Animal Attraction (4 page)

“So, are you originally from Alaska?” she asked.

He gave her a sidelong glance as he drove. “I grew up in Anchorage, and then moved up here when I took a teaching position at the university.”

She nodded. “Is it always this cold up here in the springtime?”

He chuckled. “Short answer—yes. We do get some days that are a little warmer, but this is about the average temperature for this time of year.” He glanced at her again. “Where are you from?”

“Sausalito, originally, but now I live in San Francisco.” She looked out at the mountains of Denali National Park in the distance. “It is beautiful up here, though. Even if it is cold enough to freeze my fingers off.”

Beside her, Hunter chuckled again and Eliza felt her pulse flutter as the sexy sound rumbled from his broad chest. Thoughts like that had her suddenly wondering what he looked like beneath that button-up flannel shirt he was wearing. She found herself fantasizing about leaning over to unbutton his shirt so she could slide her hands across that broad expanse of muscle. God, she hoped they got to the restaurant soon. Another minute and she’d be crawling across the console to straddle his lap! That vivid image made her pussy tingle, and she was glad when they finally pulled off the road and into a driveway.

Forcing her gaze away from Hunter, she looked out the window and was surprised to find that they weren’t at a restaurant at all, but a house. A very nice house, but a house nonetheless. She gave him a sidelong glance. “I thought we were going to a restaurant.”

Hunter must have picked up on her concern because he stopped in the driveway to look at her. “I’m sorry. If you’re uncomfortable having dinner here, we can go back to town and get something to eat there. I didn’t mean to trick you, but I really do make the best steaks in town.”

She hesitated. She knew she should be alarmed that a man she didn’t even know had just assumed she would want to go home with him, but truthfully, she wasn’t that concerned. There were no alarm bells going off and her female intuition told her that Hunter was about as far from being a serial killer as a guy could get. For some reason she couldn’t explain, she felt safe with him.

“No, it’s okay,” she told him. “Dinner at your place sounds good.”

At her words, Hunter pulled into the garage. As they walked into the kitchen a moment later, Eliza was surprised at how modern it was. She had expected a more rustic look, but Hunter’s style seemed to lean more toward stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. She walked across the tile floor and into the spacious living room. Because of the open floor plan, the two rooms were really one, and it made the house seem even larger than it was. After seeing the rustic décor the rest of Fairbanks offered, she had been half afraid she’d find exposed log walls, Adirondack chairs, and animal heads mounted all over the place. But Hunter had a nice decorating style.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Hunter asked as he took her coat and placed it on the back of the couch along with his. “A glass of wine?”

She walked back into the kitchen. “That sounds great.”

Leaning back against the granite-topped island in the center of the kitchen, she watched as Hunter poured two glasses of red wine. Damn, he even looked sexy doing something as mundane as that.

“I didn’t think to ask before,” he said as he handed her one of the glasses. “But you do like steak, right?”

She smiled. “Definitely. Can I help you with anything?”

“You can make the salad, if you want,” he said. “Everything’s in the fridge.”

Eliza had half expected Hunter to refuse her offer, saying that she was a guest, and she was pleased that he hadn’t. She enjoyed cooking and couldn’t deny that putting her culinary skills to use in a fabulous kitchen like his was definitely her idea of fun. However, it wasn’t nearly as much fun as working alongside the hot college professor, she soon discovered. She couldn’t help but notice that he seemed to find all sorts of reasons to brush up against her while they made dinner. Though he was subtle about it, he seemed to go out of his way to make sure his arm rubbed up against hers whenever he reached around her to grab something from the fridge or take something out of a cabinet. The seemingly casual contact made it difficult to focus on the salad she was making, but somehow she managed.

And while the steaks he made probably were as fantastic as he’d claimed, she really couldn’t say, because she spent the entire dinner completely mesmerized by him. She’d never been so fascinated by a man before. And there was definitely a lot to be fascinated with.

Like his hands. She’d never really looked at a man’s hands before, but every time Hunter picked up his wineglass or gestured with his fork, all she could think about was what those big, strong hands of his would feel like caressing her naked body. She could just imagine them firmly cupping her breasts while he suckled on her nipples. The thought alone was enough to make them harden beneath her bra, and she quickly reached for her own glass of wine as she felt her face color.

Trying to banish the erotic image from her mind, Eliza forced herself to focus on what Hunter was saying. But all that did was draw her attention to his wide, sensuous mouth, and she almost let out a little moan as her thoughts immediately headed in another, even naughtier direction. She let herself fantasize about lying back on the kitchen table while Hunter did all sorts of delicious things to her body with that incredible mouth of his. Then, when she was totally on fire for him, he would pull off his clothes and show her the rest of that fine body before climbing up on the table with her.

Good heavens, she’d always had a vivid imagination, but this was amazing. It was all she could do not to slide her hand beneath the table and touch herself! How was it possible to get so aroused by a man simply from being in the same room with him? It must be the wine, because she’d never gotten this aroused without some serious foreplay first. But here she was practically drooling from a few harmless fantasies. She’d never been so attracted to man before. She practically had to physically restrain herself from jumping him.

Somehow, though, she managed to keep her fantasies, not to mention her urges, at bay enough to actually carry on an intelligent conversation. She was amazed at how much she and Hunter had in common, and how incredibly easy it was to talk to him. She already felt like she’d known him for years.

Though Hunter said she should sit while he cleared the table after they’d finished dinner, Eliza insisted on helping. Since it was difficult for both of them to load the dishwasher, however, she focused on putting the condiments away. When she came to the restaurant-style pepper mill, she realized she didn’t know where it belonged. Turning to Hunter, who was standing behind her, she held it up with a questioning look.

“Where does this go?”

