MemoriesofParadise by Tianna Xander Page B

could really come to that? Would you change your mind?”
    “Hell no, lady.” He grasped her arm and turned her to face him. “If you were really in danger, it would only cement my resolve to keep you safe.” He stared down into her eyes, his gaze shifting to her full lips.
    He stood mesmerized by her mouth. He wanted nothing more than to lean down and capture it with his own. It nearly made him groan to watch her small, pink tongue dart out and swipe across her bottom lip. It was a nervous habit she had that nearly drove him mad with want.
    His gut clenched and his heart sped up. Breathing seemed near impossible as he stared down at her upturned face. He stood looking at her for what seemed an eternity before he realized she was inviting him to kiss her.
    Grasping her other arm, he pulled her against him, his head dipping closer and closer, moving slowly so that she could push him away if he’d overstepped his bounds.
    Lightning struck when his lips slanted over hers. He pulled her closer, wrapped his arms around her, and deepened their kiss with a stroke of his tongue. Desire the likes of which he’d never felt before swept over him as he pressed her against his hard length.
    Reaching up, Riana wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body closer. He could feel her mound pressing tight against his—
    “Oh, gross! Get your own room, will ya?”
    The sound of Holly’s voice was like a dash of ice water thrown over them. Guiltily, they both jumped apart. Clay looked everywhere but at Holly. Riana covered her face with her hands and whispered, most likely to herself.
    “What are you doing? You’re acting like some sort of…of hussy or something. You can’t start kissing men you’ve just met. What will that teach your daughter?
    Holly slid off the bed and rolled her eyes. “Geeze, Mom. I know you’ve been lonely, but I don’t think I’m supposed to catch you making out with one of the hot guys that rescued us.” She grinned. “If you’re going to do something like that, do it in your room, not mine.”
    Riana groaned into her hands. It made Clay want to smile. He could see her blush through her fingers.
    Not many women blushed anymore. In any case, the ones he knew didn’t. What had happened to society through the years that made it so most women lost that wonderful ability?
    He grasped Riana’s elbow and tugged. “Come on. I think we’ve scarred your daughter enough for one night. Besides, you should get back in bed. The doc said you needed all the rest you could get over the next few days.”

Chapter Twelve
    Riana nearly groaned again. What was wrong with her? She didn’t kiss men she didn’t know. Hell, she didn’t even realize she was going to kiss Clay until he had her pressed against him, his steel-hard erection digging into her stomach.
    One thing was certain. She could obviously still turn a man on. Riana had often worried whether or not she still held the capability after the last sixteen years with no dates. What man wanted a ready-made family?
    She looked up at Clay and wondered if he was interested in her as a woman or just as an easy piece of ass. After all, she was a single mom. Most men thought women who had children out of wedlock were nymphomaniacs, and they didn’t think much better of divorced women, either.
    What had she been thinking, letting him kiss her like that—and in front of her daughter, to boot? Riana let him pull her from the room, closing the door behind her.
    He leaned down and pressed a quick kiss on her lips.
    Riana lifted trembling fingers to her tingling lips and looked up at Clay. “We can’t do that again.”
    “Why not?” When he stepped forward, Riana stepped back.
    “Because I don’t know you. We just met.”
    “What if I told you that I feel as though I’ve known you forever?”
    “I would tell you that is an old line.” She didn’t know why she was so sure it was old. She didn’t remember dating, but surely she had if she’d gotten