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  He was so close to her, and he made no attempt to move back or away. Seemed to her he really enjoyed invading her space. There was something about the way a man smelled when she was attracted to him that was better than hot fudge—and she loved fudge, anything chocolate, deep and sweet and rich. He raised an eyebrow when she didn’t answer.

  “Okay, so I’m not the neatest,” she said. “Can I just say, in my defense, I was on my way to take a shower?”

  The way his gaze drifted down over the bulky sweatshirt she was wearing to her bare legs and then lower, taking in all of her, was the most intimate gesture she’d ever experienced. She had to squeeze her legs together. Good God, what would it be like to have this man fuck her? She had no doubt he’d know how to do it right—and no doubt she’d think she’d died and gone to heaven. He gazed at her lower lip as she slipped her tongue out and over it. She wanted him to lean in and taste her, kiss her hard and fast and deep as he did.

  Then he had her pressed against the wall, her arms above her head, and he held them with one hand in a grip she knew she couldn’t get away from, not that she wanted to move one inch from this man. No, she wanted him closer, feeling every hard inch of him pressed into her. She heard a sound and realized it was her. She’d whimpered.

  “You want me hard and fast or tender and easy? Come on, Kate. Tell me what you want,” he said. He slipped his leg in between hers, and he was thick and long, pressing into her. His breath was warm as he stared so close, his eyelids heavy, eyes filled with desire. Yeah, he wanted her too.

  He slipped his hand under her sweatshirt, sliding it up over her stomach, taking his time feeling her curves. His fingers skimmed the underside of her breast, tracing the line left from the elastic of her bra and then around her nipple, his thumb brushing over the hard peak. Her knees started to buckle. If he hadn’t been pressed against her, his leg between hers, she’d have fallen to the floor. At the friction of his leg against her, pressing into her core, she rubbed against him on instinct. His hand, his thumb—she exploded against him. The orgasm was mind blowing, and it went on and on as he continued to press his thigh into her, pulling now on her nipple.

  He still hadn’t kissed her.

  He was holding her hands above her head and watching with a satisfied grin. “Tell me, was that as hot for you as it was for me?”

  She didn’t think she could speak. She felt completely open for him even though she still was dressed. She felt as if he had access to all of her. She whimpered again, and he leaned closer. He didn’t kiss her lips, but he was so close she could almost touch hers to his. He wouldn’t let her, though, as he angled his head and smiled seductively.

  “Tell me, Kate, what do you want?”

  Would he tease her endlessly until she told him? Did he want her to beg? “I want your hands on me. I want you to touch me.”

  “Do you want me to fuck you too?”

  She did, more than anything. Did that make her naughty, a bad girl who was supposed to make love, not fuck? “It’s such a bad word.”

  He brushed his nose lightly to hers, his lips touching her cheek. “It is what it is, Kate. Don’t start calling it something it’s not. If it’s sex, hot and dirty, you call it that. Answer me. What do you want? You need to say the words, or this is as far as this goes.” His lips brushed her cheek, her ear, and lower, to her jaw. He nipped at her ear.

  “Walker, I want you to fuck me, hard, and don’t stop—please.”

  His one hand gripped her wrists, and his other framed her chin, holding her still. He kissed her hard, his tongue invading her mouth, tasting her. He was taking, but she’d given him the okay, and he was going to handle her, it seemed, his way. This was going to happen. There wasn’t a chance she’d be able to reason soon just being in the vicinity of him, and right now she couldn’t think even if she wanted to. She’d never been with a man who handled things, but this man wasn’t only confident: she knew without a doubt this would be done his way and with him in charge.

  Then her hands were free as he lifted her sweatshirt and tossed it. He didn’t take her hands again. No, this time he put his hands on both breasts, cupping, caressing, touching, and then he lifted her, and her legs went around his waist as he slid his hand over her rounded cheeks, holding her to him as he lay her on the bed. He reached for her foot and pulled off one shoe, then the other. They clunked to the floor, and he was still in his jacket, fully dressed, though she was already half naked. He watched her, his gaze absolutely sizzling, as he slipped off his coat and unclipped his gun from his belt, setting it inside a drawer beside the bed.

