Perfect Fit (12 page)

Meeting her gaze, he cupped the back of her head in his hand. “I don’t know what it is you do to me, but trust me, Cara, this is much more than scratching some itch.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw, and she knew the admission cost him. But she wouldn’t make him suffer for it. Instead she leaned into him, inhaling his sexy, masculine scent.

“I’m done talking,” she said, and ran her tongue along his hair-roughened chest, eliciting a low groan.

He picked her up and tossed her onto the bed, leaning over her, skin touching skin as she stared into his gorgeous eyes. She braced herself for his next assault, figuring he’d take things hard and fast, but as usual, Mike never did what she expected.

He leaned in for a kiss that was slow and beautiful in its intensity, shattering her expectations and everything she’d anticipated from this affair. He kissed her as if it meant not just something but everything. And he kissed her as if he could do it all night and to hell with the sex she knew would come.

There wasn’t a part of her mouth left untouched, and every lick and nibble, taste and thrust of his tongue inflamed the already burning fire between them. Cara was coming out of her skin, every exposed body part needing
something
more. But the further she writhed beneath him, the harder he held her down in one place, pressing into her with his taut, hard body.

The man did like his control, she thought, twisting her hips against him in search of relief.

“You know, the harder you try, the longer I’m going to make you wait,” he said, his voice edged with a gruff tone that turned her on.

She grinned. “And you know you’re a pain in the—”

He cut off her words with another hard kiss before moving downward with his oh-so-talented mouth, until he reached her bra, pushing the cup beneath one breast, and began to suckle on her already distended nipple. He spent a while there, alternating between breasts, until desire spun out of control, the pull stretching straight to her core, and she arched her hips upward so his erection rubbed against the place she needed pressure most.

He rolled to the side so he could lay his hand across her belly, teasing but not coming near where she needed him to touch her.

“Your skin’s so soft,” he murmured, both his tone and the words so un-Mike-like that something unraveled inside her. Something soft and emotional and very scary.

Before she could reply, he eased his hand between her legs and cupped her sex in his palm. “I’m going to take care of you,” he promised, and proceeded to do so, his mouth trailing a path down her hip, laving the skin along her panty line, and finally,
finally
settling his mouth
there
.

Cara sighed in pure relief as he slid his tongue along the sensitive seam and took her higher than she’d ever been before. He licked, teased, nibbled, and when he set his attention to that sensitive spot, she immediately came apart, her
orgasm hitting hard and fast, shattering her with its intensity. Mike didn’t seem content to let her come down on her own either. He kept his tongue on her tight nub until he’d wrung every last tremor from her body.

She’d barely opened her eyes when she heard the wrinkle of a condom and suddenly he was over her, entering her, thrusting deep inside her and taking her completely.

She liked sex with Mike because he owned the act and she found it incredibly arousing. So much so that within seconds, she felt the slow build begin again.

He slid out and back in, and she spiraled higher. “Damn, you’re good,” she said, and was met with a sexy male grin.

“I do aim to please.”

“And you do it well,” she said, happy to keep things light despite the emotions threatening every time he moved inside her.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he instructed.

She did and he plunged back into her, over and over, hitting the sweet spot that had her seeing stars, lights, and all sorts of other things as yet another orgasm swept through her quickly, taking her by surprise.

He kissed her through her release before picking up his own rhythm. Cara held on to his hard muscles and slick skin, feeling every ridge and swell of his thick erection deep inside her. And when he came, her body responded with another mini shock of orgasm rushing through her.

Cara blinked, surprised when she realized she’d fallen
asleep in Mike’s bed. She stretched a hand out, but no Mike. The sheets were cool. A glance at the clock on the nightstand told her it was nine
P.M.
, and her rumbling stomach reminded her she’d skipped dinner. She stepped into the bathroom, doing her best to freshen up before heading out to look for Mike.

She found him in the den watching television, a large
pizza box on the coffee table. No formalities for him, she thought, amused with his easygoing, bachelor-like behavior.

