Page 122 of How To Tempt A Bodyguard

She kissed him back with equal ferocity, her nails raking down his shoulders, her hips pressing against his.

"Adequate," she gasped against his mouth.

"Still lying." He hitched her thigh over his hip, grinding against her. "I can feel how wet you are."

"That doesn't prove anything."

"No?" His hand slid between them, found her slick and swollen. "This doesn't prove anything?"

She bit back a moan.

"What was that?" His fingers circled, teased. "I didn't hear you."

"I said…" She lost the thought as his thumb pressed against the sensitive spot. "I said…"

"Use your words, Florence."

"Devil."

"That's not a word I was looking for." He slid one finger inside her, then two, curling them in a way that made her see stars. "Try again."

"Matthew."

"Better." He pumped his fingers slowly, his thumb maintaining that maddening pressure. "What do you want?"

"You know what I want."

"I want to hear you say it."

She grabbed his face, forced him to look at her. "I want you inside me. Now. Is that clear enough?"

His eyes flared. "Aye."

He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to the bed as though she weighed nothing, and she felt the strength in him—the prize fighter’s body, all coiled power and brutal efficiency.

He laid her down on the mattress and stood back.

For what seemed like an eternity, he simply looked at her. His gaze moved over her face, her throat, the rise and fall of her chest beneath the thin chemise. She fought the urge to cover herself, to reach for a quip, to deflect with sharpness as she always did.

"Don't," he said.

"Don't what?"

"Hide. Not from me."

She swallowed. "I'm not hiding."

But she was, and they both knew it. She could feel the walls going up, brick by brick, the way they always did when someone got too close.

He sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping beneath his weight, and cupped her face in his rough hand. His thumb traced her cheekbone, his touch impossibly tender.

"Tonight feels different," she whispered.

"How?"

"It feels like forever." She laughed, brittle and self-conscious.

"Does it scare you?"