Heart of Gold - By Tami Hoag Page 0,36
She shoved up the sleeves of her baggy navy sweatshirt and snagged back a handful of wind-tossed hair. The sun had raised soft color in her cheeks and teased out a smattering of freckles on her nose.
“That you’re beautiful,” he said simply, his statement carrying almost none of the emotion that was struggling to come to life inside him.
Faith was stunned to absolute silence. Her heart did a swan dive into her stomach. The last thing she had expected from a man like Shane was pretty words. For a long moment she sat staring at him like a doe caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.
Even in this setting he looked tough and dangerous. He had donned jeans and a black sweatshirt for their outing, leaving his shoulder holster behind, but not his pistol. The gun had been his contribution to the picnic basket.
A man who packed guns in picnic baskets had told her she was beautiful, had stated it as if it were a plain, irrefutable fact. A smart woman wouldn’t have gone marshmallow soft inside over that. Faith decided her brain shouldn’t enter into the debate. It didn’t seem to function well at all when it came to this man.
A frown tugged at the corners of Shane’s mouth. “You act as if you’ve never had a man tell you that.”
“I haven’t,” she admitted. “Not someone who really meant it.”
“Then your ex-husband is blind as well as stupid.”
She sighed as she absently drew patterns in the sand with her finger. “Disinterested is probably the more accurate word.”
“A fool.”
“Let’s not talk about him, okay?” she said, flashing Shane a brittle smile. “Let’s just enjoy this beautiful day.”
She brought her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. Turning her face to the sun, she closed her eyes and concentrated on absorbing the warmth. The whole point of coming to the beach had been to get away from her problems. Shane himself was a reminder, but Faith had decided simply to pretend he wasn’t a government agent. For this afternoon he was just a man, they were just ordinary people enjoying the beach and the sun.
She didn’t have time to do more than register the shadow that suddenly blocked the warm rays from her face. Before she could even open her eyes to see what was happening, Shane’s mouth had settled against hers, and she was enveloped by warmth of another kind.
This was an inner heat that blazed whenever he touched her. Faith let it sweep through her. She didn’t try to fight the feelings that engulfed her. She’d been fighting them for too long. For this one kiss logic and reality could just butt out. She’d had enough reality to last her. This was escape, a wonderful fantasy, and she welcomed it.
Instinctively her hands came up to steady herself. She wound her arms around Shane’s neck as he parted her willing lips and deepened the kiss. Masterfully he explored her mouth, tasting and claiming territory that had lain fallow for too long. Desire awakened inside her and came to life like a seed in the spring.
Slowly he eased her down to the blanket, never breaking the kiss. His left hand stole under the hem of her sweatshirt, and his fingers teased the silky flesh of her belly. She sucked in a breath as he dragged his lips across her cheek and jaw and slid his hand up to claim one aching breast.
“Shane,” she managed to whisper, forcing her eyes open. “What are you doing?”
His eyes were the color of storm clouds when he lifted his head and looked down at her. He rubbed his thumb over the pebble-hard nub of her nipple and smiled with satisfaction as she gasped. His voice was like warm silk when he spoke. “I’m enjoying this beautiful afternoon.”
A perfectly reasonable answer, Faith thought as her eyes drifted shut and her concentration focused on the incredible sensation of his hand on her breast. His long, elegant musician’s fingers stroked and kneaded the soft globe of flesh. His thumb continually massaged the sensitive center. Tingling waves of sensation radiated from that point, shooting directly to the pit of her belly where they swirled in an ever tightening whirlpool.
Lord, she’d never known a man’s touch could incite her senses to riot. This was incredible. This was something she had never experienced. She suddenly felt cheated. She’d been a wife and had never known this kind of physical pleasure. She was a grown woman with a child….
“Lindy—” she