She had to get a handle on this before it got out of control. It was about proving a point and that was it. She had to remember to keep her emotions out of the mix while forcing him to acknowledge his. Tall order.
Perhaps she was going about this all wrong. While getting him into her bed had been great, mind-blowing really, maybe she needed to try a new tact. Could it be as simple as getting the man to talk to her? Taking another careful sip, she laughed at herself. Nothing was ever simple when it came to Falon Wolfe.
***
Falon ran a hand over his face as he held his phone to his ear. Listening to his grandfather drone on about how glad he was Falon was helping out such an old friend and informing him he would be in the city next week and would like to get together set his teeth on edge. But at least he wasn’t apologizing, yet.
The old man had called just as he had decided to go charging back to Sarah’s place and finish what she started in the shower. In a way, he was grateful because he saved him from making what was probably a big mistake.
“Look, Falon.” His grandfather’s voice took on a gruffer tone causing his Italian accent to thicken. “I know you’ve said that you don’t want to hear this. And you would think an old man would have learned by now but I want you to know how terribly sorry I am. For everything.”
“I can’t do this right now.” Falon sighed. When would the man stop? “I’ll see you in a week.”
Disconnecting the call he was filled with an energy that felt too familiar, too raw. Too uncontrolled. He had to get out.
He found himself in his car speeding across town in the direction of one red-haired temptation he should stay far, far away from. She made him feel and that was dangerous.
Knocking on her door he could have sworn he heard muttered cursing before the panel was thrown open.
“Wha—?”
“Please tell me that’s coffee I smell.” He interrupted her and brushed past into the house. Leaving her to stand with one hand holding the door and the other picking up her retort from the floor.
The door slammed behind him as he made himself at home in her kitchen searching for a mug.
“To your left.” Sarah’s voice guided him.
Opening the correct cupboard, he pulled down a pewter mug and filled it to the brim. Turning, he took his first real look at her. She stood leaning in the doorway, arms pulling her ratty robe protectively around her body. She looked nervous and homey and he never wanted her more.
Something in his face must have tipped her off because she straightened from her feigned relaxed position.
“What brings you here?” she asked, licking those lush lips that were just his a matter of hours ago. He couldn’t have stopped himself from stepping in her direction if she tried.
“Come here.” His voice was low and harsh and he did nothing to disguise what he wanted.
***
Sarah stood frozen for a moment stuck in the heat of his command. When she opened the door to find Falon on her steps, she wanted to slam it in his face. She couldn’t deal with him right now. Not with so much still up in the air. But here he was, stalking her across her kitchen looking like a hungry jungle cat ready to pounce.
“What are you doing, Falon?” she managed to squeak out.
“I would think that’s obvious.” He reached for her and she was under no illusion that he didn’t allow her to dodge it. He was enjoying the chase. Her breath hitched when she realized it was working for her too.
“Seriously, Falon, what’s going on?” she asked when she had the safety of the table between them. When he left last night, he had been so cool. Looking at him across the scratched surface of the table she could see something burning behind his eyes that looked nothing like the fires of lust she had been expecting.
“What happened?”
He stopped his advance around the table and searched her face.
“This was a mistake,” he ground out.
“Was it?” She arched a brow. This was as good a time as any to test her new theory. “You came here for a reason. Talk to me.”
He signed and for a moment she thought she had gotten through to him. She should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. It had taken years to build his walls and when he moved into her personal space, running his hands through her hair, Sarah admitted she should have known it would take more than a simple request to get him to talk.
“There are so many more … interesting things … we could be doing.” He punctuated his statement with seductive kisses that just grazed the corners of her mouth. When he pulled back, the swirling fire she had seen when he arrived was replaced with the overpowering cool burn of his intentions. Intentions her shameless body remembered all too well and wasn’t even putting up the pretenses of fighting.
“What do you say?” He was millimeters from her lips. So close he brushed them, forming each word and Sarah felt herself begin to melt into a girl puddle at his feet. He turned off all her inhibitions and it felt so good to let go she didn’t fight when he claimed her mouth in a kiss she could feel down to her toes.
Pulling back from the kiss he released the tie of her robe. “As charming as this is.” He slid the garment over her shoulders. “I think I prefer seeing you with a little less on.”
Arrogant man. She was going to tell him what she thought of his misogyny as soon as he stopped doing those delicious things to her breast. Holy Hannah Handbasket but the man had talented fingers.
When he loosened the buttons of her pajama top and pushed the material out of his way, she figured they would get around to that talk later. Right now, she needed to feel more of his skin on her, in her.
Pushing her body into his, she made her demands known. That’s what he reduced her to, a bundled of nerves demanding he appease them any way he wanted. How could one man turn her into such a base creature?
As if sensing the danger in her urgency he gentled both the kiss and his caresses, leaving her panting, but not teetering on the sharp edge of release. Sarah felt her hands ball into fists at her sides. Damn the man and his control.
“Don’t stop now,” she breathed against his lips.
Taking a small satisfaction at the tremor that worked its way through his body as she lightly ran her hand over his chest. For whatever reason, he wasn’t as impenetrable today. Sensing an opening, she moved in. She pulled his mouth down to hers and forced all her will into the kiss. She wanted him to be as lost in her as she was in him.
Falon allowed her to deepen the kiss and she reveled in the play of muscles beneath her hands as she explored his back. She needed to feel more than the slide of fabric over skin. When her hands made contact with the skin beneath the soft cotton of his shirt, she felt the energy shift. She had reached the end of the tight leash of his control and now he was reeling her back in.
Taking control of the kiss and dominating her senses, he backed her up until her thighs made contact with the table. He took a firm hold of the nape of her neck and bent her over its surface. With his other hand, he spread the lapels of her pajama top, working his talented mouth over her heated skin.
He lifted her so she was sprawled out on the table before him. Like a feast for his taking, she burned for him. When he pulled her hands together over her head, her breath hitched as she relinquished control to him. She couldn’t hold out against the onslaught of sensation he was flooding her with.
Lying there, chest bared to his ministrations, Sarah released a groan she felt building in her toes. He systematically paid homage to her breasts. Bringing her a sliver away from release from just the sensation of his lips, tongue, and teeth on the sensitive puckered skin. Every movement he made was for the sole purpose to bring her body to screaming pleasure. By the time he worked his way to the elastic band of her bottoms she thought she would explode if he didn’t give her some release.