To Catch a Thief - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,50

caught her hands and held them still as he met her gaze.

“That agreement isn’t drawn up and signed yet,” he reminded her.

“That’s okay. I trust you.”

“Do you? Emma would advise you against that.”

“What does she know?”

“Quite a lot, as it happens. You hired her, didn’t you? She’s looking out for your best interests. You should pay attention to her.”

“I’d rather pay attention to you right now.”

Before he could stop her, her wickedly clever mouth settled on his. In no time at all she had his thinking muddled and his breath hitching. When the kiss ended, his resolve was in tatters, but he made one last valiant attempt to make her see reason.

Gina merely smiled knowingly and framed his face in her hands. “You have every intention of drawing up that document and granting me immunity, correct?”

“Yes, but—”

“That’s all I need to know. I trust you.” Her gaze narrowed ever so slightly. “Or is that not the problem? Do you not trust me? Do you still think I could be involved in this with Bobby? Do you think this is some ploy on my part to keep an eye on you, so I can report what you’ve been up to?”

“Absolutely not. I wouldn’t have made the agreement with Emma, if I believed that,” he assured her.

Her smile returned. “Then we don’t have a problem, do we?”

Rafe gave up the battle. “Actually we do,” he told her.

She regarded him with a resigned expression. “What now?”

“You have way too many clothes on, Ms. Petrillo.”

It took a moment for his words to register, but when they did, her expression brightened. “If only all of our problems could be solved so easily,” she said.

She reached for the hem of her T-shirt, but Rafe stilled her hands. “In good time, Gina. In good time.”

This time when his mouth found hers, there was no hesitation, no restraint, just a slow, sweet, savoring kiss that rocked him like nothing had in years. Knowing that this time there would be no pulling back gave him permission to take his time and enjoy the trip. This time the final destination was never in doubt.

Chapter Eleven

Rafe made love just exactly the way Gina had imagined he would, with total concentration and the kind of raw passion that had been missing from her life. His mouth was hot and clever, but his hands were positively wicked. Long, lazy caresses alternated with skimming, intimate touches that made her crave more. He did things to her breasts that made her cry out and arch toward him, pleading for him not to stop.

And then he skimmed away her sensible cotton panties and began yet another wicked exploration that had her writhing and begging for release.

“Not just yet,” he whispered, his breath cool against the bare skin of her sensitive inner thigh.

He began a whole new assault of kisses that roved from stomach to ankle to toes and back again, until he reached the juncture of her thighs. When he touched her with his tongue, she came apart in a shuddering release.

Clutching his shoulders, she came slowly back to earth, then met his smoldering gaze. She felt a need to say something, to explain how devastating, how incredible the experience had been. “That was—”

“Just the beginning,” he said, cutting off her words with a kiss that sent her senses soaring once more.

Her body was straining yet again by the time his gaze locked with hers. Poised above her, he reminded her of a proud warrior, a little arrogant, a lot masculine. She hadn’t thought it was possible to want more than he’d already given her, but she did. Anticipation and yearning coupled with a building heat as he finally, at long last, entered her.

The sensation, the hard, slick slide of his arousal deep inside her took her breath away. But just beyond that incredible moment of satisfaction there was a hunger for more, a hunger that began with a sense of loss as he withdrew, then deepened as he entered her again.

The rhythm, as old as time, but new to her with this man became a torment and a pleasure. Rafe added nuances she’d never imagined, slow, fast, then slow again, teasing her, streaking toward a peak, then carrying her down, lulling her, before finally taking her to an impossible height, one that had every part of her at a fever pitch, demanding release, reaching for it.

They tumbled over the edge together, panting, clinging together, crying out in unison.

When the waves of pleasure had stilled, when