His Strings to Pull by Cathryn Fox Read Free Book Online Page A

collecting my payment.”
    His mouth claimed hers.
    Instinct demanded she fight him—push him away, but her mind reasoned that she could fight him another way. By not responding. By not giving him any indication that she still harbored any emotion except disdain to him.
    But his kiss wasn’t hard—wasn’t aggressive. It was slow and sensual. Gentle even.
    His mouth brushed over hers in a soft caress, again and again, before his tongue teased the seam of her pressed lips.
    His shocking change of tactic tore down any walls she’d maneuvered between them. Emotions she’d thought long dormant stirred deep within her. Physical needs she hadn’t realized she could experience anymore came to the surface.
    The combination of the two was a bit terrifying.
    She wasn’t a twenty-eight-year-old woman anymore, but a seventeen-year-old with a stomach full of butterflies again.
    The urge to part her lips, to kiss him back struck her with a ferocity that made her lightheaded.
    She slid her hands up his chest, clinging to his shirt to keep herself upright. Though there was no real danger of falling, not with the way he’d backed her up against the door.
    Ian lifted his head a tiny bit. “You always were so damn sweet. Open your mouth for me, Sarah. I’ve got to taste you.”
    She shook her head.
    “Do you want me to stop?”
    Again, she shook her head, couldn’t manage any reply except a small whimper. He used it. Once more his mouth took hers and his tongue slid past her parted lips. The moment his tongue touched hers the fight left her.
    Just one more time, she bargained with herself. One more time to remember how good they’d once been.
    Clinging to him now, she met the teasing flicks of his tongue with hesitant strokes of her own. Tasting him.
    Heat and need spread through her blood like wildfire. Catching and crackling, making every part of her come to life in a way that hadn’t been matched in eleven years.
    Pleasure exploded through her when he slid a large palm past her scarf and into the V neckline of her dress. The sensation of his calloused hand cupping her breast had her nipple hardening instantly.
    His growl of appreciation rumbled between them as he squeezed her flesh. He seemed to be eager to rediscover her shape and texture. His hand squeezed and lifted her breast, strong fingers swept in to pinch her nipple.
    Sparks lit up in her head and she cried out, her knees most definitely buckling now.
    So wrong. She knew it deep in her heart. This was so very wrong. It was nothing but lust at its deadliest. And because it had been so long since she’d experienced passion, she couldn’t bring herself to push him away. Even with the reminder banging down her conscience at just how much was at stake. At how horribly he’d hurt her before.
    An ache grew between her legs and she could feel her flesh slicken. The need made her want to do all kinds of crazy things. Hike up her dress and just jump him. Wrap her legs around his waist—ignore the consequences—and just let her hormones rule her mind.
    Right now she wasn’t a stressed-out mom wondering how she was going to pay her rent and the lawyer. She was a woman who had needs that had been far too long ignored.
    That’s the only reason you’re feeling like this. The voice of reason managed to infiltrate her cloud of lust, but it didn’t make her pull away.
    When Ian’s mouth lifted from hers, she nearly pulled it back down, but then she realized where it was headed and moaned low in her throat.
    He tugged the stretchy fabric of her dress to the side and pulled the breast he’d been exploring free from her bra. His head swooped down, just before she felt the wet heat of his mouth close over her nipple.
    A cry ripped from her throat and she arched into him, driving her fingers blindly into his hair.
    So good.
    Ian grabbed her waist with one hand, pulling her closer to him. Then she felt the nudge of his knee between her legs as he moved his other hand beneath her