Lie to Me (Pearl Island Trilogy #4)(33)

His lips thinned, but he didn’t dispute her accusation.

“Admit it.” Setting her glass aside, she tickled his ribs with her fingertips.

He trapped her hand against his side. “Never.”

“I bet I could make you.” Coming up on her knees, she straddled his lap. Her free hand moved to his chest, where his muscles flexed beneath her palm.

His eyelids lowered. “I bet you could make me do a lot of things. But if you really want to play Vortal, I think you need to create your own character.”

“Can I be a pirate?”

“You can be anything you want to be.” He toyed with the ends of her long hair. “You’d only be a pirate in that world, though.”

“I don’t understand. Aren’t you always Captain Blade?”

“I’m always Blade, but in the medieval world, I’m Sir Blade. As a special ops soldier I’m Code Name Blade.”

She made a humming sound. “Would I like Sir Blade as much as Captain Blade?”

“If you like Blade, you’d like him in all his guises.” He smiled slowly. “Underneath the clothes, the character remains the same.”

“Under the clothes?” She trailed her fingers over his chest to the opening of his polo shirt. “From what I saw earlier, I think I’d like Blade very much.”

His gaze held hers for a moment before he cupped the back of her head and brought her mouth down to his.

The first touch of his lips against hers sent a surge of pleasure through her. The kiss went from lips pressing to tongues tangling in a flash. His fingers dove into her hair as he plundered her mouth. Growing breathless, she tipped her head back, and he trailed kisses down her neck.

Timid Luc vanished as his arms encircled her, easing her down onto the daybed. Excitement raced through her as he moved over her, kissing his way from her collarbone to the center of her chest. He stopped when he reached the barrier of her shirt, and she arched her back, encouraging him to keep going, take more, do more. When he didn’t seem to get the message, she moved to unbutton her shirt for him.

In a haze of heat, Luc lifted his head to watch, transfixed as the fabric parted to reveal a lacy peach bra. She didn’t stop. Moving so slowly he thought his heart would pound out of his chest, she hooked her index fingers into the cups of the bra and lowered them. Somewhere in the back of his head, a voice shouted for him to stop her. There was something he was supposed to say or do before he let this go beyond kissing. But then, her coral-peaked mounds appeared before him, and rational thought vanished. Lowering his head, he took one of her nipples into his mouth.

A moan of pleasure reverberated in her throat, and blood rushed to his groin.

He moved to her other breast, needing to taste more of her, touch more of her.

She arched into him, demanding more, but the voice in his head grew insistent. You haven’t told her about the necklace, you idiot!

Startled, he jerked upright and stared at her.

Her pleasure-dazed smile slowly faded. “Luc?” She frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry.” In a rush, he pushed off the daybed and stumbled to the porch rail. Keeping his back to the sight of her lying there, her breasts bared to the evening breeze, he gripped the rail and sucked air into his lungs.

“Luc?” she called from behind him, sounding confused.

He heard a rustle of movement and dared a glance over his shoulder. She sat on the cushion, holding her unbuttoned shirt closed. The candlelight revealed the confusion in her eyes. God, he wanted to slug himself. “I… I didn’t mean to get so carried away. Not until…”

“What?”

“Until…” He struggled for an explanation. He couldn’t blurt out that he needed to tell her why he’d come to Galveston before they took things further. Because then she’d start asking questions, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to answer them. He needed to leave, cool off, and come back tomorrow when he could think straight. He had to say something, though, to take that hurt look out of her eyes. “Until we know each other better. I don’t want to rush you. I—I should go.”

“Wait a second.” The hurt in her eyes faded into disbelief. She stood and dropped her hands to her hips, letting her shirt fall open. The bra had slipped back up to cover her breasts, but they looked no less enticing. “You think you’re rushing me? Or am I rushing you?”

The look she gave him made him feel like an idiot. What red-blooded straight guy stopped when he had a gorgeous woman underneath him, unbuttoning her shirt and offering up her breasts?

“I see,” she said, when he just stood there. “My mistake. I must have been confused by all those kisses. Sorry if I got the wrong impression.”

“What?” He gaped at her. “You think I’m not interested? Are you kidding?” He raked her body with his gaze. “You’re perfect. Beyond perfect. Which is why I don’t want to screw this up.”

The confusion on her face transformed into understanding. Then a challenging light sparked in her eyes as she walked toward him. She came to stand right in front of him, so close he could smell her floral shampoo and heated skin.

Shaking with the temptation to touch her, he pressed back against the rail. “I really think I need to go.”

Her chin lifted as she looked up into his eyes. A seductive smile curved her lips. “Is that what you want to do?”