Page 90 of This Heart Of Mine (Chicago Stars 5)

“And have you run off to Charlotte Long?” His voice dropped a husky note. “I don’t think so.”

She swallowed. “You’ll do it?”

“I guess I have to.”

Oh, boy… She squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her neck toward him. Her heart started to pound. What did she think she was doing?

Not a thing, apparently, because he didn’t touch her.

She opened her eyes and blinked. “Could you, uh, hurry up?”

He didn’t touch her, but neither did he move away. Oh, God, why did he have to be so gorgeous? Why couldn’t he have wrinkly skin and a big potbelly instead of being a walking advertisement for hard bodies? “What are you waiting for?”

“I haven’t given a girl a hickey since I was fourteen.”

“I’m sure it’ll come back if you concentrate.”

“Concentration isn’t my problem.”

The gleam in those smoky green eyes indicated that her behavior had put her right on the border between eccentric and insane. Her burst of temper had faded. She had to extricate herself. “Oh, never mind.”

She spun around to leave, but he caught her arm. The feel of his fingers on her skin made her shiver. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t. I just need to warm up a little.”

Even if her feet had caught fire, she couldn’t have moved.

“I can’t just lunge and bite.” His thumb stroked her arm. “It’s not in my nature.” Goose bumps quivered over her skin as he lifted his hand and trailed a finger over the curve of her neck.

Her voice developed a really annoying rasp. “It’s all right. Go ahead and lunge.”

“I’m a professional athlete.” His words were a seductive caress as he traced a lazy S to the base of her throat. “Lack of a proper warm-up leads to injuries.”

“That’s the point, isn’t it? An… injury?”

He didn’t reply, and she stopped breathing as his mouth came closer. She felt a shock when his lips brushed the corner of hers.

He hadn’t even made a direct hit, but her bones melted. She heard a soft, indecipherable sound and realized it had come from her, the easiest woman on planet earth.

He pulled her against him, a gentle movement, but the contact sizzled. Hard bone and warm flesh. She wanted all of his mouth, and she turned her head to find it, but he altered course. Instead of giving her the kiss she yearned for, he touched the opposite corner of her mouth.

Her blood pounded. His lips trailed from her jaw to her neck. Then he got ready to do exactly as she’d asked.

I’ve changed my mind! Please don’t bite!

He didn’t. He played at her throat until her breathing came fast and shallow. She hated him for teasing her, but couldn’t make herself push away. And then he put an end to the game and kissed her for real.

The world spun, and everything turned upside down. His arms cradled her as if she really belonged inside them. She didn’t know whose lips parted first, but their tongues touched.

It was a kiss made in lonely dreams. A kiss that took its time. A kiss that felt so right she couldn’t remember all the reasons it was wrong.

His hand plowed through her hair, and those hard hips pressed against hers. She felt what she’d done to him and loved it. Her breast tingled as he covered it with his palm.

He yelped and snatched his hand away. “Damn it!”

She sprang back and instinctively checked to see if her breast had grown teeth. But it wasn’t her breast.

He glared down at Roo, whose sharp, canine nails were digging into his leg. “Go away, mutt!”

Reality crashed back in on her. Just what did she think she was doing playing kissy-face with Mr. I’m Too Sexy? And she couldn

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