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A plea she couldn’t ignore, she thought splaying her fingers against his war into his eyes, she let herself explore the solid es of his six-pack, the slight curve of his pecs His shoulders were broad, his arms defined

He was taller than her Stronger Masculine enough to make her feel fe hi in control

His jeans sat low on his hip She traced the line of his waistband, then slid her palms up his back

She stepped closer, pressing her front to his back She rested her cheek against his back and wrapped her ar her in place Then he reached for his belt and the button at the waistband of his jeans

She felt his jeans hit the floor He eased away enough for briefs to follow

Charlie wondered how on earth she’d come to have Clay Stryker and his million-dollar ass nad in her kitchen

She stood behind him, her arms at her side, not sure what to do or where to look He started to turn around but she yelped and grabbed his arm

“Don’t do that”

“Don’t do what?”

“Face me I’m not ready”

“It’s just a penis You’ve seen them before”

“The last one attacked me”

“Mine is more well mannered” His voice sounded as if he were amused

She glared at his back “Are you laughing? This isn’t funny”

“It’s a little funny”

She tightened her grip on his arms “I could leave a bruise, mister”

“You could, but you won’t You’re going to have to look at me eventually”

“Not necessarily We could do it in the dark”

“Where’s the fun in that? I like looking Did I ever tell you my ass was insured for five n”

The switch in topic had her stepping back and studying the body part in question While she hadn’t seen that ht, s

“Would you get any of thehad happened?”

“Nope It would go to the company”

She put her hand on his hip “You don’t have any tattoos”

“I don’t like needles Hug ain, Charlie I like how that feels”

She drew in a breath, thenher front to his back As she was fully clothed, she couldn’t feel his skin against hers, but knowing he was nad still see

She placed her hands on his belly, one above the other and tried not to think about as below To distract herself, she lightly kissed him on his left shoulder blade She liked how that felt, so she did it again

“Nice,” he murmured “You could take your shirt off Maybe your bra”

She considered the offer She would like to feel her brsts pressing against him “Okay, but you won’t turn around”

“Not even if it kills me”

She pulled off her T-shirt and quickly unfastened her bra She hung both over the back of the kitchen chair, then eased up behind hi her hands around his body Then she leaned close, her brsts nestling into his back

She returned to kissing him as she had before, only this ti her niles against his skin The friction aroused her,heat between her thighs She added little nips to the kisses, biting gently, then soothing that spot with her tongue

A shudder rippled through hi with fire but unable to resist, she eased her hands to his hps and slid partway down

When she stopped, Clay swore

“Charlie”

Her na her, his need gave her courage She ht hand toward his erection She’d barely uided her into place

She closed her hand around his penis He was big and thick, plenty hard She explored the length of hi back to the base Instead of fear or even apprehension, all she felt was desire Wantingand pushing into her, her breath caught in her throat

She straightened, prepared to turn hih notes of his ringtone cut through the silence

“Ignore it,” Clay told her

“Gladly”

She released him and stepped back, then put her hand on his araze on his face, deteret scared The passion in his eyes thrilled her He ht have taken her on as a project, but he was ahis work

He held out his arerly She raised her head, desperate for his kiss, his touch Her phone rang

Charlie drew in a breath “Sorab her phone

“Hello?”

“Charlie? It’s Shane Is Clay there?”

“He is Just a second”

She handed over the phone “Shane”

As Clay took the receiver, she retrieved her shirt and pulled it on, then she leaned against the counter and waited, hoping nothing really awful had happened There were only a handful of reasons Clay’s brother would have chased hiood

“You’re sure?” Clay asked, after listening for about a minute “It’s not a mistake?”

He swore under his breath “I’ll be right there” He pushed the end button on her phone and handed it to her

“Sorry There’s a probleo” As he spoke, he pulled up his briefs and then slipped on his jeans

She watched him dress, aware she was disappointed rather than relieved A win for her, although she was sorry Clay had to deal with so difficult

He gave her a quick kiss “I’ll call you,” he proed to the front door

Then he was gone

She stood alone in the kitchen, aware the “I’ll call you” statement hadn’t been part of their deal She assured herself it was an automatic response It wasn’t as if she and Clay were involved on an e at the phone and wondering when that call would occur