Read Hot Pursuit: Hot Zone, Book 5 for Free Online Page B

“Midnight’s come and gone. How about that kiss?”
    His eagerness sent her arousal higher, and reminded her of what they planned. A mixture of excitement and fear sang through her veins. Not fear of him—never that. Fear of the wisdom of her decision. A one-night stand?
    “I’ve never…” She trailed off, embarrassment surging upward.
    “Kissed at midnight?” His eyes sparked with amusement.
    “No, I mean, that’s not what I meant.”
    Understanding filled his eyes. “You’ve never had unemotional sex?”
    She swallowed hard around the truth. “No.”
    He leaned in closer, eyes hot. His breath whispering over her ear. “I’ll make you a deal then. One I would’ve made anyway. One midnight kiss. After that, if you want to stop we will. Any time tonight you want to stop—any time at all, just tell me.”
    Wow. This man, well, this man kept saying the right thing. Doing the right thing. How could a woman resist that?
    He tasted her lips softly, with a quick and feather-light approach that made her moan. A second later he pulled back, his arms still around her waist.
    That’s all?
    Lucy had seen the desperation in him, the lust. He proved it by pressing a delicate kiss to her forehead, then her cheeks, and then the side of her neck. Sensation whirled inside her like a snowstorm.
    Satisfaction filled his eyes as he drew back from her. “I’m glad you walked in that bar tonight.”
    “Even if it was to find a one-night-stand?”
    He kissed the other side of her neck. He sighed. “Yep. I’m glad it’s me. The thought of any other man having you tonight…” He shook his head.
    God, if he said one more thing like that, she’d have to kiss him again.
    “Because you would miss out?” she asked.
    He laughed. “Yeah. And I don’t trust another man to keep you safe.”
    “You’d be jealous?” She asked the question in pure amazement.
    “Yep.”
    Moist heat tingled between her thighs. “Oh. Um…that’s a little old fashioned isn’t it? I can take care of myself.”
    “Yeah.” His fingers pushed into her hair. “But it’s a part of me that’s always been there. To protect. I was the geek who wouldn’t squish bugs and hated to dissect frogs.”
    Her eyebrows practically shot to the ceiling. “Really? I totally figured you for the Bunsen-burner type.”
    Vic grunted, then he laughed. “I hate to burst your bubble, but I wasn’t the angel you thought I was either.”
    Now she was surprised and intrigued. “What? What did you do?”
    “Later. I’ll tell you later.”
    With delicate simplicity, he tasted her mouth. Sensation piled on sensation, better than her imaginings. Thoughts vanished under an instant flash of need. As his arms brought her closer with a gentle tug, she melted. Lips moved, tasted, a kiss that fell away from gentle and moved straight into heaven. She thought maybe she’d forgotten this heat, forgotten what it felt like for a man to hold her with such honest need. Maybe she’d never experienced this before, but only a facsimile. She participated, oh, she did. Her hands couldn’t stop exploring, learning his shoulders, his arms, feeling the strength. Vic palmed her back with strokes that explored, slid down to just above her butt. He skirted the edge but wouldn’t go over. His tongue slipped inside, stroking and learning hers with an intimacy that shouldn’t have surprised but still shocked. No man had made love to her like this. Subtle but seeking, controlled but fiery.
    This was lovemaking. Falling into a trance where nothing but sensation had a place. Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.
    He drew back slowly, his chest rising and falling. His warm breath puffed over her mouth, his eyes burning, wanting, telling her more than words could.
    “Do you want me to go?” he asked.
    She trembled with a growing desire that threatened to burst. She shook with it, overwhelmed.
    “No. Don’t go.”
    With a grin that screamed satisfaction and gentle humor, he said softly in her