spinning, and spots of light floated in front of her eyes.
Blinking, she realized the lights were stars. Sheâd tipped her head back as Champion pressed his lips to her banging pulse. His teeth nipped gently.
Erin felt her weakened knees give. He caught her against him, one hand wrapped around the curve of her bottom, the other still cupping her breast. Driven by pure instinct, she lifted one leg and curled it behind his, opening herself to him.
There are a hundred people in the next room, some fragment of self-preservation whispered. âChampion, we canât do this,â Erin moaned.
âNot here,â he agreed, his voice so rough and dark with anticipation, a ball of need began to heat between her thighs. âWhere are you staying?â
âThe Ambassador. Onââshe broke off with a gasp as he raked his teeth across her pulseââon Peachtree Street.â
âNot a hotel. Not for this.â He drew back. âIâll take you home with me.â
Her mouth opened to say, âNo, you wonât,â but then she met his hot animal gaze and found the words beyond her willpower.
Champion raised a strong hand and tucked a lock of hair back into her elegant French twist, then scanned her with a single, searing glance. âThere.â He smiled crookedly. âYouâre presentable.â
She automatically glanced down his big body until her gaze snagged on his zipper. The bulge there made her eyes widen. âYouâre not.â
He looked down, then up at her again through the feathered screen of his lashes. âNow look what youâve done. Youâll just have to walk in front of me.â
A giggle escaped her. Horrified, she clamped her teeth together. She never giggled. It was so damn unprofessional.
But then, looking into those hot green eyes, it was easy to believe professionalism was overrated.
He took her elbow in one big hand and guided her toward the door. His grip was gentle as he escorted her into the brightly lit ballroom, yet something about it made her feel like a pirateâs conquest being borne off into the night.
I shouldnât be doing this, she thought as she walked just ahead of him through the crowd. Iâve got to tell him to stop. Now, before it goes too far.
It shouldnât be this difficult to tell him no. Not for her. Over and over again, Erin had proven herself the master of her own emotions. Even with David, the man sheâd loved.
Maybe thatâs why Iâm finding it so tough now . For years her partnerâs cautious determination to play by the rules had kept them apart. Erin had gone along with him at first, but toward the end, sheâd grown tired of it. Sheâd wanted David far more than sheâd wanted to go by the book.
But David was the book.
In the end his precious rules hadnât saved them from the nightmare that had destroyed them both. Of course, giving in to their mutual passion probably wouldnât have saved them, either. One way or another, David would still be dead, and Erinâs FBI career would still be in ruins. On the other hand, she might also have something more to remember than grief, regret, and cold, dead dreams.
She was sick of regret, of yearning uselessly for a passion sheâd never tasted. She wanted to feel Reeceâs clever mouth on her bare skin, wanted to feel him drive to his full, hard length inside her. Wanted him so badly, she didnât give a damn about rules, risk, or even common sense.
For once, Erin Grayson was going to get what she wanted.
Â
Poor little Latent.
Reece could sense Erinâs losing battle with the demands of her body. She had no idea of the power of the erotic undertow theyâd been caught in.
He did.
He supposed if he was any kind of gentleman at all, he would release her and walk away. Heâd probably have done just that a year ago, before heâd spent months locked in a hell of hate and sand, among wary