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skin.
    “Maybe this isn’t the smartest thing for us to do,” he
    whispered.
    Natalie tilted her head to press her cheek against his palm.
    “Who wants smart? I’m only asking for a kiss.”
    His eyes narrowed, then his gaze dropped to her lips. When
    he leaned down, she guessed his intent—a quick peck and
    then he’d disappear downstairs again.
    As he closed the distance between them, she grasped the
    back of his head, winding her fingers into his dampening,
    thick hair, and tugged him closer.
    Rene groaned a moment before their lips met. Then he held
    himself still, not moving his mouth over hers.
    Natalie sighed and opened her mouth to lick at his closed
    lips. The rain pelted their heads, the moisture on their bodies acted like a conductor for the electric, arcing charge that
    leapt between them.
    Already, her body flowered. Her nipples tightened. Dew
    gathered at the juncture of her thighs. She leaned forward
    and rubbed her silk-covered breasts against his broad, wet
    chest, reveling in the spark of sensual heat that shot from her
    breasts to coil around her womb.
    His breath hitched and his hands gripped the iron behind
    her, but he leaned into her, his chest pressing closer.
    Not close enough. More! She tugged his hair hard and licked
    at the seam of his mouth, following her instinctive need to
    taste and tempt.
    He gasped, his mouth opening—but not pressing deeper.
    She surged inside, stroking his tongue with hers, slant-into the darkness
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    ing her mouth to softly encourage him to increase the pressure. Then she smoothed her hands down his neck to cup his
    shoulders, and down again, to scrape her fingernails along his
    spine.
    His body trembled and a growl erupted from his mouth,
    filling hers with his sweet breath, while his tongue crowded
    past her lips to lap along her tongue, darting inside, then
    withdrawing and stroking back.
    She hooked one leg over his hip, ignoring his initial, rigid
    resistance, to pull his lower body against hers, close enough
    now to rub the part of her that ached and swelled against the
    hard knot burgeoning at the front of his jeans. The hem of
    her nightgown bunched between their bodies, rising to bare
    her bottom and her moist sex as she rubbed harder against
    him.
    Natalie lost herself in the kiss, writhing against him—her
    whole world narrowing as his kiss changed subtly, until he
    sucked on her tongue and the ridge of his cock ground against
    her swollen folds. She dug her fingers into the hard muscle of
    his back and strained closer, needing more, aching for him to
    fill the empty place inside her body and her heart.
    Suddenly, he thrust himself away, stepping back.
    Dismayed, Natalie opened her eyes and stared.
    His hands were clenched at his sides. Ruddy color stained
    his cheeks. His lips thinned into a snarl. “This isn’t gonna
    happen, chère .”
    “Why not?” she asked, surprised her voice didn’t crack beneath the strain of her need and disappointment. “You can’t
    say you don’t want me. I felt how much you do.”
    He shook his head. “You’re a pretty fille, sweetheart, but I
    40 delilah
    devlin
    don’t mix business and pleasure. And I can’t keep watch when
    you distract me.”
    Her legs trembled, and she sank back against the balustrade. Her body ached with unfulfilled desire. Tears filled her
    eyes as she sensed him withdrawing, steeling himself against
    their powerful attraction. “I’ve never felt this way before,
    Rene,” she whispered. “And I’m afraid I’ll never feel this way
    again. I ache—inside.” Her voice broke and she turned her
    head, ashamed at the naked emotion she’d let him see.
    “Don’t do this. Let me walk away,” he said, his voice hoarse.
    “I’m not the man for you. Not now.”
    Her next breath was more a ragged sob, but she held herself rigid to keep from letting him see how much she needed
    him. She whirled and grasped the door latch to escape inside
    the room.
    She’d almost made it, almost gotten