want this. Tell me you want me.”
“I want you,” she breathed.
McGarvey’s smile was slow and predatory. “Good girl.” He kissed her again, deep and claiming, and Maggie surrendered to the flames.
TEN
Hook and book
TO ARREST SOMEONE
The next morning,Trent’s perma-smile faltered when he eased his cruiser into the chaos at Water Street and Townsend Boulevard. Someone had roused the rabble, and the citizens of Townsend Harbor had split like a bad romance over the city’s proposal to replace the one working stoplight downtown with a roundabout. In lieu of torches and pitchforks, the local mob brandished signs that wobbled in the air like a flock of confused pigeons, each scrawled with bold proclamations either damning or praising the traffic circle that had yet to exist.
Intersections give me erections!one sign declared, while another retorted,Don’t be square—put a circle there!
