Emmett by Diana Palmer Page B

for each other, she thought dizzily.
    But her knees were going weak and her heartbeat went wild when she felt his teeth gently nip her lower lip. She heard his breathing change even as his head lifted a fraction of an inch.
    â€œOpen it,” he said roughly, his hand sliding into the thick hair at her nape. “Open your mouth…!”
    His lips crushed into hers with sudden violence, hunger making him less considerate of her needs and more aware of his own. With a rough groan, he made her lips part to admit his, and his tongue probed insistently between them.
    Shocked, her gasp gave him what he wanted—access to her mouth. He made a satisfied sound in his throat and penetrated the soft, warm darkness past her lips with slow thrusts.
    She gasped and clutched at him as waves of physical pleasure buffeted her untried body. Her mouth pushed upward, to meet his ardor headlong. And Alistair chose that instant to insist physically on being put down, his claws digging into her arm.
    She pulled away from Emmett, breathless and puzzled by the violence in his eyes. His hand let go of her hair. She looked away while she put the battle-scarred old tomcat on his feet and dazedly watched him leap into her chair and begin to bathe himself with magnificent abandon.
    She took steadying breaths and slowly looked atEmmett. He seemed as shaken as she felt. Her dark eyes stared up into his turbulent green ones with mute curiosity.
    The delight he felt was far too disturbing. He could get in over his head here with no trouble at all. The chemistry was there, just as he’d known it was somewhere in the back of his mind. He was sorry about that. Of all the women he’d ever wanted, Melody was the first one that he absolutely could not have.
    He forced himself to breathe normally, to pretend that it was natural for him to feel this aroused from a casual kiss. He had to force back the impulse to drag her against him.
    He laughed a little angrily. “I’m glad the cat turned up,” he said when he wanted to ask how she felt, if her body was throbbing as madly as his own was. He had to keep his head, talk normally. “Thanks for the hospitality.”
    â€œThat’s all right.” She could barely speak. She cleared her throat. “Thank you for finding my cat. He…he really is all I have.”
    His throat felt tight. He had to stop looking at her mouth. His broad shoulders squared. “Guy’s sorry for what he did. I’ll make sure he doesn’t do it again.”
    â€œYou won’t…be mean to him?”
    He cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t have a bullwhip.”
    She flushed. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
    He managed a short laugh. “I don’t beat my kids. Can’t you tell?”
    She smiled at him, her lips still tingling with pleasure from the hunger of his mouth.
    He smiled back. She looked delectable when she smiled. He wanted her. No! He couldn’t afford to think like that.
    â€œWell…goodbye.”
    â€œGoodbye,” he said. He hesitated for an instant. She made him want things he’d forgotten he needed. There had been women, but this one touched him in ways no one else ever had. He wanted to tell her that, but he didn’t dare. There was no future in a relationship between them. Surely she knew, too, that it had been an impulse, a mad moment that was better forgotten by both of them.
    With a tip of his broad-brimmed hat, he turned abruptly and left without looking back.
    Melody stroked her cat with a hand that trembled. “Oh, Alistair.” She sighed, cuddling him. “I’ve missed you so much!”
    Alistair butted his head against her and purred. She laughed, imagining that he was telling her he’d missed her, too. She murmured a small prayer of thanks and carried him into the bathroom. He’d have to stay there until it was time to go home. Perhaps she could find him part of a sandwich and a saucer of milk later