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“I probably should,” he muttered. He held her gaze, fiercely aroused and intensely troubled. Was he just another way for Carly to get back at her father? Or an effective method for burying all those self-doubts?
For a brief moment he wondered if she wanted something more from him.
And what if she did?
Doubt battled desire, twisting his heart into impossible shapes, and he muttered his next thought out loud. “What other weapons do you have up your non-existent sleeves?”
She blinked several times and after a brief deliberation lifted her arms, placing her hands on her head in mock surrender. A position of submission. As if yielding all power to Hunter. “You can frisk me and look for more if you want,” she said.
She steadily met his gaze...and he knew she was waiting for him to make his choice.
* * *
Gathering her courage, Carly waited, hating how much this man destroyed her usual confidence. He was hot, intriguing and dangerous, even when coming to her defense. And he never failed to step up on her behalf when it mattered most. She’d never fallen for a man before, and a part of her had always wondered why. With Hunter, she feared she was already more than halfway there...
Her heart skipped a beat and her stomach settled lower.
It’s only lust, Carly.
She felt bare, exposed and defenseless as the seconds crawled by while he studied her, as if trying to decide what to do. Although the fire and focus in his eyes communicated he wanted her, it was obvious he questioned her motives.
But the unadorned truth was too hard to share: no matter how hard she worked, or how happy she tried to be, the sadness over her fractured relationship with her father made peace of mind impossible. Hunter’s square-cut jaw, sensual lips and broad shoulders—and, more importantly, his protector mode she found so attractive—threatened to consume her as well. And she was desperate for the latter to win. Even if it was only for another sensually mind-boggling moment. It wasn’t a difficult choice, really. Who wouldn’t choose feel-good promise over dark disappointment?
Hope over despair?
Hands on her head, she stared at him, dying to know if he was as good as she remembered. Maybe she’d just been pathetically grateful for his on-air act of gallantry, sacrificing himself for her? Maybe it had been how hard he’d fought her in the locker room, and how utterly beautiful he’d been when he’d taken the fall? Or maybe she was simply tired of guys so laid-back they were just one step above dead?
“Frisk you?” he mused as he finally closed the last bit of distance between them, his rumbling voice shimmying down her spine. “I probably should.” Meeting her gaze, he laid his hands on her wrists, skimming his way down her bare arms. The skin-on-skin feel left goosebumps in their wake. “Just to be safe.” He smoothed his palms down her sides, his thumbs brushing the outer edges of her brea**sts in tantalizing promise before slowing to a crawl at her hips.
His gaze burned into hers, the warm hands scalding her through thin silk. “What are you wearing underneath?” he said.
“A thong.”
His eyes turned darker as he slowly crouched. “Anything else?” he said, smoothing his sizzling hands down her legs.
Anticipation reached critical levels, and her palms grew hot against her head. “Nothing.”
He looked up at her from his squatting position, hands on her shins. “That means there aren’t many hiding places under this dress.”
Her heart pounded at the memories of the last time he’d knelt in front of her. “It depends on how thorough you are.”
The mysterious smile was instantaneous. He smoothed his hands up over her knees, higher along her thighs, and stroked the sensitive nub between her legs. Awash in pleasure, heart battering her chest, Carly maintained his gaze even as her thong grew wet.
“I’m motivated to be very thorough,” he murmured.
He lingered a moment, eyes so dark it was hard to remember them ever being cold. Her body was so hot and damp it was hard to be much more than a mass of needy nerve endings.
“Because you’re a G-man following procedure?” she said, her voice breathless.
“Why else?” He stood, his hands smoothing up her belly, between her breasts, out and around both, before finally cupping the curves. “Technically I should check your back too.” His thumbs skimmed her now taut nipp**les and pleasure surged, her body melting more. She fought to focus as he said, “But it’s occurred to me you don’t need any armaments beyond this.”
His mouth claimed hers and she kissed him back with all the pent-up, conflicting emotions in her chest. Desire for Hunter, and fear of giving him too much power over her. Hunter simply took what he wanted, demanding everything, and Carly could do little more than comply.
