New Concepts Publishing.
Blurb -
Running from a killer, Doctor Annie McCall ends up in the arms of the law. Sexy detective Marshall Thomas offers her refuge, but who'll protect her from him? Neither is looking for a relationship, but it isn't long before the only danger she's facing is the heat between the sheets!
Pausing at the foot of the stairs, Marshall watched Annie hightail it up to her room. She slammed the door shut, and he heard the telltale click that indicated she’d also locked it, which only infuriated him more. If she thought a locked door was going to keep him out she was in for a surprise. He took off after her, taking the stairs two at a time. Instead of going to her door, he entered his room, willing to bet that she’d forgotten all about the connecting door.
He quietly opened it, fighting a grin when his eyes lit on her. She was leaning against the door with her ear pressed against the wood, listening for signs of him on the other side. His footsteps were silent on the thick carpet as he slowly made his way to her, waiting until she relaxed before touching her on the shoulder.
“Oh!” Her startled gasp echoed in the darkened room when she spun around to see him standing there. “How did you get in?” He indicated the connecting door with a jerk of his head. “Oh.” Her eyes returned to his. “What are you going to do now?”
“I should shake some sense into you,” he grumbled. “What you did was reckless, Annie, and very dangerous. I can’t do my job if I have to worry about you ignoring my orders. A distraction like that can get us both killed.”
Her eyes widened with each word, just like Marshall knew they would. He left no doubt about the gravity of the situation. When her eyes swelled with tears, his anger dropped down a couple notches. He hadn’t set out to make her cry.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” she said in an unsteady voice, reaching up to caress the side of his whiskered face. “If anything had happened to you…”
Marshall’s hand was there in a flash, encircling her wrist and stopping her. “No, Annie.” He knew if she touched him in that gentle, loving way of hers he’d cave in. He was determined not to compound his earlier mistakes.
Her sob nearly tore out his heart. Tears glistened upon her cheeks, visible even in the darkness. “I can’t afford to let my guard down. Do you understand? Things are moving too fast.” Part of him knew he wasn’t making any sense. He sounded like a desperate man running out of time. “I didn’t come in here to make love to you,” he said, but his voice was weak. He was only trying to convince himself.
Marshall was running scared, and he knew it. He knew his feelings for Annie went much further than a homicide detective wanting to protect her. It was hard to breathe because she was too close. Only instead of stepping back, he closed the distance between them until their bodies were flush and he had her against the door. Her nearness was intoxicating, forcing him to forget about everything but the passion he knew was hidden in that little body.
Annie arched hungrily into the evidence of his arousal. Marshall hissed, a sweet agony rushing through him, threatening his sanity, threatening his barely leashed control.
He refused to let go of his anger, knowing it was the only thing keeping him from giving in to the sweet seduction of her flesh. “Damn you!” he growled low in his throat, slamming the door over her head with a closed fist. “What the hell are you doing to me?”
There was a faint sound of tearful emotion in Annie’s soft voice. “I’m innocent…”
A disbelieving sound burst from him. “Innocent like hell.” His eyes captured hers in the darkness. “I think you know exactly what you’re doing.”
Annie shuddered against him. “Then maybe you’d better remove your gun, before it goes off.”
It got quiet. Marshall stared at her and then burst out laughing. He wanted to kiss the hell out of her smart mouth but he was afraid he wouldn’t stop until he ripped off the little bit of nothing she was wearing and had her naked beneath him. All it would take was two steps, they’d be on the bed, and he’d be showing her what he could do with his gun. It would be a heck of a lot more than just pressing against the inside of her thigh.
But her words reminded him of something far more dangerous. He reached behind him, pulled his weapon from the waistband of his shorts, and tossed it recklessly on the bed, keeping eye contact with her the whole time. The last thing he wanted was an accident. “You make it damn hard to show restraint,” he grumbled in a hard voice. “Is this your way of changing the subject and taking my mind off being angry?”
“You really do have a low opinion of women.” The hurt his words caused was evident in her voice. “I hadn’t noticed it before. Is that something that just comes naturally after you’ve made love? Defense tactics to scare her away after you get what you want?”
Meaning sex. Marshall knew he had that coming. He couldn’t blame her for the way his last relationship ended. His breakup with Michelle hadn’t left him exactly heartbroken, just more knowledgeable about women, and perhaps cynical.
“You’re afraid, aren’t you, detective?” Annie said. “Afraid of what little old me can do to your big, tough, reputation.” Her free hand trailed a path of fire down his bare chest, reaching the waistband of his boxers and slipping inside. His body shuddered wildly beneath her tender attack, but that didn’t stop her from reaching her prize.
“Annie…”
She ignored him, her fingers curling lovingly around the hot length of him, feeling the steel beneath the velvet softness it was sheathed in. He throbbed uncontrollably from her boldness, his fingers flexing around her wrist almost painfully.
When he could finally breathe it was a broken sound that revealed his weakened state.
New Concepts Publishing. Blurb - Running from a killer, Doctor Annie McCall ends up in the arms of the law. Sexy detective Marshall Thomas offers her refuge, but who'll protect her from him? Neither is looking for a relationship, but it isn't long before the only danger she's facing is the heat between the sheets!
