Page 69 of Shadow Burn

She arched against him. “So you’ve just hacked me,” she said in a teasing tone.

His fingers grazed over her collarbone. He needed to get her out of her blouse. “Not to overwrite anything,” he murmured in her ear. “Just to see what I need to do to make that tight control you have on everything unspool for me.”

She shivered under his touch, her lids heavy as she met his gaze. “Sounds like a challenge.”

He grinned. “Oh, it is.” He slid a hand to the nape of her neck and cradled the back of her head, forcing her to look at him. “So tell me, Katherine. What do I have to do to make you let go and come for me?”

Her breath hitched. She blinked. He thought for a second that she was reaching for her professional demeanor again. That she was about to tell him to take his hands off her so she could flee to her room.

But then the corners of her mouth turned up, and she raked her teeth over her bottom lip. “What kind of challenge would it be if I handed you the owner’s manual? If you like a challenge, Jasper, then take my clothes off, and figure it out on your own.”

He crushed his mouth against hers, stealing her breath and making her cling to him. “Challenge accepted,” he said, and lifted her off the vanity and carried her to his bed.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Katherine’s blood pumped hard in her ears, her body tingling with anticipation as Jasper set her on the edge of his bed and said, “Let’s get you out of those clothes.”

First, he knelt and removed her boots, tossing them aside. His fingers brushed over her ankles and under her pant legs to skim up her calves. When he lifted his gaze to hers, she saw the need in his eyes, the desire, and another tremor ran through her.

He was gorgeous, all lean muscle and intensity. She touched his broad shoulders, traced a line down the center of his chest, her gaze lowering to his taut abs and the thin trail of dark hair that disappeared under his waistband. She hated the bandage that marred his biceps.

Her mind cataloged all of him, every curve, every indentation, every breath. What was it going to be like to turn over control of her body to him? To let those deft fingers, his soft lips, and other parts of him undo her in the most delicious way?

Being the target of a killer had rearranged something inside her. Peeled away layers she hadn’t even realized she’d covered herself with. Somehow, someway, Jasper had seen her carefully guarded heart buried underneath procedures and protocols and found it appealing.

He ran his hands over her thighs, up her waist, and settling on her ribs. Pulling her to her feet, he undid the button at her waist and peeled the slacks down her legs. His hands came back up, fingers skimming over her thighs, naked now.

She was curvy, always had been, but her job sitting at a desk every day had made it worse. He tried to catch her eye, but she couldn’t look him in the face, heat warming her cheeks. Gripping his hands, she pulled him up and away from what she considered her worst asset. She kissed him and hoped it was enough of a distraction that he wouldn’t look at her hips again.

He returned the kiss but then took her chin and forced her to look at him. “You’re beautiful,” he said, as if reading her mind. “Every part of you.”

His fingers slid to her underwear—a pair he’d retrieved for her at the rental. He skimmed the waistband, then his fingers hooked in it and slowly drew the garment down her legs.

He stepped back slightly and studied her. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and tried not to hop into the bed and cover herself.

He crouched again, raising one foot and then the other to drag the pants and underwear aside. He caressed her calves, her thighs, and landed once more on her hips as he rose again to look her in the eye. “The things I’m going to do to you,” he murmured against her lips as he pulled her tight against him.

Her breath came out shakily. “I expect everything in the Premium Package.”

He chuckled, and then undid the buttons of her blouse. It joined the rest of her clothes on the floor.

His gaze landed on her full breasts, the tops mounded over the fabric of her bra. He skimmed his fingers over each one, then removed the bra, too.

His eyes feasted on her, his hands cupping her breasts and the room spun. She let out a low moan. She stood before him, naked and wanting. The world outside the room didn’t exist, only him.

Over the next few minutes, he learned her body, his callused fingers rough and yet tender as he explored her ribs, her stomach, her inner thighs. He turned her around and traced her spine, sending goosebumps over her skin. He released her bun and ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it aside so he could kiss the back of her nape.

By the time he shed his own pants and pushed her down on the bed, she was too far gone to worry about her hips or any kind of protocol concerning their professional relationship. She could barely remember her name.

His lips teased her nipples, his tongue skimmed her stomach. She arched into him when his fingers found the sensitive bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs. “Jasper,” she whispered.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured against her skin. “We’re just getting started. Let yourself enjoy the ride.”

What a ride it was. He brought her to climax with his hand first, his name a cry on her lips. Just as that began to subside, he took his mouth to her, and she went over the edge again. She’d never experienced anything like it.

When she surfaced from the second orgasm, he was holding her close, stroking her arm. She slowly opened her eyes and found him smiling at her.

“What?” she muttered, barely able to form the word.