Page 52 of Deadly Attraction
A somber nod. “I know exactly how that feels.”
She didn’t drop her hand. “It doesn’t…hurt as much with you here.”
He caught her gently by the back of her head, drew her face close to his. His breath fell warm on her cheeks, his pupils dilating. “Have you ever wanted something that you knew was wrong, but in some ways, it seemed like the only thing that might save you?”
The eyes might have been a window to the soul, but psychologists knew the pupils—and the way they dilated—were an honest cue to sexual interest.
Her pupils had to be dilated too. She knew exactly what he meant. Her lips trembled. Her hand rubbed over his shirt, feeling the solid wall of his chest under her fingers. She gave him a half-hearted smile. “You think we can save each other?”
His gaze dropped to her lips and she automatically parted them in anticipation. “Seems to me, doctor, that we either work on saving each other or we damn ourselves to another holiday of guilt and self-destruction.”
Could this damaged, heartbroken man help her heal her wounds? Logic said no. Her heart said something else. “Therapy only works for those who want it to,” she warned.
“And do you want it, Emma? Do you want me?”
How could she say no? He’d rekindled a fire inside her that had been cold and dark for two mind-numbing years. “Yes,” she breathed.
He took her lips with a slow, deliberate press of his mouth, his body inching slowly toward her, disturbing Salt. The Lab shifted, as did Pepper, and Emma scooted toward Mitch, meeting him in the middle.
He caught her up in his arms, his mouth demanding on hers. She gave him what he wanted, parting her lips and allowing him access.
The hand behind her head supported her as he deepened the kiss, their tongues dancing. She swept her arms around his neck, dragged her fingers through his short hair.
Her brain yelled for her to stop, to regain her professional composure and put distance between herself and this man who’d swept into her life and turned everything upside down, but the woman in her shoved logic and reasoning out of the way and into a deep, dark hole.
Right now, all she wanted to do was feel loved. Desired.
Safe.
All three existed in Mitch’s arms.
It was a relief to succumb to her baser instincts and crawl into his lap. His hands worked under her shirt, cupping her breasts through her bra. A gasp escaped her lips at the feel of his fingers kneading the sensitive flesh through the fabric, and then slowly teasing the lace back so he could touch her.
“Fuck, Emma,” he whispered, tweaking a nipple between his thumb and index finger. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”
Closing her eyes and arching to give him better access to her breasts, she smiled. “I suppose you’re lucky then. I can be a handful.”
He shoved her shirt out of the way and cupped both breasts fully again, squeezing and massaging them. “Yes, you are, and I love every bit of it.”
She laughed and then gasped as his lips touched the top of one breast. He lifted the nipple and laved it with his tongue, pulling a moan from her.
She hung on, arching higher, loving the increasing manipulation from his mouth. A large bulge pressed against her pelvis where she straddled him. Needing more of him, she swiveled her hips and ground into him.
He moaned against her skin and satisfaction shot through her. That little bit of power, knowing that she could bring him some pleasure in return, spurred her on.
She reached for his belt, unbuckled it, and was about to start on his zipper when Salt and Pepper both came to attention. A second later, they were up and tearing out of the office and down the stairs.
Mitch broke off from his ministrations to her breasts and looked over his shoulder at where the dogs had disappeared. “Company,” was all he said, his breath sounding like he’d been running a marathon.
Emma knew the feeling. Her breath was coming fast and hard, too, as she lowered her shirt and licked her lips.
Sure enough, a knock sounded on the kitchen door downstairs, setting both dogs off.
As the dogs barked and Emma tried to reengage her brain, Mitch deftly picked her up and untangled himself from her legs. Gaining his feet, he lifted her and set her on the corner of her desk, then adjusted the bulge in his jeans.
“Stay here,” he said, planting a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll see who it is.”
Emma gripped the edge of the desk for balance as his sudden absence left her lightheaded. Her body leaned toward him even as he disappeared out the doorway.
