The Devil She Knows (13 page)

She didn’t even hear him approach. Her first warning that Dev had come back inside was his hands wrapping around her waist from behind and pulling her against his body.

Knee-jerk reaction had her stiffening, but even before her mind could register who was holding her, her body was relaxing with recognition. Apparently it didn’t mind that she was miffed at him for ganging up on her with Sheriff Grant.

Stupid hormones.

“Sit,” she ordered, trying to muster up a glare for his benefit. The knowing smirk that teased his lips said she hadn’t quite pulled it off.

Although he did step back and pull out one of the chairs around her dark wooden table.

“I’m not much of a cook,” she said in a tone that rang with apology.

“If you say ‘I’m sorry’ I’m going to leave,” he warned. “I don’t care if you can cook. I didn’t ask you to feed me.”

“I know, but I needed something to do.”

Silence settled over them, heavy with unspoken words. She didn’t want to talk about the photograph, and he was obviously aware of her reluctance. She turned away, reaching into the cupboard to pull down two plates. His wooden chair creaked. An unexpected crackle of awareness shot across her skin. Devlin Warwick was sitting at her kitchen table. Three days ago that had been so far out of the realm of possibility as to have been laughable. Now her body buzzed with the low hum of constant awareness and need.

“I would have taken you somewhere for dinner. Gotten you out of here, at least for a little while.”

“I didn’t want to go anywhere.”

“Because you don’t want to be seen with me.” His voice was low and soft. It was a statement, not a question.

That bothered her.

“Surely you know that’s not it,” she protested, setting her hips against the hard edge of the stove. From across the room she watched him. The buzz intensified, becoming a sharp ache.

As she watched, Dev morphed. His eyelids dropped down. His eyes glittered at her with promise and heat. Her body responded.

“Stop.”

“What?” she asked, her voice gone breathless.

“You keep looking at me like that and it’ll be a long time before we eat anything.”

Without turning, Willow reached behind her and flipped a switch, turning the burner beneath the pan off.

Dev groaned low in his throat and started to surge up, but a quick shake of her head stilled him.

Willow reached up and found the pins holding her hair in a knot on her head. She slipped each of them free until it all tumbled down around her shoulders.

Dev sprawled back in his chair, spreading his legs wide. The length of his erection strained against the fly of his jeans. She wanted it, and the oblivion only he could give her.

From somewhere deep inside, her inner vixen woke and stretched. What was it about this man that made her feel so desired, that made every look seem erotic? He called to pieces of her soul that even she hadn’t known existed...always had.

Slowly, she closed the space between them, reaching up to flick open the buttons on the oversize flannel shirt she’d thrown over skintight leggings.

“Do you have any idea how good you look right now?”

She answered honestly. “No.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for those ankle breakers you like to prance around in. And those short little skirts. But that...” His eyes skimmed across her body. “Makes me want to burn everything you own and leave you with nothing to wear but my shirts.”

Her sharp intake of breath had the heat in his eyes flaring higher. She should protest, tell him he was an idiot. But she wouldn’t. She’d never been one of those women who wanted to be owned and possessed. She was too independent and strong, but with him...the thrill of possibilities shot down her spine.

She wanted to be his, always had. There was a piece of her that was bothered by just how much power this man had over her. How easily he could coax her into breaking her own rules.

The rest of her was too turned on to care.

Obviously, his dangerous edge was rubbing off on her and she wasn’t entirely certain that was a good thing.

Dev shifted on the hard chair, drawing her focus back to the weight of his cock pressing against his fly. Her pulse fluttered and her gaze pulled up to tangle with his. What she saw there stole her breath, made her burn and scared the crap out of her.

She’d seen the same narrow-eyed, hungry expression on one of those nature shows, a sleek panther stalking prey. He hadn’t moved, and yet she already felt caught. Out of her depth. Severely outclassed and lacking in the skills necessary to escape whatever was coming for her.

But beneath that was a thrill, a burst of endorphins and adrenaline.