  He was fast, the way he reached out and pulled off her shorts. She didn’t think she could go another second without touching him, so she went up on her knees on the bed as he moved toward her. She slid her hand over his cheek, the light beard he’d started to grow. She didn’t think she’d like a man with a beard, but Walker’s wasn’t heavy. It was light and soft and made his lips fuller, more kissable, if that was possible.

  She started to unbutton his shirt between kissing him. His hand was roaming freely down her back and over her curvy butt. He took his time, feeling her curves and then between her legs to feel how wet she was. God, she could take him now and she’d die a happy woman.

  She opened his shirt, and he had the most amazing chest. There was a light covering of hair over amazing pecs, and, getting a firsthand look at his arms, she pushed off his shirt. Yeah, he was strong, but she’d already felt that.

  He already had his belt undone, and he slipped off his pants. He was as naked as her, pushing her back on the bed, crawling above her. He was so ready for her, and although she’d felt his size pressed against her, seeing him in his full glory, there wasn’t a chance she wasn’t going to be satisfied.

  He slid his hand between her legs and then touched her thigh, sliding his fingers up the inside of her soft skin, pushing her knee up and open to him. He was watching her, maybe giving her one more chance to say no—or maybe not, as he pressed a kiss to the back of her knee while watching her reaction.

  She reached out and touched him, sliding her hand around him, feeling the size of him.

  “Easy, baby,” he said, his voice a hiss. Then he rolled on his back, taking her with him. She was holding him and straddled over him, and she leaned down and kissed his chest, allowing her tongue to trace over his nipples. What would it be like to just slide down and take him in her mouth?

  He had his hands on her breasts again, playing, twisting her nipples. Then he flipped her over so fast that she was on her hands and knees, and he was reaching into the bedside drawer. She heard him rip open a condom and slip it on.

  “Walker, I want to touch you,” she said as he started to fill her, and she dropped her head as she felt every inch of him slide in. He was so big.

  “No, you need to hang on,” he said, and he started rocking her hard. Her back was pressed to his chest, and he slid his arm around her hips to hold her tight. She couldn’t help the squeal that slipped out. Oh my God, could this man fuck. It was such a turn on, feeling him skin to skin, holding her so she couldn’t move and was completely at his mercy. This man should have come with a warning, she realized, as he filled her over and over.

  The bed frame banged the wall, and she slapped her palm to the bedpost to hold on as the man completely sent her over the edge. She swore she saw stars when she completely lost control. She vaguely heard herself screaming, shouting his name as she clawed at his hand, his other holding her, kissing her shoulder as her entire body trembled over and over. Then he growled and swore, pounding into her harder and faster, when all she wanted was to fall down on the bed and not move, but he held her up while he finished.

  Then he collapsed with her onto the bed.

  ***

  Chapter 11

  He’d died and gone to heaven.

  Then the cold reality bit him as he stared at the naked woman—who had the curviest ass he’d ever seen in his twenty-eight years—next to him. Kate was lying o
n his bed, and her breathing was light. He wondered if, in fact, she’d fallen asleep. What the fuck was he thinking, screwing a woman he should be protecting? He didn’t even want to think about all the ethical boundaries he’d just crossed. He ripped off the condom and walked across the hall to the bathroom to dump it in the garbage. When he strode back into the bedroom, the bedside light was on, and Kate had crawled under the comforter.

  He stood before her, naked, and she sat up, running her gaze over him. She wasn’t shy, and he could tell she appreciated what she saw. But then…hell, look at her! She had a pair of tits that could make a man howl, and her ass gave him enough to hang on to. She wasn’t a toothpick, she was a woman: curvy enough, strong enough that she could take him and keep up with him. He didn’t want to worry about a woman breaking under him.

