Page 49 of Betrayal

“Have you planned the moment when you’ll pounce?”Pulling the leather bow, she unwound the straps from the hooks down her midriff, enjoying the way his eyes narrowed, and his breathing quickened.

“We’re a long way from pouncing.”He sniffed the air, using the moment to take a step closer.“You smell like silk and satin and soft skin.Do you do that deliberately?”

Anna ran her tongue over her top lip, watching him swallow with a bit more urgency.“You said my perfume settled you.”

“It arouses, it settles, it entices, it makes me smile.”His voice rolled over the words, a growl, a rumble, a whisper.“I can’t wait so discover what you taste like.”

Anna drew both hands down her midriff, pushing the sides of the bustier wider.“What happens next?”

“I have no idea.”He circled her, bent closer to brush a kiss to her nape, sliding a warm finger down her spine.A light touch, heat and encouragement.“The dress is in two parts.How does this work?”He ran his index finger down the length of the zipper from her waist to the tops of her thighs.

“I’ll show you.”With an added shimmy, the skirt slid to the ground, pooling around her boots.

“I like your taste in lingerie.”

“What lingerie?”She held his gaze.The bustier made a bra redundant.

“I didn’t pick you for a fish-net-stocking-and-suspender-belt kind of gal.”

“They came with the dress.Or rather, Bea’s sister insisted they were a mandatory part of the look.”

His gaze drifted down her body.“The knickers are pure you, white cotton, a dash of lace and sexy as hell.”

Stepping out of the muddle of fabric, she threw it in the direction of the sofa.“I’m not as neat as you.”

“I’m betting you’re better prepared.”His trousers joined his other clothes on the chair.“I didn’t plan for this, so no rubbers.”

“Well, hell.”She laughed.“That rather cramps our style.”

“You weren’t a boy scout?”He grinned.

“Girl guide.And no, I wasn’t.”

“A woman who takes care of her own transport doesn’t leave contraception to any dumb male.”He held his arms wide.Like his hands, his body carried a few scars, but he was broad-chested, and his muscles looked like they’d been earned.

Her mouth watered at the sight.

“You’re not a dumb male.”

“Have you got the chemist on speed dial?”His smile was hopeful.

“We won’t need a delivery.”

He stroked her chin with a calloused thumb and forefinger, bringing her lips to his, touching nothing else.The kiss was a slow, deliberate incitement, teasing all her senses and seducing giveaway moans from her.He was good at this.

“Can you hear the bells and whistles?”he murmured.

“What are we doing?”

Seduction should always be like this.A slow striptease, which was part seduction and all about finding balance.About moving slowly enough to step back, but fast enough for her blood to thicken and her juices to flow.

“I’m waiting for you to take the lead.”

She laughed.“I might take off my boots first.”

“I’m hoping you’ll take everything off.”He traced a finger over a jagged scar high on her thigh.“What happened?”

“Chasing Kate as kids.We were somewhere we shouldn’t have been.I tripped and landed on an old car.”