"Just for the night." He watched her lips move, the soft pink curves damp and inviting.
"The night's disappearing fast." He ran his hand up her back, feeling the small tremor of her response.
He watched as she swallowed, a momentary confusion lighting the pale green of her eyes as her soft tongue flicked out to wet her lips. She wasn't nervous, but that edge of vulnerability in her gaze tore at him.
"Yes," she finally answered. "The night is disappearing fast. What should we do about that?" She wasn't playing coy or flirting. The words were a challenge, one that had the muscles of his abdomen tightening in anticipation.
"Did you come with friends?"
"I have no friends."
The odd response had him narrowing his eyes as he studied her from behind his lashes. For some reason, he had a feeling she didn't mean just in this area.
"Are you ready to leave then?" His fingertips pressed against her blouse, feeling the muscles of her back as that small tremor washed through them again.
"I'm ready." Resignation filled her tone and her expression. Once again that strange, saddened little moan whispered past his ears as the air around them grew heavy with arousal. Hers and his. She was fighting the strength of her response to him, holding herself carefully back from him, refusing to relax in his embrace as her eyes swept quickly over the room.
Embarrassment? As though she wasn't quite certain that she wanted others to know her weakness, her arousal.
Lance waited until her gaze returned to his before speaking again.
"My place is just a few minutes from here. Are you ready to go?" he asked softly, knowing it was going to happen and damn if he wasn't looking forward to it. He took her hand and led her from the dance floor as the music paused. "You could follow me, or I could drive you back here in the morning for your vehicle," he suggested as they stepped out of the bar.
"Could we take my Jeep?" She paused at the steps, staring into the darkness around them. "I'd hate to have it towed."
She was sure her new boss would just love having to get his deputy's vehicle out of impound if it was towed away. She'd prefer not to start this little working relationship off on the wrong foot. The next six months were going to be hard enough as it was.
"Sounds good to me." He nodded carefully as she pulled her keys from the inside of the tote she carried on her shoulder and handed them to him.
"The blue Jeep." She nodded to the wide-track, sporty Wrangler across the lot. Keeping her hand in his, he led her across the parking lot. He unlocked the passengerside door for her, letting her move between the door and the seat before he caught her hip with one hand and turned her to him.
He felt her tense, as though she still wasn't quite certain of what she was doing. It was obvious that leaving a bar with a stranger wasn't a commonplace occurrence for her.
"Are you sure?" He lowered his head until his lips were inches from the soft curves of hers, the scent of her wrapping around him, the smell of honeysuckle and a tint of clover infusing his senses.
"No second thoughts." Her breathing was rougher now, her lips parting as Lance allowed his hands to settle on her bare waist, to feel the incredibly soft flesh beneath them.
The temptation of those lips was too much to deny. He lowered his head as her hands fluttered against his chest, the feel of them sinking past the cloth of his shirt as he fought to rein in his desire.
Just a kiss, he promised himself as he touched her lips with his. He was the sheriff; he couldn't get caught necking in public. But one kiss surely wouldn't hurt. Or so he thought. Until her lips parted on a soft little gasp, and her tongue touched his. The subtle taste of honeysuckle was stronger here, sweet and clean as it fueled his hunger.
Lance felt her hands slide up his chest, move to his neck, then bury themselves in his hair as a soft moan vibrated against his lips. He kissed her with soft greed, reminding himself each second that it could go no further. He could kiss her. Just a taste before the main course.
As his lips moved over hers, he found his hunger for her surging, overtaking his common sense and his control. His hands slid beneath her top, stroking the satiny flesh until they filled with the firm mounds of her br**sts. And she was arching to him, her soft cry muffled by his suddenly devouring lips.
His tongue pushed against hers, twined with it, drew it to his lips and suckled it into his own mouth as she arched against him.
She tasted like hot, needy sex. Like a temptress made for lust, built for endurance and pleasure. And if he wasn't very, very careful he was going to end up f**king her right there in the parking lot.
"We're getting in trouble here." His hands slid from her br**sts to her rear, gripping the snug curves and moving her against his thigh as his lips trailed over her jaw to her neck. Lance nipped at the fragrant skin there as he felt the heated, cloth-covered curves of her pu**y riding his thigh. She was panting for breath now, flushed, a soft dew of perspiration covering her skin.
"This isn't natural." Her voice was dazed, thick with need as he stroked his lips and tongue over her neck, heading for the valley of her br**sts and the soft flesh he knew he would find there.
She was softer than any other woman he had ever touched. Sweeter. Hotter. And he was one second from ripping his jeans open, lifting her to the seat and f**king the hell out of her.
"I'm sure it is." Lance licked at the dampness between her br**sts, tasting honeysuckle there as well. Damn, he was developing a fondness for honeysuckle. If only the taste wasn't so subtle. Then he could fill his senses with it, sate his need for it. He flexed his fingers in the curves of her ass as he helped her ride him, swearing he could feel the damp heat of her pu**y searing him through her pants and his jeans.
"You taste as sweet as summer," he growled. Her lips were at his forehead, pressing against him tentatively, causing him to pause in this frantic desperation to taste as much of her as possible, returning to him a measure of control.