Hot Target Read online

  He gripped the width of his cock, brought it to the damp heat of her core, to the temptation to slide right in and forget the condom. Knew he had to sheathe himself now, before he didn’t do it at all. It would be so easy to slide inside her, to feel that warm, wonderful heat. He brought the plastic wrapper to his mouth to tear it open.

  Katie grabbed it. “Let me.” She brought the package to her teeth, ripped it open as he had planned to, her eyes holding his as she did, a seductive message in their depths. His cock thickened with the intended imagery, the idea of her mouth on his body.

  Thankfully, within seconds she was touching him, fingers exploring his erection, before rolling the condom down his length. As soon as it was in place, he brought the head of his cock to her glistening feminine lips. Teased them both as he caressed her there, then barely dipped his head inside her. His breath lodged in his chest at the feel of her, and all resolve to go slowly slipped away.

  He thrust into her and she clung to him, tightening her arms around his neck. It quickly became clear that the counter was not going to allow him to get deep enough; he wanted deep, he wanted more, all of her. And she knew it, too. She all but climbed on top of him just as he palmed her lush backside and picked her up, pushing her against his cock. He used his legs and his hips to thrust as hard as he could. Now her full breasts were pressed to his chest, her face buried in his neck. Still, he wanted more, needed more. He not only had to have this woman, he felt her, in a way he’d never felt another woman, on a level that went beyond the physical. And by the time her orgasm shuddered around him, stealing his breath and his release in the same second, he knew he hadn’t had his fill of Katie. Not anywhere near it.

  KATIE STARTED laughing as Luke sat her back down on the counter. “You never even took your pants off,” she pointed out. “What if you would have tripped?”

  “I wouldn’t have fallen,” he said, laughing as he disposed of the condom in the wastebasket and then pulled his pants back up. “And even if I had—I was feeling no pain, I can promise you that.”

  He closed the distance between them, pleased when she held his face and kissed him sweetly. His hands slid over her slender rib cage, grazing the gentle curves of her bare breasts. He felt her shiver. “So,” he said softly, loving how easily she responded to his touch. “Have we successfully made up, Katie?”

  “No,” she said, mischief sparking in her eyes. “I don’t think we have. I think we need to try again. I’m willing if you are.”

  A return smile tugged at his lips. “How willing, I wonder?” he challenged, making no effort to hide the rough edge of desire coloring his tone.

  “What did you have in mind?” she asked playfully.

  His fingers brushed her bottom lip before his tongue followed. “I want it all this time, Katie. No inhibitions. No holding back.” For reasons he couldn’t begin to explain, he wanted that full commitment from her. That decision to fully be with him. Up until now, he didn’t believe he’d gotten that from her.

  She pulled away, hands on his shoulders, surprise on her face. “You think I was holding back? Because I have to tell you, I didn’t feel like I was holding back.” She’d felt wild, and yes, willing.

  “What we just had was good, damn good, but that was frenzied make-up sex, after a tug-of-war over whether we’ll be together or not. This time there is no frenzied rush, Katie. This time is slow and thoughtful. No wondering if what happens is the heat of the moment rather than our choice, our decision together. This time we’re making love, not having sex.” A flutter in her stomach erupted with heat spreading through her limbs. Make love. She wanted that. But she was scared of being vulnerable, of getting hurt again.

  Letting loose a nervous bubble of laughter, she whispered, “I do believe this was my first spontaneous eruption of lust. I liked it.”

  He didn’t laugh. His eyes darkened, his hand sliding up her back, erotic with gentle demand. “Say it,” he ordered, intensity suddenly crackling from him.

  “Say what?” She blinked.

  “Say…‘Luke, I want you to make love to me.’”

  Her lashes lowered, her heart lodged in her throat as a moment of fight or flight took hold.

  “Katie,” he whispered, his hand framing her face, bringing her gaze to his. “I need to know you meant what you said when you stopped me from walking away. That we are really in this together.” There was a rawness to his tone, honesty and real emotion in his eyes, a hitch to his voice as he added, “Because if we aren’t—”

  She pressed her lips to his. “Make love to me,” she said softly into his mouth. “We’re in this together, Luke. We are.”

