Texan Undercover (Romantic Suspense) (13 page)

All his protective instincts had surfaced
knowing Claire might be in danger. His frustration came from not
being able to go to her immediately. He wanted to hold her in his
arms. Reassure himself she was all right.

The strong spray of water washed away some of
the tension and the last of the soapsuds. Dillon turned the water
off and got out. He toweled himself dry and as he dressed, he
decided on his next course of action.

After packing a few things in a duffle, he
walked back to the living room.

Brozek looked up from the laptop. "Going
somewhere?"

"Over to Claire's." Dillon stuffed his own
laptop in the duffle.

Brozek reached for the brown bag on the
coffee table and thrust them at him. "Don't forget these."

Dillon snagged the bag. "You take way too
much interest in my love life, you know that?"

"Hey, what are friends for?"

"Shut up, Brozek."

"My lips are sealed, buddy."

Dillon dropped the bag of condoms in his
duffle, zipped it up and shrugged on his coat.

Brozek raised an eyebrow at the duffle bag.
"Planning on a long stay?"

Dillon ignored his partner's knowing grin. He
grabbed the duffle and his Stetson, then opened the door. "Yeah,
I'm moving in with Claire until the investigation is over."

Claire cut the engine of her BMW and sat for a
minute in the garage attached to her condo. The rain had stopped
while she'd attended the banquet. On the passenger seat lay the
gold plaque given to her by the Chamber of Commerce. For the third
year in a row, e*Claire's had been awarded Best Small Business in
Austin. Claire felt honored and proud. She vowed to continue making
e*Claire's better and better.

Climbing out of the car, Claire shivered in
the chilly night air. As she unlocked the door, she wondered if
Dillon's partner had discovered anything about the hacker. Brozek
had taken a lot of fingerprints from all over the cafe and even the
kitchen area. Soon, they would find out if Richard was involved.
Claire knew in her heart it couldn't be her chef, but then again,
she could be wrong. Never in a million years would she have
imagined her cafe being embroiled in the middle of a computer
crime.

Last night while Brozek had worked, Claire
kept him company. He was a connection to Dillon. She needed that
connection; the hacker's note had scared her. Brozek was Dillon's
friend as well as a business partner. He'd told her about Dillon's
past and how his mother had abandoned him. It explained a lot.

In the kitchen, Claire flipped on the light
and set the plaque and her purse on the table. She wiggled out of
her high-heels and carried them to the living room, curling her
toes on the plush carpet. Ready to slip out of her designer suit
and into something more comfortable, she unfastened the top two
buttons of her silk blouse. Reaching for the lamp near the sofa,
her hand froze and her breath stopped. She dropped the shoes.

Someone was standing near the window in the
living room. A dark hulk of a man. A scream rose in her throat.

"Claire! It's me." Dillon lunged toward her
and took her by the shoulders. "It's me, babe."

"Why didn't you say something? You scared me
half to death." Her heart drummed in her ears. "What are you doing
here?"

"I needed to see you. Check on you. Make sure
you were all right."

"I'm fine. How did you get in?" She didn't
move, just stood there wishing Dillon would wrap his arms more
tightly around her. He smelled good--comforting and exciting at the
same time.

"I picked the lock. One of my many hidden
talents." Dillon switched on the lamp, then pulled her close.

"I wouldn't call breaking and entering a
hidden talent. And how many do you have anyway?" Her voice sounded
muffled against his broad chest.

"Not that many. But it's only called breaking
and entering if you don't want me here." He tipped her chin and
looked deeply into her eyes. "You do want me here, don't you,
Claire?"

Unable to speak, she nodded. The soft
entreaty in his deep voice settled heavily in her tummy. For some
absurd reason, tears rushed to the surface.

"I'm sorry I frightened you," he said.

She shrugged and laid her head against his
chest again. The steady beat of his heart calmed her. She slipped
her arms around Dillon's waist and knew she was right where she
wanted to be. His strength and heat surrounded her. Squeezing her
eyes shut, she swallowed the lump in her throat. She wouldn't cry,
she wouldn't. But as she stood in Dillon's embrace, tears slowly
oozed from the corners of her eyes; the tension and stress from the
last couple of days had finally taken their toll.

