Hot as Sin (Hot Shots: Men of Fire #2)(35)
Author: Bella Andre

Her entire body shuddered into a powerful orgasm and Dianna felt like she had bypassed death and gone straight to heaven.

In the past decade, she hadn’t forgotten how potent Sam’s touch was. Forgetting something so wonderful would have been impossible.

But this all-encompassing pleasure was a shock to her system, nonetheless.

If she could, she’d stay like this forever, but they were far from done, and she wanted to tear his pants off and take him deep inside.

She sank to her knees in front of him and cupped his face in her hands as she leaned in to kiss him. Their tongues mated, a salty-sweet dance that was unbearably exciting. Dying to relearn his beautiful body, the hard planes of muscle and the deep indentations in between, she ran her hands over his damp shirt, awed by his broad shoulders, his hard chest, his impressive abdominal muscles.

“Dianna,” he said, the low rumble of his voice making her want him more than ever. “I’ve never had a problem controlling myself. Only with you.”

It was the same for her and all she wanted was to give him the same pleasure he’d given her. But even as she ripped at the buttons on his shirt, she knew loving him was as much for herself as it was for him.

At last, the buttons came undone and she stilled as she took in his magnificent bare chest. Tanned, with only the lightest sprinkling of hair between his pectoral muscles.

“You’re so beautiful,” she murmured. “I’ve dreamed of this a hundred times. Tell me this isn’t a dream.”

“It couldn’t be more real,” he said before threading his fingers through her hair and kissing her.

She was blown away by the passion and desire that radiated from his mouth and hands and body. Second by second he was sweeping her farther and farther downriver, heading straight for a waterfall, and even though she knew there was no way to be prepared for the drop, she didn’t care.

All that mattered was the way she felt right here, right now, in Sam’s arms.

When the kiss finally ended, she lay her cheek on his chest and closed her eyes to listen to the rapid drumbeat of his heart. His arms were wonderfully strong around her as he held her close and it was only the insistent throbbing between her thighs that made her shift away from his heat so that she could kiss his chest.

He groaned with pleasure when she found his nipple with her tongue. It had always driven him crazy when she circled it, then flicked it lightly. His excitement fed hers and she fumbled for the waistband of his jeans. The edge of her palm brushed against his erection and even with two layers of fabric between his shaft and her hand, her need was so intense that she couldn’t stop herself from palming the long, thick length through his clothes.

He twitched once, then twice against her palm, and she was reaching for his zipper to set him loose, when his hand came over hers and squeezed.

Wait. Something was wrong. Something had changed.

It took longer than it should have for her brain to send out the alert that this wasn’t a warm, loving touch; it was a warning.

“We can’t do this, Dianna.”

Alarm shot through her, fast and furious, embarrassment close on its heels. With fumbling hands, she pushed away from him and fixed her pants, her bra, her shirt.

Despite his previous warnings about staying away from their past, despite her own strong misgivings, he’d seemed to want her as much as she wanted him. And on the heels of her thoughts about second chances, she’d jumped at the chance to be intimate with him.

Why hadn’t she stopped herself? Wasn’t she older? Wiser?

Shouldn’t she have known better than to dance this close to the scalding flames?

But just as she was trying to close the lid on her feelings for Sam, forever this time, she heard it again, a voice in her head saying, You fought for your sister. You fought for your career. Maybe this time you should fight for Sam.

A combination of feeling sorry for her and being scared shitless by almost losing her in the river had made him act stupidly. He’d been so glad she was alive, he’d given in to the urge to see if she tasted as good now as she always had.

Only to find out that she was so much sweeter than any of his memories.

Touching her, kissing her, hearing her cry out in ecstasy had taken Sam straight to the edge, even though his clothes were still on and he’d only gotten to third base. But then, when she turned the tables and started kissing him, it had been nearly impossible for him to stop, to take a frickin’ breath and remember why making love to Dianna was a terrible idea.

From deep in his subconscious, Connor’s voice rose up and nailed him. “She’s bad for you, man. And you were royally f**ked-up after she left. I don’t want to see you like that again.”

Jesus, how could he have forgotten? At this rate, he’d end up with far more than he’d bargained for when he’d agreed to help find her sister. Much more than some incredibly hot sex against a rock.

He’d end up back in love with her.

And then when she left him to go back to her glossy, celebrity-soaked world, he’d be staring straight into a black hole again.

Getting kicked in the heart once in a lifetime was enough for him, thanks.

The sick feeling in the pit of his gut grew as she scrambled away from him. He forced himself to stand up and take a step away from her, even though he was desperate to make her come again.

“I screwed up, Dianna.” Each repentant word was harder to spit out than the last. “I lost control and acted stupid.”

A heavy silence hung between them as she stared at him with unblinking green eyes, not saying anything.

“Fortunately, we’re almost to the end of the river,” he said, hoping that getting back on task would permanently halt this twisted game they were playing. “If all goes well, we might be able to get to the commune by tonight.”

Hurt and confusion flashed across her face at his emotionless, businesslike words. He was back to playing ass**le again. Making her come and then shutting down the second her orgasm was over.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t see any other way to proceed.

Needing to break out of her sexual force field, he turned around and strode into the water to retrieve the raft. Minutes later, he was disconcerted to note that her eyes remained glued to him as he dragged it through the cold water and up onto the shore.

“Maybe it wasn’t a mistake, Sam.”

She paused, licked her lips, giving him just enough time to run through everything that had happened against the rock, all the places he’d kissed and touched.

“Maybe what happened was inevitable. Maybe you and I are inevitable.”