With his focus on a basketball game, she took a private moment to study him. Wearing a pair of navy sweats and nothing else, he was the epitome of a masculine, sexy male, and she couldn’t contain a smile. She vividly recalled his body heat over hers, the feel of those muscles against her skin and the power of him inside her.

She swallowed a moan and decided it was time to make her presence known. “Hey,” she said, clearing her throat at the husky sound in her voice.

He glanced up and a grin lifted his mouth, assuring her there’d be no awkwardness between them.

“I can’t believe you let me sleep this late.”

“We couldn’t head back home anyway.” He gestured to the window, where big, fat snowflakes were still falling. “I let the station know we were in the city looking into some things and would be in later tomorrow.”

She winced, then nodded slowly, not knowing how people at work would take her trip with their new chief of police. After all, Serendipity wasn’t a hotbed of crime that necessitated investigations in Manhattan. Still, occasional cases, such as the one they were working on, did come up, so maybe nobody would think anything of their little venture.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything that would let them infer it was anything but business,” he said, reading her mind—or the expression on her face.

She managed a smile. “I appreciate that.”

“Ashamed of me?” he asked, lightly, but a flicker of
something
crossed his handsome face.

Was it her imagination or did she glimpse a flash of insecurity before he’d covered it with a cocky grin?

“Of course not,” she said, in case there’d been any seriousness in the question. “I just don’t want trouble for myself now or after you’re gone.”

She loved her job and her relationship with her colleagues. If anyone thought she was sleeping with Mike or getting special favors, some of the more senior members and detectives might not treat her so well. Then again, Serendipity was a small town and relationships happened everywhere. She’d probably be fine. But since he was leaving, the longer she kept their relationship private, the better she’d feel.

Mike nodded in understanding. It made sense. Yet it bothered him that she wanted to keep things between them under wraps—which made sense to him but it pricked at his pride anyway.

“Hungry?” he asked, pushing the thought away.

Her eyes opened wide and she nodded. “Starving.” She pulled her hair off her shoulders and twisted it into a funky bun that somehow held itself in place.

His gaze fell to the T-shirt she wore, the same one she’d traveled to town in, her bare legs peeking out beneath. She was petite yet solid, her thighs muscular and calves taut from keeping herself in shape, yet the rest of her was soft and womanly, from the curves of her hips up to her fully rounded breasts. She was nothing like the long, leggy women he’d dated before, Lauren included, and Mike had to admit he preferred Cara’s lush body and the way she fit against him.

He patted the seat beside him. “Join me? I waited for you,” he said, lifting the top of the pizza box.

She stepped closer, glanced inside the box, and grinned. “Half pepperoni, half plain.”

“I wasn’t sure what you liked.”

“Both. Can I get us some drinks?”

“There’s Coke and beer in the fridge.”

She turned and walked to the kitchen, returning with a Budweiser in each hand.

“Good choice.” Another thing he liked about Cara. No
pretense, no fussiness. She liked a beer as much as the next guy, he thought with a laugh.

“What?” she asked as she sat down next to him, crisscrossing her legs.

Damn. She’d put her panties back on, Mike thought, realizing he’d been hoping she’d be commando beneath the shirt.

“Hey, cut that out.” She rearranged her position so she was sitting in a more ladylike way, her legs dangling from the couch and crossed primly at the ankles.

He rolled his eyes. “Get comfortable. Sit back the way you were,” he said, wanting his visual back. Whether or not he could actually see anything, he didn’t want her acting shy and prissy around him.

Instead of listening, she reached for the beer bottles, which she’d already opened, and handed him one. He took a long pull and set it down on the table. Then he stood, reaching for the waistband on his sweats.

“What are you doing?” she asked, almost spitting out the beer in her mouth in an effort to swallow and stop him at the same time.

“Taking off my pants.”

“For God’s sake,
why
?” Her cheeks turned pink in an adorable blush.

“I figured if I got more comfortable, then you would too.”