Her shoulders shook and Dillon tightened his
hold on her. "It's all right, babe. Everything's going to be
fine."

He guided her to the sofa and held her while
she silently sobbed, one strong hand clasping her head against him.
He pressed his lips to her hair in a tender kiss and rubbed her
back in a soothing circular motion. Tiny rivulets of pleasure
stirred in and around her heart. Claire's tears dried on her
cheeks. She should sit up, but didn't want to move. She didn't want
to let go the feeling of shelter and protection in Dillon's
embrace. She wanted to hold on a little longer.

It had been ages since Claire had lowered her
defenses and leaned on someone other than herself.
Wanted
to
lean on someone. Dillon's warm chest felt heavenly. The scent of
his aftershave, combined with the clean musky smell of man, ignited
a fire buried deep down inside her.

Beneath Claire's ear, Dillon's heartbeat
kicked up a notch. His hand stopped rubbing her back. His muscles
tensed and his arms tightened around her.

A yearning for an altogether different kind
of comfort mushroomed inside Claire. She wanted Dillon to kiss her.
She needed him to kiss her, so she could lose herself in his
passion.

She lifted her face and touched his strong
jaw with a soft gentle stroke. His body tensed even more and his
eyes burned with a hunger so strong the breath stalled in her
lungs.

Dillon caught her hand and kissed her palm,
licking the sensitive skin with his tongue. Heat shot through her
arm all the way to her feminine core.

"Claire, I'm hanging by a thread here. Are
you sure this is what you want?" His voice sounded rough and
hoarse. "Once we start, I don't think I can stop. I want you too
much. I've waited too long."

"Kiss me," she whispered. "Please kiss
me."

For one agonizing second, he hesitated.
Claire nibbled the corners of his mouth, offering encouragement and
temptation. She slid her tongue over his bottom lip.

With a deep groan, Dillon opened his mouth
and let her in. He yanked her to him and leaned back on the sofa,
pulling Claire on top of him. He ravished her mouth, plundering her
lips, kissing her with all that pent up hunger. A hunger, she now
realized, he'd kept under a tight leash until now.

He clasped her bottom with both hands and she
felt his arousal against her belly. She wiggled until it nestled
between her thighs. Ever so slightly, Claire spread her legs and
pressed even closer. Heat met heat. He was hard to her soft. Man to
her woman.

She felt one of his hands slide up her back
and ease her blouse from the waistband of her skirt. He reached
between them and fumbled with the buttons, all the while kissing
her like he couldn't get enough.

Claire lifted her body to accommodate him. He
broke the kiss. "When you walked in the room, I watched you slip
open the top two buttons. I held my breath, praying you wouldn't
stop."

"A voyeur in disguise." Claire smiled and
kissed his chin. "I do some of my best work in disguise and
undercover." He captured her mouth again and unfastened the rest of
the buttons, then slipped his hands inside the blouse.

Claire sighed with pleasure as he molded his
hands to her breasts. But the silk and lace of her bra formed a
restrictive barrier. She wanted his fingers on her skin. She sat up
and straddled him, pushing the blouse off her shoulders and onto
the floor.

Dillon grasped her behind the knees and
shoved the fabric of her skirt high on her thighs. He lifted his
hips and ground his arousal into her heat. "Kiss me, Claire."

She leaned down and touched his lips,
savoring the taste of him. Her hair formed a curtain around their
faces. Dillon moved his hands over her, his touch leaving a fiery
wake along every one of her nerve endings. He flicked open her bra
and flung the lacy garment aside.

Yes.
Claire waited breathlessly for
his touch. Her nipples tightened to aching points. She plunged her
tongue deeper in his mouth. Still he didn't touch her breasts. He
ran his fingers up and down her back and the sides of her body.
Tiny flames of desire ignited every pore of her sensitized skin.
She was going to die if she didn't feel flesh on flesh
immediately.

Claire tugged at the hem of his long-sleeved
t-shirt. "This has to go."

Dillon sat up, holding her so she wouldn't
fall backwards. When she was balanced, he reached behind him and
grabbed a handful of shirt, pulling it up over his head, peeling it
from his strong arms. He tossed it on the floor alongside the bra
and blouse.

