A loud thump against the French door shook it, the handle moving up and down as if someone was on the other side, trying to force it open. Izzy leapt from the bed and ran down the hall to Flynn’s room.
“Flynn,” she cried as he came walking out of what she assumed was his bathroom. “I think there’s someone on my patio!”
Wordlessly, he grabbed his gun and phone from the nightstand and ushered her into the bathroom. Before handing her the phone he pulled a number up on it. Handing her the phone, he said, “Lock the door. If I’m not back in two minutes, call this number.” He turned without waiting for a reply and headed out into the hall.
Izzy shut the door and locked it, then counted down the seconds.
With five seconds to spare, Flynn called to her. “It’s me, Isa, open the door.”
Relieved, she unlocked the door and stood shaking, unable to move. She wasn’t cut out for this stuff. “What was it?”
“Branch broke from the big eucalyptus out back and landed on the door, jamming the handle from the outside.” He caught her chin in his hand and notched it up to look at her. “If anything you’re safer now than ever. No one is getting into your room via the balcony.”
Still shaky, she nodded, not trusting her voice. She wanted to cry. Like a little girl. If she had a blankie and a stuffed toy, she’d want them, too.
“Do you want some water or something?” he asked.
Shaking her head no, she dropped her gaze. “No thank you. I’m just going to go back to my room. Sorry for disturbing you.”
As she moved past him, he reached out and gently took her arm, pulling her back toward him. “You didn’t disturb me.”
“Okay.” She didn’t know what to say.
“Come on, I’ll walk you back to your room.”
When he moved past her, Izzy stood rooted to the floor. Suddenly, she didn’t want to go back to her room.
Flynn set his gun down on the nightstand and continued toward the door. He stopped at his doorway and turned around to face her when he realized she wasn’t following him. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid,” she blurted.
His features tightened, but he nodded and approached her. “How about if you sleep in here tonight?” he quietly asked her.
“In your bed?”
“Yes.”
“Where will you sleep?”
“I’d like to sleep in my bed, too.”
“But—”
“Look, Isa, I’m not an animal. I can keep my hands to myself if you promise to keep yours to yourself.” His eyes twinkled playfully. Problem was she didn’t like either one of those scenarios.
“Okay.”
He walked her to the right side of his king-sized bed and pulled the covers down for her. She was wearing a pair of pink thong panties and a white midriff T-shirt. Flynn looked up at the ceiling when she pulled her legs up and in, then he covered her up to her chin.
Her predicament wasn’t much better. He was bare-chested, wearing a pair of light gray drawstring pajama bottoms. The thick outline of his penis clearly visible. He turned the lamp off and slid into the bed. A soft glow from the outside lights illuminated the shadows. The only sound other than their breathing was the storm raging outside. It didn’t come close to the one raging in her lower extremities. If there were no consequences, Izzy would slide over and take a ride on Flynn’s wild side.
As she lay staring at the ceiling, Izzy’s heart thudded wildly against her chest. Blood pumped through her veins. Her nipples tightened. “If we had sex tonight what would happen tomorrow?” she asked.
“We’d probably want to do it again.”
“That’s what I thought.”
Long minutes passed. Rain hit the windows like bullets. The wind howled furiously. The tempest inside of her whipped itself into a frenzy. Squeezing her eyes shut, Izzy fought the battle between her body, heart, and brain. She was not her mother, she told herself. Sex with her had strings. Without them, she would end up in an emotional free fall.
“So we’re not having sex?” Flynn asked.
Izzy punched him.
“So that’s a no?”
Angry, she rolled over facing him. “Why do you bait me like that?”
“Me bait you? I was minding my own business when you asked me what would happen if we had sex tonight.”
“Okay, you’ve got me there.”
He smiled, his white teeth glowing in the dimness of the room. “It’s not where I’d like to have you.”
Izzy stepped over her self-imposed line. Knowingly. Willingly. In a court of law she could not claim coercion. “Tell me where you’d like to have me?”
He scooted toward her. Barely a foot separated them now. “Are you sure?”
Swallowing hard, she nodded.
“On one condition,” Flynn said.
“What’s that?”
“You take off your panties and shirt.”
“Okay,” she whispered. The sharp intake of his breath when she agreed, stirred her blood. Arching, Izzy pulled the shirt over her head. Her nipples were already stiffly aroused. Turning to face him, she caught her breath at the hunger in his blazing eyes.
“You’re fucking gorgeous.”
Warmth spread through her at his praise. When she lifted her bottom to slide her panties off, she watched his jaw tighten. Laughing, she sling-shotted them across the room.
Flynn’s gaze slowly trailed up from her smooth mound to her belly, over her breasts to her lips, then her eyes. “You’re not getting those back.”
“I have more.”
Moving toward her, he lowered his head to her belly, not touching her but close enough that she felt his body heat. As he moved lower, Izzy parted her legs just enough to give him a peek. She was a wanton. So what?
“You smell good enough to eat, Isa,” he breathed, his hot breath teasing her mound.
She squirmed, the movement catching the edge of his chin. Izzy groaned at the contact. Flynn moved back and on his side, with his hand holding up his head, and said, “If I could touch you, Isa, first I’d slide my fingers through your hair. It’s so soft. I love the feel of it against my skin.”
Izzy slowly ran her fingers through her hair like he described. “Like this?”
“Yes. Then I’d trail my fingertips across your brows, then your eyelids, over your nose to those lush pink lips I could kiss all night long.”
She trailed her fingertip along her brows, then her eyelids to her nose and down along her parted lips. “Like that?”
“Just like that.”
“Then what would you do?”
“Lower my lips to yours, slide my tongue into you, taste you.”
Sliding her tongue along her bottom lip, then her top lip, parting her lips, begging for his. “Like that?” she breathed.
“Yes, just like that.”
“I like it when you kiss me,” she admitted.
“I like kissing you, too.”
Izzy’s eyes closed as she imagined Flynn moving over her and kissing her deeply.
“As I was kissing you, my hands would gently stroke your breasts, tugging at your nipples, making them hard. Making you arch and beg me to suck them.”
Izzy’s hands slid up to her breasts, cupping their heavy firmness. Her back lifted off the mattress when she pinched her nipples, eliciting a low moan from her and from Flynn. “Like this?”