  He didn’t give her time to change her mind. Luke wrapped his arms around her back and cradled her, carrying her toward the den, not upstairs. And she was glad for it—she didn’t want to wait. She wanted him now. Soon. Not soon enough.

  He stopped at the light switch as they entered, kissing her even as he reached and turned the dial, casting a dim, sexy glow over the room.

  Staring down at her, he confessed, “You have no idea how much I want you.”

  Katie inhaled a deep breath, absorbing both his words and his spicy male scent, then nuzzled his neck. He felt good, he felt right. She didn’t want to be scared. She didn’t want to think about the reasons this might be a mistake.

  And when he settled her on the soft leather couch and shoved aside the coffee table, she shoved aside any such thoughts, enthralled by the sight of him undressing.

  She curled her legs to her chest, wrapped her arms around her knees and watched his every move. And he let her. Oh, yes, he stared at her with such heat and desire in his eyes that she knew this was going to be a delicious escape. An escape she wanted. With him.

  HE WAS gorgeous. Katie watched as Luke stripped down to nothing, her mouth dry and her stomach swirling with heat. Her thighs ached, her core wet with the need to feel him inside her again. She didn’t know where to start in her admiration. There were so many joys to this man’s body, and she allowed herself to luxuriate in all of them. His chest and shoulders were broad, defined, pecs sprinkled with the perfect amount of springy, light brown hair. His legs powerful, his abdominals damn near a work of art, valleys dipping around hard muscles. She wanted to kiss a path around every single one of them, too.

  Her gaze lowered, a soft moan all but escaping her lips. His cock jutted forward, long and hard, promising more pleasure. It thickened under her inspection, darkened. If she could have crawled on her knees and fallen beneath it, licked the glistening pebble of liquid on the tip, she would have.

  Her gaze went to his. “No holding back,” he said softly. “Put your legs down, Katie.”

  She swallowed, realizing he wasn’t moving. He was standing there, watching her as she was him. Which seemed a fair enough trade. Slowly, she lowered her legs, pressed her hands to the couch, her breasts exposed to his hungry stare that traveled lower.

  He went down on his knees in front of her but didn’t touch her. “Open for me, baby,” he ordered softly.

  That he wasn’t touching her somehow made the order more erotic. Slowly, she did as he said. Inched her thighs apart, spread her legs for him. His eyes seemed to caress and touch every inch of her.

  “Beautiful,” he said hoarsely, arousal lancing the one word that pulsed through her like a vibration. Heat spread through her limbs, expanding within her chest, set her heart to racing. She was panting. Panting and the man was not even touching her. Nor she him. It was as if he’d settled a barrier between them, an erotically charged barrier that only he could break. She’d never experienced anything like it in her life.

  “Luke,” she said, all but pleading. “Please.”

  His gaze riveted upward to meet hers. “Please what, Katie?”

  “Touch me.”

  “Where?” he asked.

  “Anywhere,” she said.

  “Show me where. Show me how.”

  Vulnerability assailed her. “Luke,” she pleaded again. The t
ruth was, she’d never touched herself for a man. Never even considered it. Certainly, she knew her body, felt comfortable in her own skin. She had been a dancer, her craft being an extension of sensuality to some degree. But touching herself for a man had always felt like giving away a piece of herself reserved for her and her alone.

  “I won’t take you anyplace you don’t want to go, Katie,” he promised, his eyes holding hers, the air charged with sexual energy. “Anywhere you touch, I’ll touch.”

  She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat. Could she touch herself in front of him? She’d never done that with a man. Never felt comfortable enough, free enough. He’d touch where she touched, he said. And she wanted him to touch her. Wanted it far more than she wanted control, she realized with shock. Luke felt safe. Luke whom she’d tried so hard to demonize, to make the enemy. It was insanity.

  She reached up and touched her breasts, filled her hands with them, pinched her nipples. Watched him watching her. Felt her womb clench at the intense look on his face. Her fingers twirled her nipples. She moaned softly. “You like it when I do this?”

