Last Call by Sarah Ballance Read Free Book Online Page A

the pillow, and it smacked him hard in the
face.
    When it fell away, they both sat motionless
for several long seconds. Then he stood, his expression unreadable.
He was standing over her in two quick strides, his body heat
scorching.
    She absolutely, fully, and completely expected
he'd stop there. But he didn't.
    Before Rhys knew what hit her, he'd lowered
himself over her until she was caught between him and the
mattress.
    "Tell me to stop." His voice raked
over her, the challenge drawing goose bumps over every inch of her
skin. " Tell me to stop."
    She didn't.
    He searched her face, then his eyes fell to
her mouth. Dwelling there. "Damn it," he muttered. His lips touched
hers, gentle at first, then demanding more.
    She gave willingly.
    Rhys had never been so close to losing
control. She wanted to touch every part of him, but finally settled
for his nape, drawing him closer. The kisses continued, tumbling
from one to the next without boundaries. She tasted her name on his
lips and melted when he settled between her legs, his jeans rough
against her thighs where the robe had fallen away.
    Naked. She was naked under that open robe, and
had never been so infinitely hot in her life.
    They broke apart, both breathing
hard.
    Rhys drifted somewhere north of
heaven. What had they done? What had she done? He'd given her the chance
to stop it, and… and she didn't want it stopped — not even for the
sake of propriety. Suddenly she felt like a teenager again, staring
down her first kiss and the inevitable what next .
    She licked her lips, tasting him
there.
    Oh God.
    Nick traced her jaw with a curled finger. He
seemed to draw nearer as the walls closed in, his heat enveloping
her. "Rhys…"
    His thumb caught her lip, drawing it to the
side.
    Instinctively she clamped down.
    Smiling, he drew back his hand, then used it
to thread her hair, his expression something she'd never seen
before. Not on any man.
    Tingles shot to her extremities and
raced back again, pooling in her belly, hot and low. Not like this , she
pleaded with herself. Don't fall like
this . But she knew too late when she saw it, and when it
came to Nick she saw it in neon.
    The longing in his eyes captivated her. A grin
tugged his mouth askew. "I've wanted to do that forever," he
whispered.
    Her heart beamed, lighting her from the inside
out. "What took you so long?"
    He grinned and relinquished eye contact to
kiss her neck.
    Rhys closed her eyes and smiled at the
ceiling, delighting in the waves of pleasure speeding from every
inch of skin he touched. Her thighs clenched against his hips, the
pressure of his pelvis against hers exquisite. Everything forbidden
about him melted away. She ignored the warning signs, looked the
other way when common sense made a play for her attention. She even
forgot the pain…
    "Damn it." Nick pushed away from her. "This is
no flesh wound."
    Startled, she looked toward her shoulder and
saw only blood. A lot of it.
    He worked himself free of her legs. Standing,
he said, "You need first aid."
    Rhys didn't want to shake the haze of what had
just happened, but Nick had already switched gears. "Fresh
bandages," she conceded, "but no doctors."
    He cast a wary look. "Fine. I'll run to a drug
store. Will you stay put?"
    She stared at the sizeable bulge in his jeans.
"Run?"
    He scowled. "Walk. Take a cab. Whatever. I'm
pretty sure you could use a painkiller anyway. Which brings me back
to my question. Will you stay inside? Door locked?"
    "I told you I'm not stupid." Her tone lacked
some of the intended bite.
    She didn't care.
    "I know, Rhys. But I worry."
    She opened her mouth to argue, but he leaned
over and kissed her before she got out the first word. "Save your
breath," he said. "I know you can take care of yourself." He turned
to grab his shirt from the table, leaving Rhys to watch his muscles
ripple as he worked the fabric over his head and torso.
    Her body hummed approval.
    What the hell had they
done?
    "I'll be back soon," he said. "Lock