“Fine!” She bent her knees and crossed her legs once more, this time her shirt riding up high enough to show him the small triangle covering her and a nice expanse of pale skin on either side. “Now cut it out and sit down. I’m not eating naked.”

He laughed and flopped back onto the couch before digging in and handing them each a slice of pizza.

“Who’s winning?” she asked.

“Knicks were,” he said, but he’d long since stopped caring about what was on the screen. He tried to remember
another woman who’d distracted him from sports. And couldn’t.

They ate in occasional silence, talking in between, comfortable in a way he really enjoyed. He didn’t even mind the fact that they were in his small apartment, a place he usually reserved for private time away from the job and any undercover assignment he’d been on.

“How are things going at Havensbridge? How’s the girl you were worried about?” Mike asked her.

Cara blinked in surprise. “You remembered about that?”

“It was important to you. So yeah, I remembered.”

Pleasure flashed across her face, her rosy glow reminding him when she’d come apart around him in bed. He shifted, his erection growing harder, and he wasn’t ready for her to notice. Soon, but just not yet.

“She’s fragile,” Cara said of Daniella. “And lonely. She even admitted she’s picked up the phone a few times to call her ex, but she didn’t.”

The sadness and worry in Cara’s voice pricked at Mike’s heart. “All you can do is trust she’ll do what’s best for her.”

“You can’t trust people to do that,” Cara said, glancing down, and they both knew she was referring to her mother.

Mike didn’t reply. There wasn’t anything he could say to reassure her. Sometimes life sucked and you had to make the best of it and go on. They finished eating in silence.

Cara crumpled her napkin and leaned back against the sofa with a loud sigh. “I am so going to have to work this off tomorrow.”

His gaze traveled from her still-crossed legs to her full breasts, watching as her nipples hardened beneath his hungry stare, before he met her gaze.

“Why not work it off tonight instead?” he asked.

At his suggestion, her eyes darkened to a deep blue color. “How about dessert instead?” she asked coyly.

Before he could reply, she’d unfolded her legs and stood.
“Lose the sweats,” she said, hands perched on her hips as she gave
him
an order.

This was a new Cara. She usually let him call the shots, but now
she
was in charge and damn, it was hot.

His lips twitched as he tried not to grin. “I thought you didn’t want to eat naked.”

“What I want to eat
now
I can’t enjoy unless you’re naked.” She impatiently tapped her bare foot against the rug. “Well? You’re wasting time. Lose. The. Pants.”

Mike’s breath escaped on a whoosh of air. All the blood in his body traveled south immediately.

He rose and dropped his sweats to the floor. Dazed by the loss of blood to his head, when she pushed his shoulders, he easily fell onto the couch and Cara lowered herself to the floor beside him. She edged between his thighs. Then she grasped his erection, wrapping her smaller hand around his aching shaft. Slowly, she drew her palm up and down, up and down, mimicking sex, pulling him in deeper. And when she covered the head with her thumb, rubbing moisture over the top, sensation shot straight to his balls.

He groaned and fell back against the cushion. He barely caught his breath when she slid his erection into her mouth, enclosing him in rich, moist heat. He had to see, to watch. Forcing his eyes open, he looked down to see her run her tongue up and down the length of his shaft. He threaded his hand through her hair, absorbing the silken feel, the shallow movements of her head as she licked him, tasted him. Each time she reached the top, she paused to suck at the crown before drawing him in deeper once more.

Her wet mouth and the friction of her hand built sensation on sensation. He couldn’t not move. Couldn’t take it and began pumping his hips upward, thrusting himself against the back of her throat. She managed to keep up and soon he was boiling, ready to explode. But he wasn’t about to come alone.

He tapped the side of her cheek with his hand and she released him with a slow, teasing withdrawal that had him shaking in his seat. She glanced up at him with wide eyes, glazed with desire. No doubt she’d enjoyed the giving, and that more than anything fired him up.

“Get over here,” he said on a low growl.

To his surprise, she didn’t argue. She levered herself up to the couch. With one swift pull, he tore off her underwear and tossed it to the floor.

“That’s the only pair I have here!”