  There were times like now when he just wanted to ride a woman hard. It was satisfying. He didn’t want soft and easy. His life wasn’t made that way. He wasn’t made that way.

  “No regrets,” he said to her. He didn’t ask, because the last thing he wanted was a woman having second thoughts after all was done.

  “None, you?” she asked him, sliding her knees up and wrapping her arms around them.

  He could smell her from where he was, and he felt himself hardening again. There were times when he could walk away satisfied after having a woman, but there was something about Kate and the way she watched him, so seductive and sensual, that stirred something in him. She wasn’t asking for a commitment. She had offered him her body, and he had taken it.

  He shook his head and grabbed the corner of the comforter to rip it back. She squealed again, and her breasts bounced as she jumped. He found himself wanting to taste them, and he climbed onto the bed as she lay back and across it. He crawled over her, holding himself up as he took in her expression of awe. There was passion in this woman that had been buried beneath layers of complexity. Right now, he felt as if he’d peeled one back. How many more layers did this woman have?

  He ran his tongue over her nipple and then took it in his mouth and sucked. She pressed her head back into the bed and gasped. Her hands, she didn’t know what to do with them, so she rested them beside her head.

  “I wonder if I can make you come apart just from touching you like this,” he said, and he ran his tongue over her nipple again. She hissed, her hands in his hair. Yes, she was trying to gain control, he could feel it in her, so he took her hands and pressed them above her head, rising up over her. She moved those amazing hips, trying to gain some release. He could see how she was building up to a frenzy, all because he’d taken her control away. He wondered if she ever let go. Probably not, but tonight she was going to. He’d make damn sure of it.

  ***

  Chapter 12

  She wasn’t sure she could move. As the warm water ran over her back and down the drain, she pressed her cheek to the tile and closed her eyes. She heard him climb in behind her, and his hand slid up over her stomach and moved in circles. How could just a single touch from Walker have her ready again? She wanted him just like the last time, when he’d rolled over on his back and slid her on top so she could ride him. Walker had controlled every moment of her time on top. He had energy and then some. It couldn’t be possible for her to want him again like this, and she feared tomorrow she’d be mighty sore.

  “Good God, you’re amazing,” he said as he pressed against her, kissing her shoulder and running his hand over her supersensitive breasts. She didn’t think there was a part of her this man hadn’t touched. “You’re insatiable.” He kissed her again.

  “Me? You. I’m so tired,” she murmured. Tired and sated. She didn’t think there was a tense bone left in her body after Walker made love to her six times. No, he hadn’t made love. He’d screwed her, hard. They’d been like animals, but he was ever so good and demanding. She hadn’t known she had it in her to respond that way to a man, this man who was like no one she’d ever met. No man had ever made love—correction, fucked her like this.

  “No one has inspired me like you,” he said.

  She turned around in the water and slipped her arms over his shoulders to gaze up at him. “Really?” What was it about this man that made her think this was something she’d like to explore?

  He leaned in and kissed her again. Her lips felt bruised and used, and she still wanted more. He lifted her against the tile, her back pressed to the hard surface. How could he be ready again? He slipped inside her. He was wet and oh, so sexy. Her breasts brushed the hair on his chest. She hung on to him as he pushed her legs wide and moved inside her. He wasn’t fast or hurried this time. He made a point of her knowing who she was with. He watched her expression, her response to him as he moved inside her and then stayed there. She touched his face, running her thumb over his lip, and he nipped the side of it with his teeth. She’d never felt so close to a man before. How was it possible? She wondered if this was what happened to women after a one-night stand. But then, after a night of sex like this with Walker, she didn’t want it to end.

  He was inside her so deeply, her legs wrapped around him as he suddenly stopped and rested his head against hers. “I forgot a condom. This is what you do to me.”

  She wanted to cry, because she didn’t want him to pull out, so she tightened her legs around him when he tried to pull away.

  “Come on, Kate. I can’t hold on much longer.” He touched her lips with his.

