The Watson Brothers. Lori Foster
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I’m not all that hurt and I love when women come on to me. I just don’t like little girls flirting when they don’t know what they’re getting into.”
Seething, Ariel said, “If you don’t stop accusing me of being a child, I’m going to—” She screeched when the antiseptic hit her scrapes, burning like a brand. Her legs stiffened and her hands gripped the sides of her seat.
“Sorry.” For once, his voice was gentle, caring. Sam leaned forward and blew his warm breath over her knees.
A new ache filled her, one of overwhelming sexual hunger. She’d wanted him since the first time she saw him. She remembered that moment in vivid detail. Pete had taken her with him to his family’s regular Sunday get-together. A storm had knocked a thick elm over in his middle brother’s backyard, damaging a fence. Sam was there, shirtless, sweaty, tanned, and so sexy she’d stood dumbfounded for several moments while he swung an ax, cutting up the fallen tree alongside his brother, Gil. The muscles in his strong back had flexed with each movement. His biceps bunched and knotted. His hands were big, lean, his strength undeniable.
“Ariel? You didn’t faint on me, did you?”
Taking a breath, she opened her eyes and locked gazes with him. He had one hand on her thigh, holding the ice pack there, the other gently touching her chin. The breath sighed out of her. “I want you so much.”
He lurched back as if she’d kicked him, jerking to his feet in a rush. “You look besotted, damn it. Knock it off.”
She couldn’t reply, could only stare at him with all the love and hunger she felt plain in her eyes. Please, she silently pleaded, and got a wary frown from him in return.
“Here’s a new rule. You have to be quiet while I finish this up. Understand?”
She stared.
“Answer me, damn it.”
“Yes, all right.”
He moved back to her cautiously. “Give me your elbow.”
This time she bit her lip when he swabbed the remaining cuts and scrapes. She didn’t want to be a wimp in front of him. She didn’t want him to feel sorry for her.
He finished off by applying ointment and some bandages. Then he backed up. “All done. Now.”
“Now what?”
“About this…wanting me business.”
There was nothing she could do but wait and see what he had to say.
Sam floundered, but finally bit out, “Wanna tell me why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you want me?”
Amazingly enough, when she came to her feet Sam backed up. Silly man. “Why wouldn’t any woman want you?”
“Ariel…”
She took two steps toward him. He took one more back, then planted his feet and refused to budge.
“You’re smart and dedicated and heroic and…” She shrugged, inching closer, more determined than she’d ever been about anything in her life. “You really are so damned sexy.”
She’d gotten close enough to touch him. Lifting one hand, she reached for his shoulder.
He snagged her wrist, his warm, strong fingers wrapping around the delicate bones. “Don’t curse. You’re too young for that.”
Enough was enough. She’d warned him, but he persisted in throwing her age in her face. With a smile of warning, she grabbed his neck with her free hand and went on tiptoe to reach his mouth.
“Ariel—” He tried to lean back, to turn his face away. But she’d backed him to the counter and there wasn’t much room for him to maneuver. She knew he didn’t want to hurt her and that gave her an advantage in their wrestling match.
Her mouth landed on his throat first and she licked the salty taste of his skin, groaned, and bit his chin.
“Goddammit…” He sounded very uncertain, pained, and he grabbed her other wrist. “You little—”
Her mouth smashed up against his. They both froze, but only for a second. Slowly, deliciously, with a purr of excitement, Ariel licked his lips. Her heart threatened to break through her ribs, it drummed so madly.
He brought her arms behind her back, but that only pressed her breasts to his chest, and since her dress hung open, she could feel his heartbeat, as wild as hers. She caught his bottom lip in her teeth and nibbled, all the while breathing hard with excitement, expectation.
And then he exploded. From one second to the next he’d been held immobile by her brazenness. But it wasn’t in Sam’s nature to be docile, to let anyone else take the lead.
Ariel found herself plastered against him from groin to breasts while his mouth opened over hers in ravenous demand. His tongue thrust in and he groaned low in his throat, the vibrating sound thrilling her.
He slanted his head and drew her even closer, still holding her hands behind her, straining her shoulders, almost lifting her off her feet. Her head was pressed back, leaving her mouth open and vulnerable to his. His whiskers scratched her chin, his erection pressed into her soft belly, and he tasted so good she didn’t ever want him to stop.
But he did. She was limp in his arms, merely accepting the onslaught of his kiss, unable to do anything else with the controlling way he held her. With a visible effort, he raised his head a mere inch and stared down at her. An incandescent hunger burned so brightly in his eyes, it almost frightened her.
He looked at her mouth, breathed hard for a moment, then growled low in warning, “You shouldn’t push me, little girl.”
The way he said that, it wasn’t an insult so much as an endearment. Getting enough breath to speak wasn’t easy. “You…You kept ignoring me.”
His hands tightened on her wrists, making her wince. He immediately loosened his hold, but didn’t release her. Every muscle in his big body was bunched. His eyes were bright, his cheekbones flushed, his mouth hard. “You were my baby brother’s girlfriend.”
“No, just a friend,” she gently reminded him.
“He still cares about you.”
“Not anymore. He’s seeing someone else.”
“You’re only twenty-four-fucking-years old.”
He sounded desperate, giving her hope. “I’m a grown woman, Sam. I know what I want. And I want you.”
His head dropped forward, almost touching her shoulder. She could feel his angry, hot breath against her throat, sending chills down her spine, building her sexual excitement to a fever pitch.
Necessary arguments crowded her brain. She had to convince him. “Sam? Look at it this way. It’s only sex, and you’re known for wanting sex.”
His head jerked up. “What the hell does that mean?”
“You have a reputation.”
“Several actually.” His eyes narrowed. “Which reputation are we talking about?”
She wanted to shrug, to act cavalier. It was well beyond her. “For mind-blowing sex.”
For three heartbeats he didn’t move; then he gave a rough guffaw. “I hate to break it to you babe, but I only give run-of-the-mill sex.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
“No? Who you been talking to? Besides me?”
That made her smile. Sam was prone to bragging. She’d heard him once when she’d come to visit Pete. He and his two brothers were in the backyard and didn’t hear her approach. Sam and Gil had been teasing Pete, accusing him of being a virgin, which Pete vehemently denied with a red face. Gil offered advice,