His breath swelled his chest and she stared at all that male skin, once more fascinated, once more hungry for what she shouldn't want and could never have. The insects buzzed the sound of that ever-present sexual tension that always ran between them. Kitty couldn't seem to break it and she couldn't look away from Dylan.
A dragonfly darted by, then around them. Kitty thought perhaps it cast a magic circle about her and Dylan, because with that insect's orbit time stilled and the world dissolved. There was only the cool creek beneath them and the green leaves surrounding them. That insistent, sexual Morse code continued pulsing between them, telegraphing need, passion, need again. When Dylan caught her hand and drew it toward him, she already knew he was going to place her palm against his chest.
He inhaled sharply at her touch.
The dragonfly swooped down in a flutter of its incandescent wings, almost landing on Kitty's nose. Despite the bewitchment of the moment, she laughed, delighted rather than bothered.
Dylan's mouth turned up in a faint grin. "He's jealous."
Kitty tilted her head. "Jealous?"
"His wings don't come close to the beautiful blue of your eyes."
Her fingertips flexed into his skin. "Oh, Dylan." Heat rushed across her body.
"Don't move," he whispered. "Don't go anywhere."
As if she'd want to. A kiss was coming. And yes, she'd told him never to do it again. She'd believed she didn't want him to. But at this moment she couldn't deny her own sexual craving, or the emotional one that was probably a thousand times more dangerous.
He cupped her face with his palms, keeping her head angled just so, and then he leaned forward. Tears pricked Kitty's eyes, and she hated herself for having to close them as he neared, but it was too much.
He brushed her mouth with his. Gentle, soft, dragonfly-wing sensation that made her heart shudder in her chest.
"Oh," she said. "It was like this before." Not in the jail cell, but on that night eight years ago. She flattened her other palm against his chest. No wonder she'd never wanted another man.
"It was never like this," he whispered. His palms cupped her shoulders as his mouth dragged across hers again. "Never."
Needing more, Kitty slid her hands up his chest. He shivered beneath her touch and she opened her eyes to see that his were closed and his jaw looked rock-hard. She clasped her hands behind his neck and pulled him down to her.
He resisted. "I'll rub you raw," he said against her mouth. "I didn't shave this morning."
"Please," she said, pulling harder. Her body was throbbing, clamoring for something more.
He groaned - then gave up.
Against the pressure of his lips, Kitty instantly parted hers. His tongue thrust inside and her body went liquid with relief. This was what she wanted. Her knees sagged.
His hands scraped down her back to catch her hips. He drew her against him, and she slowly slid her bare arms along the ridge of his shoulders. She moaned as the ordinary flesh between her elbows and her underarms proved to be previously uncharted erogenous zones.
Dylan hauled her even closer and angled his head. His tongue thrust deep again and she leaned into the kiss, feeling the hard bulge of his erection against her belly.
Her heart was riding high in her chest, buoyant with excitement. She smoothed her hands across his back, widening her fingers to touch as much of him as she could. He shivered again and, groaning, lifted his head.
His nostrils flared in and out with his labored breaths. Kitty's lungs were working overtime too, but she didn't want to stop. She needed this.
Going on tiptoe, she fitted her mouth to his.
He drew back and she tried following his lips, but he eluded her again.
"Kitty," he said, his voice raspy. "Wait a minute."
Frustrated, she fell back onto her heels, her body dragging along his. He groaned and clutched her hips, pressing her against him. Still sucking in air, he rested his forehead against hers.
"Kitty, I..." He lifted his hand and ran a gentle finger around her mouth. "I hurt you already."
"I don't care," she said. Her body was awake, still throbbing, still demanding he do something. No more soft touches, sweet kisses. Without even thinking, she turned her face into his neck and bit the underside of his jaw.
His muscles bunched beneath her hands. "Damn." He jerked her a few inches away.
Kitty stared at the red, twin arcs from her teeth marks against his