He fell back against the cushions. "You're
beautiful. So damned beautiful."

For a fleeting second, Claire wondered at the
sadness in his voice, then thought she had imagined it because
Dillon pulled her down and kissed her again. All thoughts zeroed in
on the man and what he was making her feel. His strong hands teased
her back and the sides of her body again.

But that was okay, because now her breasts
were pressed against his chest. Not smooth, but covered with hair
like his arms. Claire rubbed herself against him, causing him to
groan with need.

"You're killing me here," he growled in her
ear.

"You're killing me, too," she whispered
against his lips. "Touch me, Dillon. Please touch me." She lifted
her body slightly and almost tumbled over the edge right then and
there when the big hands closed over her breasts.

"So beautiful," he said softly, kneading and
measuring their fullness, weighing them with his palms. He brushed
his thumbs across the tips and it was Claire's turn to groan. It
had been so long since she'd felt a man's touch. And never had it
been so glorious.

Dillon rubbed her nipples between his fingers
and thumbs, sending exquisite jolts of pleasure throughout her
body. He plunged his tongue deep in her mouth and rocked his hips
against her. She felt a rush of dampness on her panties.

He moved her higher on his body, kissing his
way down the slender column of her neck then suckled her breasts.
Claire clasped his head to her chest, running her fingers through
his crisp brown hair. She arched her back and offered more. Dillon
licked one nipple then the other, trailing kisses between the
valley of smooth skin, laving her with his tongue, over and over,
around and around each nipple.

"I want you naked, Claire," he said, his
voice husky with yearning. "I want to see all of you and make love
to you."

Dillon gently pushed her away and stood. He
looked at her for a moment, admiring her creamy skin, her dark
silky hair, her beautiful breasts. He watched her straighten her
skirt and rise from the sofa to stand before him half naked. Her
eyes were dazed with passion, her lush lips swollen from his
kisses. His body hardened to steel with the need to possess this
woman.

Taking Claire's hand, he led her down the
hall to her bedroom. When they reached the door, she pulled away
and walked across the room to the dresser. She moved a large white
candle close to the edge, opened the top drawer and drew out a
lighter. Dillon came to stand behind her, placed his hands on her
shoulders and caught her gaze in the mirror.

Claire lit the candle. The flame flickered in
the darkness, reflected in the mirror and cast shimmering shadows
around them. The subtle fragrance of vanilla filled the air.

Dillon ran his hands down Claire's smooth
back and unzipped the skirt. It fell to a puddle at her feet.
Crouching low, he eased the half-slip over her hips and down her
thighs.

"Step out of the slip, Claire." Kissing the
sensitive skin behind her knees, he smiled at the quick catch in
her breath.

Claire clutched the dresser and lifted one
foot, then the other, gently kicking the skirt and slip out of the
way. Dillon kissed his way back up her body, over the lace-topped
stockings and the curve of her silk-covered bottom. He felt her
slight tremors beneath his lips.

Standing again, he unbuckled his belt and
unzipped his slacks. With quick efficient movements, he rid himself
of his shoes, socks, pants and briefs.

He moved forward and pressed his body close
to Claire's, nestling his arousal against her firm little butt. He
nearly lost it when he saw their images in the mirror. Claire was
still bracing herself on the edge of the dresser, her pale skin
bare except for black lace panties. Her eyes were heavy-lidded, her
lips softly parted.

He lifted her hair and kissed the nape of her
neck. Her breath hissed between her teeth. Snagging her eyes in the
mirror, he slowly moved his hands over and around her, easing her
to a standing position, forcing her to relinquish her hold on the
dresser's edge.

Dillon raised Claire's hands and anchored
them behind his neck, exposing all of her beauty to his perusal. He
raked his nails softly down the undersides of her arms, relishing
the delicate shivers coursing over her body. He caressed her
breasts, splaying his fingers over the rounded curves, taking care
to keep the nipples free from contact.

Claire's head lolled back against his
shoulder, but she kept her eyes on the mirror and on Dillon and his
hands. He bent to kiss the sweet spot between her neck and
collarbone. He nibbled her earlobe as he slowly moved his fingers
over her breasts; tracing the curves but not touching the raspberry
tips. He could feel her body heave with ragged breaths.