want the evening to end… and neither did she.
“Pay for the drinks, Graham,” she said, making the decision for them.
Turning to her, he arched his brow. “Yeah?”
“Unless you don’t want me to see you in those boxer briefs?”
Like magic, his wallet appeared. Tossing enough cash to cover the drinks and tip on the bar, he pulled her to her feet. “You sure?”
Tess slid her hand up his lapel and tugged him to her. “Let’s not overthink this.”
He pulled her toward the door and they stepped out into the muggy night. “Cab?”
“My place isn’t far. Let’s walk.”
“Or run.” He spun her into his arms, pressing her against the rough brick, not caring a homeless man slept in the alcove a few yards away.
Tess tugged his head down, her mouth eagerly meeting his. This time she wasn’t stingy with opening her mouth and it inflamed him even more. He pressed himself against her, sliding his hands down to her hips in order to pull her against his hardness. Warmth turned to frenzied fire.
“Oh,” she breathed, her hands knotting in his short wavy hair. “Maybe we better hurry.”
“Yeah, y’all should,” the old bum squawked. “Unless you want a little company.”
“No, thanks,” Graham called, wrapping an arm around Tess and pulling a five out of his pocket and dropping it in the man’s tipped-up hat. “Something for you, sir.”
“Not as good as what you’re about to get, brother,” the man cracked.
“True,” Graham called back over his shoulder, not slowing up as they crossed Canal Street. Several blocks later she pulled her keys from her purse, struggling to keep her hands from shaking. Right before she pushed through the front entrance of the building, Graham caught her elbow. “You sure?”
She looked up, surprised he’d try to stop now. “You trying to talk me out of having hot, uncontrollable, slightly dirty sex with you?”
He swallowed, his teeth flashing in the darkness. “Only slightly?”
“Okay, we’ll do it the way I like my martinis.”
“Extra dirty?”
She grinned. “Positively pornographic.”
GRAHAM ROLLED OVER and glanced at Tess asleep in the moonlight. Long lashes lay against her upper cheeks. The smattering of freckles were more pronounced against her luminous skin. Wild locks of dark gold mixed with brown caught in the light. She looked so innocent.
And not so much like the hellcat who had pinned him down, taken control, and brought him the most excruciatingly pleasurable orgasm he’d experienced in forever.
And it wasn’t just the skill Tess possessed in bed, it was the passion she plied it with. She’d taken his breath away as she made love to him with both reckless abandon and deliberate focus. Her girl-next-door vibe hid a consummate lover.
Thank God he’d invited her to dinner.
She’d fit him perfectly. The projections and reliefs of her body meeting his in such a way he’d felt like a jigsaw puzzle finally completed. Sounded hokey, but he felt that way. He’d never met someone like Tess—a woman he’d had an immediate connection with. Walking into her world felt like a fate thing.
“Mmm,” she groaned snuggling against his body, her lovely breasts brushing his chest as she wound an arm around his lower stomach. “That was soooo good.”
“Beyond good,” he said, pushing a hank of hair from her face.
She opened those gorgeous eyes and blinked sleepily up at him. “I fell asleep. Sorry.”
“Why?” he whispered, sliding a hand down to cup her bottom. She arched against him, sliding a leg over his, fitting herself to him and giving him better access.
“I don’t want to sleep tonight. I want to make love all night. That was an appetizer. Remember?”
“Right.” He pulled her atop him, sighing as she allowed her legs to fall to either side of his hips. With her breasts plumped against his chest and her smiling eyes studying him, he almost believed he could fall in love with a woman in less than twenty-four hours. “Ah, Tess, you might kill me tonight.”
“Then we’ll die happy.” She lowered her mouth to his, dropping tiny kisses against his lips. “I don’t want morning to come. Let me have these hours.”
He cupped her ass and moved her against him. He wanted to be inside her again. But not yet. Not until he tasted every inch of her. Not until he made her shudder and arch against him. Not until she screamed his name, grabbed the sheets, and lost every ounce of sanity she possessed.
He might be a geeky engineer, but he was a determined geeky engineer who prided himself on his attention to detail… and