my hand away, but he caught it in a swift, catlike movement as he turned. I didn't have time to think, let alone escape, even if I'd wanted to. He wrapped his long, strong arm around my back and kissed me.
I was so shocked, I let him. Or maybe I let him because the man kissed as if he did little else but.
Tongue, lips, teeth, he devoured. Nothing gentle in this kiss, all wet heat and lust. He twined his fingers in my hair; I dug mine into his shoulders and held on.
He tasted of mint, as if he'd just brushed his teeth. I ran my tongue along the straight, white expanse and he moaned, then nipped my lip.
A shudder ran through me. His kiss was as rough as his hands, and I relished it I didn't know why. Simon had been gentle in all things, especially lovemaking.
Maybe that was why.
He wasn't Simon, and this wasn't love. I didn't want it to be.
I'd had my shot. One man, one woman, forever. I believed that. A woman like me didn't get two soul mates. Did anyone?
Since Simon was dead, I was doomed to be alone. But that didn't mean I couldn't have this.
I ran my palms over his arms, let my thumbs trace his collarbone, tangled my fingers in his hair. His skin was so soft over muscles so hard. I wanted to trace every inch of him.
I was overcome with a sudden urge to drop to my knees and score the ripples of his abdomen with my teeth. I'd never seen a man put together so well, not that I'd seen all that many.
His erection brushed my stomach; my gasp was captured by his mouth as his hand dipped inside my shirt, slid under my bra, his palm cupping my breast, testing the weight, thumb teasing one nipple even as his lower body skimmed softly against mine.
He kept kissing me; I couldn't think. I wanted nothing more than to feel his heat, his strength, his life. How could I ever have thought him a ghost?
Suddenly he tore away; I nearly fell. He stared at me wide-eyed, his mouth wet and swollen, as he shoved a hand through his tangled hair.
I'd tangled it. I wanted to do so again.
"I shouldn't have..." He made a vague gesture in my direction.
I swallowed. I could still taste him. "Why did you?"
He snorted. "Have you looked in de mirror lately?"
"I don't - I mean, I'm not - "
"You are."
"What?"
"Sexy."
I laughed. "You must be more deprived than I am."
The corner of his mouth lifted. "I'm sure that's true."
No one had ever called me sexy. Simon had loved me, but he'd been more interested in my mind than my body. We'd been colleagues, friends, then lovers. The sex had been good. This had been -
Catastrophic?
Mind-bending?
Life altering? Or just -
Wrong.
I didn't know this man. Not really. Everything I'd heard about him should make me wary.
Most, if not all, of the bodies had been found on his property; why wasn't he a suspect? Then again, the police were blaming animals. Unless Adam Ruelle planned to shape-shift beneath the crescent moon, he was innocent. At least of the Honey Island Swamp killings.
"Diana?"
I started as Adam brushed my hair from my face. His fingertips grazed my cheek, and I resisted the urge to rub my skin against his and purr. What was the matter with me?
"You should take your things and go back to wherever it is you came from."
That was the second time he'd told me as much.
I stared into his bright blue eyes. "It didn't feel like you wanted me to go."
"What I want and what's best for de both of us are two different things."
"I don't understand."
I waited for him to explain. When he didn't, I let out an exasperated sigh and turned away. He grabbed my hand and yanked me back, catching me when I stumbled, aligning our bodies just right all over again.
His jaw tightened. "What I want is to lie you down on , de ground, right here, or maybe shove you against de wall, right there, and take you until you can't argue with me anymore"
As if he couldn't help himself, he leaned forward, brushed his lips to the swell of my breast exposed by our acrobatics.
"I want to mark you with my teeth." He scraped the sensitive skin just under my collarbone. "Bury myself in you."
He pulled me more tightly against him. I should have been insulted; instead I was interested.
"Over and