  “It’s okay, I’m on the pill,” she whispered, even though she didn’t know him and it wasn’t smart. But right now, she didn’t care.

  He slid his hand over her bottom and held her there. “This isn’t wise, you know. I can’t—there’re diseases, and you don’t know me. I don’t know you.”

  Maybe he was right, but he still didn’t pull out. He stayed inside her. She didn’t mean to kiss him again. She just touched his lips, tasting him, and he slid his hands up her back before lifting her off.

  “Oh my God, stay there,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

  He left her cold in a warm shower, wanting to weep, but he was back a moment later, covering himself, water spilling out of the shower onto the floor, and he lifted her, pressing her back to the tile, and drove into her hard and fast. It was only seconds later that she was screaming his name.

  “Walker, you up there?” There was a shout from downstairs, a woman’s voice.

  He groaned, still inside her. “Oh shit,” he muttered and pulled out. There was no just being together, no being satisfied and wrung out, no clinging to each other as they tried to return to reality.

  “Who is that?” she asked. She was still holding on to him, and his arms stayed around her, sliding her down his body until she was standing on shaky legs. Her brain started to comprehend the sound: a woman calling for Walker in his house while Kate was upstairs screwing his brains out.

  “Kruso” was all he said as he turned off the shower, stepped out, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around his waist. Kate stepped out and reached for a towel hanging on the hook, feeling very much the other woman. And here he was, acting so cavalier.

  Kate was freaking out over the woman’s voice. She was coming up the stairs. “Is it your wife?” she said. Of course it had to be. It would be just her luck.

  He turned his head slowly and stopped drying himself off with an expression that had her shutting her mouth. “Seriously?” he said. “After that, you still think I have a wife?” He pulled open the door and didn’t give her a chance to say a word.

  “Hey, you didn’t answer your phone,” the mystery woman said. “Listen, we have a problem.”

  Kate pulled the towel up, her hair dripping, as she stared at the short, plump redhead outside the bathroom.

  “What is it?” Walker said, stepping to the side to block the door so Red couldn’t see her. Maybe he wasn’t such a jerk after all.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,” Red said, “but I thought you should know we got a 911 call come in from Ryder Connelly. Someone trashed h
is place. Units are on the way over there.”

  Walker glanced back at Kate. Even with water dripping from him, the man looked like a god. She stepped closer, resting her hand on his shoulder as he glanced back at her. She stood right behind him. He didn’t say anything, but there was something in the exchange, and she didn’t miss the interest from the short redhead watching them. It was a look filled with amusement.

  “Kruso, this is Kate,” Walker said, gesturing between them before setting both hands on his hips. Kate actually stuck her hand out through the V in Walker’s arm, reaching around.

  Kruso shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Kate. Saw you at the station earlier.”

  When the towel slipped, Kate pulled her hand back to cover herself again. “Nice to meet you too,” she said, moving closer behind Walker and looking over his shoulder. “Awkward,” she said.

  “Yeah, listen, why don’t I wait downstairs?” Kruso said. She glanced down at Walker’s towel hanging low on his hips and raised her eyebrows. “…And give you a chance to get dressed?” She looked around Walker again. “Sorry to interrupt.”

  Kate was dripping, her ass hanging out of the towel. “Is she your partner?” she said.

  “Walker doesn’t have a partner, Kate,” Kruso called up the stairs, obviously having overheard. “He’s the lone wolf, doesn’t work well with others.”

  “Hey, that’s not true. I can work with anyone,” he shouted after her.

  “Only if they’re doing it your way,” she shouted back.

  “You’re a pain in the ass, Kruso. It’s amazing your husband and kids put up with you.”

  Kate could hear the detective laughing just as Walker reached for her hand and dragged her across the hall back into the bedroom and shut the door.

  She was still dripping. The bedside light showed the crumpled mess of the bed. She ran the towel over herself and then dried the ends of her hair. Walker was pulling on jeans and a clean T-shirt. She didn’t miss the fact that he’d omitted any underwear.