His Little Secret. Maureen Child

away, Colt.”

      “No,” he said, unable to tear his gaze from her. There was no way he was leaving. If it had meant his life, he still would have stayed exactly where he was.

      Raw, frantic lust pumped hot through him. Desire clutched at his throat, making breathing nearly impossible. But then, he asked himself as he reached out one hand to cup her breast, who needed to breathe?

      She gasped at his touch, and rather than moving back, she stepped closer and licked her lips, sending a lightning bolt of need slicing through him. Then she covered his hand with hers, holding him steady against her breast. Struggling for air, she whispered brokenly, “We can’t. We shouldn’t. I mean, I shouldn’t. I mean—”

      He knew what she meant. She’d had surgery a few days before. Everything between them was a mess, with neither of them happy with the other at the moment. And yet... “We’ll be careful....”

      “Colt—” she gasped again as his thumb caressed her hardened nipple. “Oh, my.”

      He smiled to himself, then stepped back long enough to shed his clothes and toe off his shoes. Then he was joining her in the made-for-munchkins shower.

      Suddenly, he was liking the small space. She couldn’t have backed away from him even if she had wanted to. And one look into her eyes told him she didn’t want to.

      “This is so not a good idea,” she whispered.

      “Stop thinking,” he said.

       Seven

      Then he kissed her.

      As the trickle of water splashed over their entwined bodies, he kissed her long and deep, losing himself in the taste and feel of her. When she parted her lips under his, he took the kiss deeper, tangling his tongue with hers in a frenzied dance of need and want. Here it is, he thought wildly. That amazing jolt of passion that he’d never felt for anyone else. The elemental, nearly primitive need to touch and take and have.

      Only with her. Only with Penny.

      She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him, her breasts sliding against his chest. He ran his hands up and down her body, the slick feel of her skin beneath his hands a match held to the dynamite crouched inside him. “Damn, you feel good.”

      “You, too,” she whispered. “Blast it, you, too.”

      He smiled against her mouth. She didn’t want to want him, he thought. But she did and that was good enough. Colt turned her so that her back was to the water tumbling from the narrow, outdated showerhead. She looked up at him as the hot water landed on her shoulders to roll down her body in rivulets.

      “Colt—”

      “Let me touch you,” he whispered, sliding one hand down from her breast. His fingertips trailed along her rib cage and down over her abdomen.

      She shivered, closed her eyes and hissed in a breath. “I don’t know...”

      “I do,” he said and kissed her again as he dipped first one finger and then two into her tight, wet heat.

      She gasped and clutched at him, hands grabbing at his shoulders. Her breath came fast and shallow, small puffs against his skin. He touched her deeper, stroking her intimately until she rocked into his hand, reaching for the climax he was pushing her toward. His thumb moved over the heart of her, that one nub of sensation that fueled the fire inside her until it became a raging inferno.

      She spread her legs for him, welcoming his touch, his caresses. Then she slid one hand from his shoulders, down the length of his body until her long, delicate fingers closed around the hard length of him. Then it was Colt’s turn to hiss in air and tremble under the onslaught of too many sensations.

      “That’s cheating,” he said softly.

      “All’s fair—you know.” She groaned as he stroked her again, rubbing the core of her harder while his fingers delved deeper inside her body.

      He took her—and she took him. Her fingers moved on him until it was all Colt could do to keep his feet. His vision blurred as completion roared toward him. But he wouldn’t do it. Wouldn’t surrender to what she was making him feel. Not until he’d seen her shatter in his arms.

      It didn’t take much longer.

      He kissed her hungrily, allowing her to feel everything he felt. He wanted her to know what she was doing to him. Her breath quickened. She tore her mouth from his. Her eyes went wide and wild and she shouted his name hoarsely as her climax slammed into her.

      Colt held her close until the last of her tremors had passed. Only then did he think about himself and the fact that his body was aching for the same release she’d just experienced. Then Penny looked up into his eyes and smiled. Her grasp on him tightened and he surged into her hand. Her thumb moved over the tip of him and that sensation nearly sent him over the edge. His self-control was unraveling. Fast.

      No other woman had ever affected him like Penny could. From the first moment he’d met her, there had been an electricity between them. A single touch was all it took to shower them both with sparks that they could find nowhere else. Everything about her was...more. She excited him, infuriated him and aroused him more than he would have believed possible.

      But when he came, it was going to be inside her. He pulled away from her only long enough that she was forced to stop rubbing and stroking him, though the action cost him. Aching need clawed at him and he read new desire in Penny’s eyes, too. They had always been explosive when they came together and it seemed nothing had changed since he’d last seen her.

      “That’s it,” he muttered. “Bed. We need the bed.”

      “But we shouldn’t—” Her mouth might be saying no but her eyes were shouting yes.

      “Is it safe for you to have sex?” he muttered thickly, saying a silent prayer that she would say yes again.

      “They said as soon as I felt ready.”

      “Please tell me you’re ready.”

      “Boy howdy.”

      He grinned at her quick response. Dropping his forehead to hers, he muttered, “We’ll be careful. You can be on top. You set the pace. That’s my best offer.”

      “I’ll take it.” She swallowed hard, reached behind her to turn off the water, then allowed Colt to pick her up and carry her out of the bathroom and into her room.

      The bed was narrow, but Colt didn’t care. All he wanted was a damn flat surface. He flopped onto the mattress and watched as she climbed up to cover his body with hers.

      She was so small-boned. So delicate. So damn sexy.

      “Wait,” he ground out. “Condom.”

      “Yeah, because it worked so well before,” she said wryly.

      He snorted. “Good point.”

      “Doesn’t matter,” she told him. “I’m covered.”

      “Best news I’ve heard all night.” He lay back again and clamped his hands onto her hips.

      As she went up onto her knees, he took a breath and held it. She looked like some warrior princess from ancient tales of Ireland. Her dark red hair streamed wetly across her shoulders to lay across the tops of her breasts. Her green eyes flashed with intent and her pale skin shone like the finest porcelain. She was damned magnificent and he wanted her more than his next breath.

      * * *

      Penny trembled from head to foot. This was a bad idea and she knew it. But there was no way she could stop now. She had to have Colton King inside her again. She needed to feel the thick, hard length of him filling her body completely. She’d worry about tomorrow when it reared its ugly head. For right now, she was going to live in the moment.