Once Bitten, Twice Dead - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,45

kisses.

He leaned into her, surrounding her, making her feel small and feminine. His warm body touched her just right. Her passion spiraled out of control. And then he stopped.

His kiss went on, only it lowered in magnitude. He moved back slightly and she tried to follow, but he wouldn’t allow it. She wanted to pout, to cry, to throw something at him.

She also wanted to moan at the sweet turn the kiss had taken. He cherished her lips, his body a warm presence in front of her that no longer drove her to near madness. Now it seduced her. It drew her in. It made her want to be his lover, his woman, his slave.

Xavier kissed her for what seemed hours. To be honest, she lost all track of time while he teased her with his mouth, his tongue, his looming presence. She wanted it all and she didn’t want it to end. Ever.

He drew back farther.

“Now that’s what I’ve been missing all morning.” Xavier left her lips with obvious reluctance as he gazed into her eyes.

“Wh-what?” Great. She was really out of it.

“My good-morning kiss. The day isn’t complete without it.” He was altogether too chipper for her frame of mind. How could he tease after rocking her world like that?

Now that he’d brought up the subject, so to speak, she had a thing or two to say to him about what was going on between them. He probably wouldn’t like it, but she wanted to set a few things straight before this went any further. She lifted her arms from around his shoulders and sat back on the table, seeking space so she could think more clearly. She was the next best thing to incoherent when he had his arms around her. A frown creased his brow as she pulled away.

“Look, Xavier…about last night. And just now. We can’t do this.”

“Seems to me like we did just fine.”

“You know what I mean.” She shot him a disgusted look when he only grinned at her. “I’m happy to work with you on this case, but I feel anything else would be a mistake.”

“You’re calling what we did last night a mistake? It felt pretty good to me—up to the point where we got interrupted.”

At the time she had cursed the interruption, but after putting some distance between them and giving herself time to cool down, she realized it was for the best. She couldn’t let this go any further.

“Come on, Xavier. Be realistic. You’re leaving and I’m not the kind of girl who can jump in and out of bed with different men every week.”

“I never thought you were.” He looked shocked by her words. Shocked and on the verge of anger, if she read him right. Now, that was confusing. He wasn’t responding at all the way she had anticipated.

He stepped away from the table, pacing in what looked like annoyance as she jumped down from her perch. She felt more stable on her feet, even when he was so much taller.

“I don’t want to get involved, all right?” She turned away, wringing her hands. She was being downright rude, but she didn’t see any other way to get through to him.

“No.”

“What?” She spun around, meeting his gaze.

“You heard me. You may not want to get involved”—he emphasized the words with a sneer—“but I have news for you, sugar, we are already involved. At least I am. More than I’ve been with any woman in recent memory.”

He looked this close to losing his temper. Xavier took a step back along with a deep breath, seeming to regroup.

“I didn’t look for this. I didn’t expect it when I came here, but I can’t deny it and neither can you. Am I right? I know you’re attracted to me.”

“You’ve got one hell of an ego, Beauvoir,” she muttered darkly.

“Good thing or I might just start to think you don’t like me.” His self-deprecating chuckle invited her to join in.

“Xavier…” The man exasperated her.

“Sarah.” Her name was a mere rumble as he moved in front of her, taking her hands in both of his. “Give me a chance. Give us a chance. I’ve never been this attracted to any woman in my life. I want to see where this could lead.”

Oddly, she believed him. The honesty in his voice and sincerity in his expression—for once open and laid bare for her to see—was her undoing.

“I know you’re not easy. Hell, I probably wouldn’t be half as attracted to you if you