  “I do,” he said. “But you’re going to like it even more when I do it.” His voice lowered. “Show me where to touch you, Katie. Show me where to taste you.”

  Taste. Those lips. That tongue. She’d already experienced the pleasures they represented, and she didn’t need any more encouragement. Her hands began to travel, over her neck, back over her breasts, pressing them together, her nipples peeking through her fingers.

  Luke leaned forward and ran his tongue over them, one peak and then the next. Lick, swirl, lick.

  Her hands went to his hair. His name whispered from her lips. “Luke.”

  More licking, a delicate scrape of teeth, and then he leaned back. “Show me more, Katie. Where do you need me.”

  Oh, she needed him all right. The fingers of one hand slid seductively down her stomach, through the triangle of curls above her clit. She touched herself, stroked her clit, slid her fingers into the wet heat dripping from her core. “Here,” she said. “I need you here.”

  He pressed her legs wider, callused fingers brushing up and down her thighs, slow and seductive. His lashes lowered, head tilted as he watched her caress her sensitive flesh, until he covered her hand with his. Helped her touch herself. “Keep going,” he said, urging her to caress her swollen clit, while he slid his finger inside her. Katie gasped, pleasure sparking through her. He slid another finger inside, delicately exploring. His lips trailed along her upper thigh, teasing her with where they might go next. Tongue tracking a line along the triangle.

  “Luke!” Katie said, going insane from the anticipation, arching her hips, pressing against his fingers.

  “Is this what you want?” he asked, leaning in and kissing her fingers as they slid along her nub. “My mouth?”

  “Yes,” she gasped. “Yes.”

  “Say it,” he demanded.

  “I want your mouth,” she said. “Where?”

  “On me,” she said, beyond shyness now. “Inside me. All over me.”

  Her reward was instant. His mouth replaced her hand, covering her clit with warm, wet heat as he gently suckled her. A moment later, he was licking her, tasting her, driving her wild.

  Her hands covered her breasts, molding them, caressing them, even as Luke’s tongue pierced the intimate folds of her body, mimicking sex, driving her wild. Katie couldn’t stay still, her hips pumping against him, hands laced in his hair with a damn near desperate need to hold him there until she found release. Until his fingers, his mouth, pressed her over the edge. She tensed, her body stiff before the eruption. He took her to the very last color in that fascinating rainbow of release, then he laid the two of them down on the couch, side by side, his steely-hard erection slipping between her legs.

  “Do you have any idea how much I want to be inside you right now?” he asked.

  “Then why aren’t you?” she responded, loving the feel of him pressed so close, her back to the couch, her front to him. But even still, in some far corner of her lust-fogged mind, Katie realized the significance of their position, of Luke’s care of her comfort and her leg, despite his obvious arousal. It meant something, but right now she didn’t know what.

  Right now, all she could process was how hard he was, and how close to being inside her. A second later, he was inside her, buried deep to her core. Their eyes locked, her hand sliding to the side of his face. Something emotional joined them, a connection that she felt in her chest, and in the way her body clenched his cock. The way she wanted him deeper—wanted him to move in her. And in that split second, Katie wasn’t sure he could ever be deep enough.

  LUKE GROGGILY WOKE to the sound of rain and a dull pounding in the distance. He blinked and took in the dimly lit den, smiling as he found Katie snuggled next to him, lying on her stomach, her pearly-white ass displayed for his admiration. The knocking sounded again, a distant muffled cell phone ring humming in the air, as well. Suddenly, Luke snapped to alertness, fully recovering from his satisfied sleep, a product of another amazing lovemaking session on the couch.

  “Katie,” he said softly, running his hand through her hair. “Wake up, sweetheart. I think your men are here.”

  Her head lifted. “What? Oh. Oh!” She jumped into a sitting position, her movements jerky and rushed. “Where are my clothes?” She stood. “The den!” She took off running, naked, gorgeous.

  Luke could do nothing more than sit there, stunned, aroused, wanting. He stared down at his cock, fast on the rise. “Down, boy.” Then he pushed to his feet and headed after her. His clothes were still in the den, as well.