Her muscles bunched, and even she wasn’t sure if it was to run. But as the possibility occurred to her, she realized it was way too late for caution.

Crossing the space to him, she stepped between his open thighs. His wide hands settled around her waist, holding her still. His head fell back against the curved slats of her kitchen chair. His hooded gaze swept across her, caressing her and sending a flare of heat through her body.

But she wasn’t content to just stand there. Not tonight. Pushing against his hold, she climbed right up into his lap, wedged her knees along his hips and sank down onto him.

“We should go upstairs.” His fingers tightened around her waist, as if by the sheer force of his will he could hold her a little apart.

Willow shook her head. Hands bracketing his face, she pulled him close. His heat settled deep into her bones, chasing away the chill she hadn’t even realized still lurked there. “No. Here. Now. Give me something else to think about whenever I look at this table.”

He groaned deep in his throat and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and spearing her with those dark blue pools. His mouth was pulled into a grim line, but he nodded, agreeing to give her what she needed even if he wasn’t entirely happy about it.

“Thank you,” she whispered, closing the gap and sealing her mouth to his. He tasted dark and a little sinful. Which was exactly what she needed right now, something relentless that would suck her down and not let her think.

Willow grasped the hem of her shirt and pulled it up over her head in one quick movement that left her blessedly bare. She hadn’t bothered with a bra, and when Dev groaned low in his throat she was glad for the decision.

He filled his hands with her, softly brushing his palms against her aching nipples. But right now she didn’t want soft.

Laying her own hands on top of his, she pressed harder. Flexing her hips, she ground her body against the strong ridge of his erection. It wasn’t enough, but it was a start.

Dev leaned forward and pulled the heat of her into his mouth. The pebbled edge of his tongue scraped against the distended center of her breast. Willow sighed and arched into him.

Her hair tickled across her back. His hands tangled in the thick mass, angling her back so that he could get a better taste.

Dev ran his lips across her collarbone, taking nipping bites of her as he went. She shuddered.

Her mouth found the skin at the opening of his collar. The taste of him exploded against her mouth, masculine and earthy, sky and sunlight. She needed sunlight right now. Needed him.

Her hands searched between them for his fly. A sound of triumph and appreciation vibrated up from her center when she found exactly what she wanted.

She freed him, reveling in the heavy sound as a groan exploded through his parted lips. Her hips rolled against his, capturing his length between the heat of her hand and the wall of his abs.

He surged against her, silently indulging in the shared sensuality of the caress. Dark eyes glittered at her with promise and the sheen of a fever she understood. He wanted the same thing she did, to have him deep inside her.

Her own muscles clenched hard, wanting. One night with him hadn’t been nearly enough. She wasn’t sure there was a number that would ever satisfy her, not completely.

Her hand slipped up and down his swollen sex. She could feel the throb, the pulsing urgency echoing deep inside her own body.

“God, I need you. All of you,” he ground out.

Wrapping his hands around her waist, Dev lifted her up onto her knees. Her thighs tightened, gripping his body and holding on. The hard press of the chair bit into her kneecaps, but she didn’t care. The surface wasn’t quite big enough for both of them, but his bracing hold kept her from toppling over.

The change in position dragged her hand away from him. She might have protested, but his mouth found the smooth expanse of her belly and feathered kisses across the surface. Her muscles leaped, contracting at the tickling caress. He leaned forward and nipped at the indent of her belly button, dipping his tongue inside. Burying her fingers deep in the strands of his hair, she held him to her, relishing the way he could make her body respond.

He knew just where to touch. Just want she needed. It was as if he had a direct line straight to her libido. She didn’t want to think about the kind of practice that level of mastery required. Or who he’d been practicing on.

Grasping her by the waist again, he set her back on her feet. Her momentary frustration was relieved as she realized just what he was doing. Sure hands slipped the leggings and panties over her hips, thighs and calves. They dropped into a pile at her feet, forgotten as he settled her back against his body.

