Silk Confessions by Joanne Rock Page B

anticipation of whatever might come next.
    His lips brushed hers in a whisper-light caress, just enough to whet her appetite for more. She caught the scent of peppermint tea on his breath and spicy after shave on his jaw, her senses focusing solely on Wes until the rest of the room around her disappeared. She could only taste this moment, this man.
    Sliding her hands up his shoulders, she absorbed the feel of him the way she would test a new batch of clay. Except Wes was already perfectly formed and sharply defined, chiseled by more skilled fingers than her own. She eased her way up his corded neck, molding her hands about his strong jaw until she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.
    He was beautiful. Her hands recognized the physical appeal of his cleanly defined muscles, savoring the supple skin over hard, rippled strength. But the delights for her hands couldn’t come close to the feast for her mouth. His kiss teased and invited, daring her to give more of herself to him.
    She hoped she knew better, because the languid strokes of his tongue tempted her to fall right into him. Breathe him in. Experience firsthand the most amazing sculpture imaginable.
    She skimmed her fingers into his dark hair, winding them around his neck. He growled deep in his throat, encouraging her.
    Until he kept on growling.
    Arching back, she broke their kiss. Only to discover Eloise doing the growling a scant foot away, her ruff raised in aggressive warning as she snarled softly at Wes.
    “No, Eloise,” Tempest scolded her, using the stern voice the doggie-school instructor had taught her. “Go lie down.”
    Eloise cocked her head first to one side and then the other—clearly confused.
    “She thinks I was devouring you,” Wes supplied, keeping still until the dog trotted off to her open kennel where Tempest kept her blanket and a few toys.
    “She’s my voice of reason.” Tempest knew she should listen to the dog instead of her sex-deprived libido, but Wes didn’t make it easy. “And I would think she did you a favor.”
    “By making sure I didn’t get past first base?” His softened tones brought to mind pillow talk and break fast in bed. “How do you figure?”
    She shut out the sound of that seductive voice in an effort to keep her distance. Maintain space. Remember that he suspected a business she’d brought on board at Boucher.
    “Kissing me only complicates things for you. For all you know, I’m selling my fellow sisters on the street for a few quick bucks.” Growing more indignant by themoment, she straightened in her chair, easing away from him. Where was his sense of honor, for crying out loud?
    Wes rolled his eyes. “Whoever is behind this isn’t selling anyone on the street. If my informant is right, anything connected to MatingGame would be very high-end.”
    “Earth to Wes—that’s all the more reason you should suspect me. My whole lifestyle is very high-end.” She looked around her unassuming little studio with a thirteen-inch TV and a futon couch she’d dressed up with extra pillows. “Okay, so maybe I don’t look too sophisticated around here, but you know perfectly well I come from a ridiculously privileged family.”
    “Who’s the cop here anyway? Will you trust me to do my job? I’ve got great instincts about who to suspect, and frankly, you seem a little too unfamiliar with three somes to run a call-girl operation.” He tipped back in his chair, drumming his hands on his chest. “Besides, when it comes right down to it, I’m not investigating MatingGame, per se . I’m only interested in how it relates to my murder case.”
    “So I should feel fine about you kissing me because you would never have to be the one to bust me?”
    “You should feel fine about kissing me because I make you feel damn good.”
    Was she that transparent? She suppressed the urge to run her finger over her lips that still tingled from his kiss. “Do you always say what you think?”
    “Hell no. I’ve been a