  Luke found Katie already nearly dressed when he arrived. She grabbed his jeans and shoved them at him. “In less than a day, we’ve been busted without clothes two times. Good grief, how does that happen?” A smile touched Luke’s lips as he stepped into his pants. “Are you smiling?” she demanded, slipping on her shoes.

  “Of course not,” he claimed innocently. “Why would any man smile after having you naked and moaning his name, not once, but many times, in one day?”

  She had shoved her hands on her hips and opened her mouth in what was sure to be a reprimand when her cell phone started ringing on the table. Adjusting her clothes, she then pointed. “Put your shirt on. They must be calling because we aren’t answering the door. I’m going to let them in!”

  She started to dart away, and Luke caught her. She pushed at his chest. “Luke! They’re getting rained on!”

  He planted a short, firm kiss on her lips. “You might want to turn your shirt around in the right direction.”

  Katie’s jaw dropped and she looked down. “Oh, my God.” She scrambled, trying to get out of the shirt, and it twisted into a mess. “I can’t get it right.” She pressed her hand to her head. “Luke!”

  “Easy, sweetheart,” Luke said sweetly and took the shirt, turning it correctly for her.

  She snatched it and pulled it over her head, then ran her hands over her hair. “Am I okay? Do I look like…we—”

  He arched an eyebrow. “Had mind-blowing sex?”

  “Luke!” she muttered.

  His lips twitched. “Okay,” he said playfully. “No. You don’t look like you just had mind-blowing sex. You look like you need to.”

  She grimaced, but the heat in her gaze said she wasn’t angry. “Put your boots on,” she ordered, and started to turn away then hesitated. “Luke. My guys are only here until Texas. I don’t—”

  “Want them to know about the mind-blowing sex,” he said. “Check. No problem.” But even as he said the words, it felt like a problem.

  Katie stopped, as if she understood his reservations. “Luke?”

  Luke grabbed his boots and quickly put them in place. “It’s fine, Katie,” he said. “Go let them in.”

  She paused another moment and then sped from the room. Katie’s team was here to catch his stalker, which meant he had to deal with the fact that he had a stalker. Wo
rse, he had to put on a show and pretend he wouldn’t prefer to just get Katie naked again.

  LESS THAN AN HOUR LATER, Luke sat at his kitchen table with Katie and her two men, Noah and Josh, and despite it being well after the midnight hour, he listened to plans to evaluate his security, as well as every person he’d ever come in contact with. Katie had a list of questions she’d reviewed with him and a spreadsheet of every player on the team. It was enough to have made Luke damn glad to have the distraction of a pizza delivery.

  “I thought you baseball players only ate chicken breast and stuff like that,” Josh said, reaching for his fifth piece of pizza. He sported a buzz cut and clean-shaven jaw that said he’d shaved at least twice that day—obviously a habit formed in the SEALs. Noah, his older brother by five years, was an extreme opposite, with long, dark hair tied at his neck and a beard at least two days old.

  “Hey,” Katie scolded. “You say that like he’s an alien from another planet.”

  “Forgive him,” Noah said, giving Josh an irritated look. “Despite being incredibly smart, he can be an absolute idiot.”

  “High-and-mighty asshole,” Josh grumbled under his breath about his brother, before flipping open a pizza box.

  Luke laughed and exchanged an amused look with Katie. Luke finished off a fourth slice of pizza before slapping another loaded slice onto his plate. He’d forgotten how hungry good sex made him, he’d been in such a dry spell. “I do a five-day, clean-eating cycle. Five on, two off. Keeps me sane.”

  “Whatever you do, man,” Josh said. “It’s working, so keep doing it. You rock out there on the field.” He snagged a piece of pepperoni from atop his pizza slice and swallowed it. “I’ll never forget that showdown between you and Crawford in game three of the playoffs. That had to be a sweet victory. Crawford talked all kinds of trash about how easy your pitches were to hit and then you shut him down flat.” A look of male appreciation filled his face. “How fast was that last pitch you laid on him?”