Spirit's Release Read Free

to know if my fantasies were accurate.”
    His cock swelled against the zipper on his jeans. The need for release tightened every muscle in his body.
    “You do remember where we left off, don’t you?”
    She freed that last button and then peeled the blouse back and let it glide to the floor. The red bra against her pale flesh had his mouth watering. Her breasts, plump and high, made his fingers twitch with the temptation to touch them. She toed off her shoes and her jeans—so tight that they outlined every curve of her lower body—slid free seconds later.
    “I remember,” he said, his voice a husky shadow of itself.
    “I don’t work for you now, so there’s no reason we can’t be together.”
    He tried to lift his gaze from her breasts to her face, but he couldn’t. “Technically, you’re working for me now. You’re providing me with investigative services.”
    “Oh no. I don’t charge my friends for those services.”
    His damn sense of ethics pushed him to ask, “But your brothers…aren’t they your partners? Won’t they have something to say about it?”
    “They don’t know anything about this. Whatever terms we come to are between you and me.”
    Stepping forward, he reached with both hands to cup the sides of her face. He saw surprise in her eyes…apparently she’d expected him to touch her lovely breasts first. But he wanted her to know that he’d never stopped wanting her in more than a physical way. “I’ve thought of you so often, Dera .”
    “And I of you.” Touching his waist, she took a step closer, leaving a scant inch or two between their bodies. “We’ve lost so much time because of…”
    As her voice faded, he smiled. “Because of my high ethics?”
    She gave him a slow nod. “And Collin’s injury and then my new career as a ghost hunter kept me away from you.”
    “We can make up for it tonight.”
    A wicked smile curled her lips and she turned her head to press a kiss into his left hand. The tip of her tongue tickled his palm. Her fingers, still at his waist, bunched the hem of his sweater.
    “We can’t do much,” she said, “Until we get you naked.”

Chapter Two
     
    Something tickled Jacob to awareness. He found himself at the bedchamber door. Confusion swirled his thoughts. Why was it dark? He’d arrived home only moments before, heard the news of Sophie’s illness and—
    Fear and worry filled him so that he couldn’t catch his breath. He moved toward the door.
    * * * * *
    Dera had waited so long for this…too long. Alec lifted his arms, allowing her to strip his sweater upward. Although she wanted him undressed as quickly as possible, she moved slowly, enjoying the revelation of each inch of warm masculinity. His skin was golden, muscular and dusted with dark hair, and the scent of his heated flesh caused a tightening deep inside her. She bent her head so that she could press her lips to the center of his breastbone. Kissing, nuzzling through the curls that crossed his chest, inhaling his scent, she was only barely aware of him taking over the final removal of his sweater. Then his arms slid around her and his lips descended to touch the side of her neck.
    We haven’t even kissed , she thought and, as if reading her mind, he pushed one hand into her hair, twisting his fingers through the dark locks and tugging her head up and back. She caught a glint in his eyes just before his mouth crashed down on hers. His lips pressed hers apart and his tongue swept inside to taste, devour, plunder . She groaned at the invasion…or was it he who groaned? It didn’t matter.
    Rising on her toes to bring herself up the two or three inches that separated them in height, she pressed her bra-clad breasts to his bare chest. His body was so warm, his embrace powerful. She felt the wonderful length of steel behind the zipper of his jeans as it pressed against her pubic bone. Lifting one of her legs to stroke her knee along the outside of his thigh, she felt herself open