Perfect Victim, The (31 page)

Those were the last words he'd expected to hear
.
His chest tightened unexpectedly with the knowledge
.
that she still believed in him. "I drink too much," he said hoarsely. "I stay up for days at a time. I have a nasty temper
.
I have nightmares, goddammit
.
"

"You're dealing with it
.
You're working through it
.
"

"When things get tough, I get drunk, Addison. I'm not a g
o
od person when I'm drunk. You've seen it firsthand, for God's sake. How can you say that's working through it?"

"When things got tough the other night, you ended up
s
aving my life
.
"

He stared at her, incredulous. "That doesn't make me a hero. It doesn't even make me a good man."

"Courage is a trait I happen to admire, even in mere mortals like you." A small smile brushed the comers of her mouth. "I don't expect perfection."

This wasn't exactly the way he'd had this scene mapped out in his head. He hadn't expected her to accept his short-comings without question. He sure as hell hadn't expected her to look at him like he deserved anything even close to respect.

But in a small comer of his mind, he couldn't deny that he was secretly pleased. That it wouldn't have hurt if she'd turned away. "You don't want to get tangled up with me."

"You're so intent on trying to talk me out of being with you, I doubt you have the slightest idea what I want."

"We've been keeping close quarters," he said a little desperately. "I don't want things to get out of hand."

"Maybe they already have." Leaning close to him, she brushed her mouth against his.

The kiss hit him like the tail end of a tornado. The need, with all its reckless urgency, uncoiled inside him like a steel cable snapping under tension. Professional ethics went out the window along with every last shred of logic.

Without speaking, Randall rose, pulling her up with him. He saw shock in her eyes, but he didn't stop. Angling her face, he crushed his mouth to hers. He felt her breath on his face as it rushed out of her. He kissed her deeply, possessively; without the finesse she deserved. He parted her lips with his tongue and dug deep. A moan rose up inside him at the almost painful pleasure crashing through him.

Forgetting this was their first time together, knowing he was beyond the point of being gentle, he pulled her against him. He heard the quick intake of breath as he dropped his hands to her buttocks, squeezing the firm flesh, taking in the feel of her, amazed by the fact that he'd never wanted anyone so badly in his life.

Using the muscles in his arms, he held her tightly against
him and ground his throbbing erection aga
i
nst her cle
ft
.

"Goddammit
,
you make me want you,
"
he growled.

"Stop
f
ighting it
.
"

Hi
s
r
esolve to sta
y
a
w
a
y
f
ro
m her sha
tt
ered. He had to get inside her, o
r
he would die of the need to feel he
r
wrapped a
r
ound h
i
m. Next to
hi
m
, t
he fire popped and crac
k
led,
f
illing the
ai
r w
it
h
t
he redolence of bur
ni
ng pine. Outs
i
de
,
the w
i
nd
ri
pped a
r
ound
t
he
c
abin, te
a
r
i
ng at t
h
e roof
a
nd driving the snow ag
a
inst the windows with the force of h
ai
lstones. In the midst of it all, Randall and Addison tended their own storm.

He moaned when her hands went to hi
s
chest to work at
t
he buttons of his flannel sh
i
rt
.
Her fingers fumb
l
ed, teasing him and e
x
cit
i
ng him at once
.
He kissed her hungrily, but the taste of her only heightened his frustration
.
When his shirt opened Randall pulled away, worked it off h
i
s shoulders, and tossed it aside
.
Then her hands were on his bare chest, making him want her in a way that had him teetering on the thin edge between ecstasy and agony
.

With shaking hands, he reached for her sweatshirt and dragged it o
v
er her head. Her h
a
ir fell in a thick blanket ove
r
her shoulders. The sight of her lacy pink bra against the velvety swell of her cleavage took h
i
s breath. "I've wanted you since the day you walked into my office," he murmured.

"I want you now."

He felt shaken, off kilter. Christ
,
he felt out of control
.
Suddenly it was important to him to know that she wanted this as despe
r
ately as he did
.
He looked
i
nto her eyes
.
“Tell me you want this
,
" he whispered
.
"Before we go any furthe
r
. I need to know.
"

"I want this
.
I want you
,
" she said simply.

Randall didn't miss the flicker of uncertainty. Nor did he miss that she was trembling
.
"You're nervous."

"This is
..
. new for me."

Easing back, he looked down at her
,
relieved when he saw her smile
.
"It's been a long time for me, too
.
"

He kissed her temple. Slowly
,
he reached between them
and released the clasp of her bra. She shivered in his arms.

"Relax, honey." Never taking his eyes from her face, he slid the tiny piece of silk from her shoulders.

Her breasts were small, upswept, and exquisite. The tiny nipples were dark and fully erect. His hands trembled as he cupped them. Closing his eyes, he tumbled into a free fall and careened out of control.

The fire warmed her bare back and case yellow light on the hard angles of his face. Her heart beat out a maniacal rhythm as his hands covered her breasts. She withheld a moan when he took a taut nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

White-hot desire cut through her midsection. She couldn't breathe as waves of passion splashed through her, shaking her and thrilling her at once. She'd never felt so wanton. She never thought she could so completely abandon the safe, responsible shell she'd been living in all her twenty-six years.

At some point, she'd started to tremble. Small shivers that grew quickly into knee-shaking quakes she could do nothing to control.

"Are you okay?" Randall's voice was hoarse. "You're not cold, are you?"

Addison shook her head, trying to still her knees, embarrassed by her powerful reaction to him. She tried to smile, afraid her inexperience would show, and silently cursed her lips for failing her. "Not cold," she managed.

"Still nervous?" He shot her a disarming smile. That crooked smile that gave his handsome face so much character. She was beginning to cherish that smile.

"No," she said.

"Good."

Heat blazed through her when he kissed her neck. His mouth lingered on the sensitive flesh and sent her senses humming. Addison felt as though she'd begun a tumble every bit as wild and tumultuous as the fall she'd taken down
the side of the mountain. She was falling into unexplored and yet uncharted territory. A new world that was as exciting as it was terrifying
.

His hands were firm and controlled as they slid her leggings down her legs. Her knees felt like jelly as she kicked them aside. She resisted the shiver, but the tremor took her anyway, and she wrapped her arms more tightly about his neck to keep her legs from buckling
.
He slid her panties down
,
touching her in places that sent zingers of pleasure rocking through her brain.

Her world went into a slow spin when his hand found its way to the dark nest of curls at her vee. He kissed her deeply as his index finger found a place she'd never shared with another man. Addison closed her eyes against the waves of pleasure as he began to st
r
oke her
.
She cried out, arching into him, telling herself this was just sex, knowing deep down inside she was a liar.

His mouth captured hers. He devoured her lips before sweeping her off her feet and lowering her gently to the rug in front of the fire. She was aware of his mouth on hers, taking her breath, stealing every last shred of rational thought
.
She was aware of her breasts aching to be caressed. The place between her legs pounding with each beat of her heart
.

She moaned as he poised himself over her
,
resting his weight on his elbows on either side of her
.
For a fleet
i
ng second
,
she considered telling him that this was her first tim
e,
but she wasn
'
t sure how he would react
.
Admittedly
,
she was afraid he would think it was strange that she hadn
'
t experimented with sex during her college y
e
ars or that she'd never been in love before
.