Heartbreakers. Lori Foster

for her brother’s gym.

      Clouds drifted across the moon, darkening the sky so that only the faint light from her porch illuminated her. Her lashes looked feathery in the dark shadows, her mouth very, very soft.

      The scent of shampoo and lotion rose from her warm body to mingle with the damp night scents.

      Zack felt himself reacting to the sight of her, and it angered him. “Wynn.”

      She didn’t move.

      He didn’t want to touch her. “Damn it, Wynn, wake up.”

      Her lashes stirred and a soft sound escaped her slightly parted lips, causing his abdomen to clench, his pulse to race. Then she resettled herself with a husky groan.

      Zack’s eyes flared. His stomach knotted with carnal awareness. He reached down and caught her shoulder for a brisk shake. “Damn it to hell, Wynn, will you get your ass awake before I—oompf!”

      One moment he’d been indulging his temper and the next he found himself flat on his back in the dew-covered grass, the wind knocked out of him and Wynn’s knee in his chest. Her fist was drawn back, ready to clout him.

      Zack reacted as suddenly as she had, grabbing her legs and holding on as he flipped them both, putting her flat out beneath him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

      Both her knees came up to shove in his ribs and he groaned. Taking advantage, she pushed him facedown to the side and crowded in close to his back. Her elbow locked around his throat. He could hear her frantic breaths directly in his ear. “Just what did you think you were—”

      Swallowing down a roar of anger, Zack reached back, caught her by the head, and flipped her over his shoulder. Her grunt was much louder than his and she wheezed, trying to catch her breath. She held still, not moving, just staring up as if to see if she’d broken anything.

      Zack took immediate advantage, and this time when he covered her he did so completely. He held her wrists high over her head and pinned her legs with his, not about to risk his poor body again. Her knees had caught him so hard it felt like she’d broken his ribs. He’d always known her legs would be strong, but...

      When she started to wiggle he squeezed her so tight she gasped. “What,” he asked through his teeth, “the hell is the matter with you?”

      He hadn’t meant to yell, but never in his life had a woman attacked him physically. And absolutely never had he thought to attack a woman! Thank God there weren’t many women like her.

      When Wynn didn’t answer, he leaned closer to try to see her face, now afraid that he’d hurt her.

      She spoke barely above a whisper. “I didn’t know it was you.”

      Zack grunted. So she’d thought she was defending herself? He was far from appeased. If she hadn’t fallen asleep outside, it wouldn’t have been an issue.

      “Do you realize,” she continued, “that I’m letting you do this?”

      Disbelieving her gall, Zack reared back. “Letting me?”

      Her head moved in a slight nod. “I could have bitten your face just seconds ago. Even your jugular.”

      “Of all the—”

      “Even now,” she taunted, “if I wasn’t afraid of hurting you, I could toss you.”

      In that instant Zack became aware of her long lean body beneath him, the cushion of her plump breasts, the giving dip of her wide pelvis, the strong, sleek thighs... He had hold of her wrists—not delicate wrists, but large-boned for a woman—and he lifted them above her head, keeping her in a submissive position.

      So he could control her.

      Oh yeah, his body liked that a lot. Too damn much. He had no doubt she’d already noticed his hard-on, being as it was pressed rigidly into her soft abdomen. Well too bad. Zack leaned closer again so he could see her face. He looked at her lush mouth, open now as she struggled for breath, and then to her incredible hazel eyes. Damn she had sexy eyes. In nothing more than scant moonlight, they were the eyes of a wolf, and they stirred him. “Try it,” he offered, and waited with his own breath held.

      “Oh, no.” She stared at his mouth, and he felt her attention like a hot lick. “I don’t want to hurt you—now that I know it’s you.”

      Without meaning to, Zack pressed into her. Only the thin cotton of her nightshirt and his slacks separated them from entry. He closed his eyes, tipped his head back and moved against her rhythmically.

      The alignment of their bodies was perfect, chest to breasts, groin to groin. He could kiss her and ride her at the same time, and never miss a single deep stroke. That realization made his muscles ripple.

      Her nipples had puckered and he felt them rasping against his bare chest. She shifted her thighs, maybe trying to accommodate him, but he refused to take any chances. Her arms hung limp in his grip, in no way fighting his hold. Still he secured her, stretching her out a bit more, aware of her strength, and her yielding.

      He felt on fire. “Wynn...”

      She lifted her head, as brazen as ever, and that was all it took. Zack had never been a man controlled by lust, never been a man to experience all that much lust.

      But this...what else could it be called? Mere lust didn’t seem adequate for the bombardment of sensations on his senses. He felt her everywhere, on his body, in his lungs, in his head and his heart.

      She licked his mouth, making a sound of excitement and acceptance and hunger. He caught her tongue and drew it deep, then gave her his own. Their heavy breathing broke the quiet of the night, mingling with the faint sounds of crickets and rustling leaves. He switched both her wrists into one of his and brought his hand down to wedge between their bodies, cuddling her breast.

      In reaction to his touch, her hips lifted so strongly she supported his weight off the ground for a suspended moment of time. It took one rough thrust for Zack to crush her down again.

      He kissed his way to her throat and heard her ragged whisper. “Zack... Let me go.”

      “No.” He thumbed her nipple, stroking, teasing.

      A raw groan and a burst of movement later, Wynn had him on his back again. The woman was forever taking him by surprise. Zack almost wanted to laugh.

      Until her thighs straddled his and she became the aggressor. Her hands opened wide over his bare chest, she stroked him and moaned with the pleasure of it. She nuzzled at his throat, then bit before licking and sucking and making him crazed.

      The open vee of her thighs cradled his erection, and made him strain for more. He caught her behind in his hands, relishing the resilient feel of her, her softness in contrast with her feminine strength. He explored her, sliding his fingers over the silken material of her panties, pressing inward to touch her from behind. He found her panties damp, her body incredibly hot.

      Cradling her hips, Zack urged her into a rough, slow roll that simulated sex and brought him dangerously close to the edge.

      He was ready to take her, more than ready to get the ridiculous man’s shirt off her body and touch her everywhere, kiss her everywhere.

      Only he didn’t have protection with him. And...

      Reality dropped on his head like a ton of bricks. He actually groaned aloud with his disappointment, with the awareness of his responsibilities.

      They were acquaintances of only a day, and not even a full day at that.

      They were outdoors, in the open, and if he’d seen her through his bedroom window, his daughter could see them both if she should wake up and look out. Granted, that wasn’t likely to happen, not the way Dani slept, but he didn’t take chances with his daughter, not ever.

      They were on the wet ground, mindlessly entwined and it was so unlike him, so unlike what he wanted for himself as a responsible father and server