Her knees wedged on either side of his hips. He didn’t waste any time before his fingers dove into the center of her, slipping through the evidence of her desire for him to find the moist heat hidden deep inside.

She groaned. Her hips pitched forward and her head fell back. Dev scrambled to hold her, to keep her from falling. She didn’t care. Instead, she leaned against the line of his arm across her back and let herself go off center.

She trusted him to catch her. Even if she didn’t fully trust him with everything else.

He worked her, his entire focus completely on her. Her muscles tightened, and when he hit the perfect spot deep inside, her breath hitched.

After several moments of letting him play, she forced herself to pull back to vertical. Her thighs trembled. Her hands gripped the rounded curve of the chair back. She reached for him, wrapping his aching flesh in her tight fist again. But this time it wasn’t enough.

Rolling a condom down his thick shaft, she finally let her body sink onto his. Perfectly aligned, she opened herself and took him in, inch by blissful inch. Dev’s hands clenched around her hips. She could feel the tension coiling through him as he fought the need to thrust high and deep, to take her in one swift motion that would leave them both intoxicated and delirious.

Part of her wanted him to do it, to take the control away from her and let her just feel. But the rest of her wanted to savor and draw out every moment of the experience.

Her body finally gave, relaxing to take him completely. Her hips bumped his and he settled high and hard inside. Her eyes slipped shut, savoring the sensation of him stretching her, filling her.

She stayed there, poised on the edge of oblivion. Her body trembled. Deep inside, her muscles tightened around him, drawing a gasp.

They were closer even than they’d been the night of the masquerade. There was nothing between them now, nothing to hide behind, and for a moment panic suffused her.

Until his thighs bunched beneath her and he pushed that single centimeter higher and there was nothing but the way he made her feel. Her fingers curved around the nape of his neck, burrowed into the hair there and held on tight.

And then she was moving, the friction of their bodies as deliciously perfect as she remembered. Willow tensed, using her hold on him to lever her body up and then drop back down. Over and over, she let him slip almost to the tip before drawing him back inside her body.

She set the pace, but he joined her, adding the thrust of his hips to bring them even closer together. Pleasure built inside her, a ball of energy ricocheting dangerously and just waiting to explode.

The walls of her sex gripped him, trembling and ready to let go, but not without him.

Willow buried her head against his neck. His mouth found her skin. Teasing teeth scraped against the tendon running up the side of her throat. Ecstasy burst through her, piling on top of the sensation overload.

Up and down, the grinding frenzy of her need increased, tempting her to just let go. Mindless. She was mindless. For once in her life completely uncaring about anything but the way Dev made her feel. Right, wrong, safe, respectable...she no longer cared.

Slipping a single finger between them, Dev found her pulsing knot of nerves and rubbed. Her back bowed, the tight muscles holding him deep rippled and then everything exploded. Pleasure sizzled through her, sharp and freeing. A keening cry ripped from her throat.

Every muscle in her body went liquid. She might have collapsed if his hands hadn’t gripped her hips, holding her in place so he could drive deep, taking his own pleasure now that hers was spent.

A groan broke from him, the rattle of it rumbling through her sensitive system. His eyelids fluttered as if he wanted to let them fall, but he didn’t. Instead, he stared straight into her.

For a moment the other night she’d wished the masks away so that she could see the delirium and bliss of his release. Tonight she got her wish.

He let her in. Let her see just how completely she unraveled him. He was swamped by sensation, just as thoroughly as she’d been. And there was something unsettling and intimate about that.

Willow’s chest expanded and then contracted to tighten into a sharp ache.

She couldn’t look away. How could he be the one losing his mind and she be the one on the edge of complete and utter vulnerability?

It was a gift, his openness. And part of her lapped it up, greedily taking everything he was giving her. The rest of her felt as though she was teetering again, on the verge of a very deep chasm. But she couldn’t pull back. Couldn’t find a way to protect herself. Her defenses had been shattered—torn down by the blow of the break-in and the naked exposure of her release.