Bethany's Rite Read Free

stranger behind her. Despite the only physical
contact between them being the light touch of his hand on hers, his presence
surrounded her. Held her.
    The heat radiating off his body warmed her back in the cool
night air, and his breath brushed against her cheek as he said, “I will not
hurt you, but I will not let this night pass without talking to you.”
    His voice, low and a little rough, coursed through her like
the extremely expensive bourbon Barry kept hidden in his office. This man could
probably talk a woman to climax. Every time he started to speak, her stomach
fluttered like a butterfly on speed, and it had nothing to do with how he
appeared out of the dark and scared the hell out of her.
    Turning to face him, she swallowed a gasp at the
determination in his eyes. She had a feeling that once he set his mind on
something, he wasn’t easily dissuaded.
    He wanted to talk to her? Fine. She’d let him talk.
Following her thoughts, her gaze dropped to his mouth. A sudden rush of need
poured through her. The man might be irritating and overbearing, but he had the
sexiest mouth and voice she had ever encountered. Firm lips, the bottom one a
shade fuller than the top with a paper-thin, half-inch scar right underneath.
    A slight breeze brought his scent to her. One of leather and
exotic cologne that made her body hum in response. Pulled toward him, she
instinctively lifted her face, aligning her lips with that fantasy-inducing
mouth of his.
    His hand lifted, and he traced her bottom lip with his
fingertips. Then he closed his eyes and let out a long breath. “Bethany, sweet
babydoll, you tempt me too much.”
    He could probably crack her spine in two without blinking,
but the heat building in his eyes made it more than evident that other than
being jumped, her bones weren’t in much danger. There was no threat of harm
either in his expression or in his hold on her. If anything, he looked like he
was trying his hardest not to scare her with the fierce attraction
whipping between them. His effort calmed her fears and stroked her confidence.
With a kittenish smile of feminine gratification, she watched the very powerful
man in front of her fight the need she stirred in him. “Who’s running scared
now, Mr. Macho?”
    His hand slipped behind her neck, and he pulled her against
him. “That mouth of yours needs some discipline,” he breathed against her lips.
    She tried to drag air into her lungs, but the feel of his
chest against her breasts made it stutter out again on a low moan. His embrace
tightened. His eyes narrowed, and she swore he was trying to inhale her
perfume, only she wasn’t wearing any.
    Hot and hard, the furiousness of his kiss caught Bethany by
surprise. What had spurred her into taunting him, she might never know.
Fractured thoughts skittered like shattering glass through her mind. This was
not a normal kiss, and it was quickly heading into dangerous territory. Their
explosive chemistry had her arching into him and opening her mouth at the
insistence of his tongue.
    He swept in with a shocking possessiveness. Turning
slightly, he pressed her against the car. His hands skimmed over the curve of
her waist, down her hips and back up. When the heels of his hands pressed
against the sides of her breasts, a soft moan of pleasure sighed out of her
mouth. Needing more of his taste, she clutched at his shoulders, closed her
lips around his tongue and sucked.
* * * * *
    She had teased him, and he had countered her attack, not
intending to take more than a quick taste. Just hard and deep enough to force
her to recognize the bond she had to him.
    He had controlled himself after drawing in her scent. A
scent that he would recognize among a million others, one that was uniquely
hers and belonged to him. Controlled himself after that first taste and the
press of her soft body against his. Even when that goddamn fuck-me-now moan of
hers slipped into his mouth.
    Then her arms moved up around his neck and her