He glanced at her as he finished drying his hands on a dishtowel. “In the cabinet right behind you, but I can get it.”

Tossing the towel on the counter, Hunter took the pepper mill from her and opened the cabinet above her head. His nearness was doing crazy things to her pulse, and Eliza found herself leaning back against the counter and holding her breath as he reached up to put the pepper mill away. She very nearly moaned out loud when she felt his chest brush against the tips of her breasts. God, she could feel the heat from his body through their clothes!

With the pepper mill returned to its proper place, Hunter closed the cabinet. Eliza waited for him to move away and go back to loading the dishwasher, but he didn’t. Instead, he gazed down at her with those incredible gold eyes of his. This close, she could see that they were flecked with green and edged with a light brown. He really did have the most gorgeous eyes she’d ever seen.

Her pulse quickening, Eliza tilted her head back and licked her lips, silently begging Hunter to do what she’d been longing for him to do since she’d first met him, and kiss her. She imagined him threading his fingers in her hair, tilting her head back, imagined his mouth plundering hers. The fantasy was almost enough to make her sway on her feet, and she found herself reaching back with one hand to grab the countertop. Dear God, how would she react if he actually did kiss her? She couldn’t believe she was so turned on by a man she’d just met. She didn’t even care that she barely knew him. Her body craved his touch so completely that it felt as though she would die if he didn’t kiss her right then.

As if reading her mind, Hunter bent his head to cover her mouth with his. The kiss was gentle, his mouth moving over hers tenderly, almost experimentally, and she melted against him with a little sigh. He tasted of wine and steak sauce, and something else that was difficult to put a name to. But it was decidedly male and unbelievably intoxicating.

All at once, Hunter deepened the kiss, his mouth moving more urgently over hers, as if he suddenly couldn’t seem to get enough of her. His tongue invaded her mouth, claiming hers as its mate even as he slid one hand into her long hair to tilt her head back further. Eliza let out a soft moan of pleasure. She had been kissed by a lot of men, but never like this. When it came to kissing, Hunter McCall was in a class all by himself.

“God, you taste sweet,” he said hoarsely, his breathing ragged from their kisses, his mouth hovering temptingly over hers. “I want you, Eliza.”

“Yes,” she breathed. The word a husky whisper on her lips as she pulled him down for another kiss. This time, it was her tongue that sought his, intent on exploring every inch of his tasty mouth. She didn’t care that they barely knew each other. She wanted him and, right then, that was all that mattered.

With a groan, Hunter swung her up in his arms and headed for the stairs. She didn’t know how he managed to find his way out of the kitchen, through the living room, and up the steps while still kissing her. He must have an uncanny sense of direction, because before she knew it, they were in his bedroom. Only then did he lift his head and set her down on her feet.

In the light coming from the hallway, Eliza saw that his eyes smoldered with the same passion she was feeling, and she felt her pulse skip a beat. She let out a moan at the fire racing though her. She’d never experienced such desire with another man.

Eager to see if he really was as well-built as she thought, Eliza ran her hands over his shoulders and down the front of his shirt, but her fingers stilled on the button she’d been about to open as she felt Hunter slide his hands beneath the hem of her top. Her skin tingled beneath his fingers as they glided up her stomach, and she couldn’t help but let out a husky, little moan when he cupped her breasts through the thin material of her bra. Her nipples strained against the garment, begging for his touch, but he barely brushed the turgid peaks with his thumbs before his hands were on the move again. Urging her shirt up her arms, he lifted it over her head and carelessly tossed it aside.

The look on Hunter’s face was almost predatory as he gazed down at her breasts, and Eliza felt her nipples tighten beneath her bra. She had never ached so badly for a man’s touch before, and the thought of Hunter fondling and caressing her breasts had her breathless with anticipation. To her relief, he didn’t make her wait long, but immediately reached out to take her breasts in his hands.

Eliza gasped at his touch, her hands automatically gripping the front of his shirt to steady herself. Hunter teased her nipples through their lace covering, making tiny circles with his thumbs even as he bent his head to kiss the curve of her neck. She arched against him, her head lolling back as she let out a soft sigh of pleasure. As wonderful as what he was doing with his hands felt, she was impatient to feel them on her bare breasts, and was just about to reach around to unhook her bra when she suddenly felt his fingers on the clasp. It came away easily at his touch, her breasts eagerly spilling into his waiting hands, and she could only murmur her appreciation as he trailed a path of hot kisses down her neck to feast on one pink-tipped nipple.

She let out a little whimper as he closed his lips over the stiff little peak and drew it into his mouth. He swirled his tongue round and round the outside, before flicking it across the sensitive tip. God, that felt so good!

Hunter suckled hungrily on her nipple, torturing the sensitive peak until she thought she would melt. Only then did he turn his attention to her other breast and do the same glorious thing to that nipple. When he finally lifted his head, Eliza automatically opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it again when he began to unbutton her jeans. But rather than take them off right away like she expected him to do, Hunter eased them down just enough to slide his hands inside her panties and cup her ass. She had always liked it when a guy paid attention to her bottom, and she couldn’t stifle the moan of approval that escaped her lips as Hunter squeezed and caressed her ass cheeks.
Damn, the man certainly knows his way around the female anatomy.

With a little help from her wiggling hips, he pushed both her jeans and panties further down her hips. Suddenly deciding that he was falling too far behind in the let’s-get-naked race, she reached out and hurriedly began undoing the buttons of the sexy flannel shirt he was wearing, only to let out a groan when the broad expanse of his smooth, muscular chest came into view.
Daaammmmnnn, he is built!
Her imagination hadn’t even come close to how gorgeous he was.

Suddenly wanting to do more than just look, Eliza started to lean forward with the intention of doing a little nibbling of her own. Before she could do so, however, Hunter slid his hand into her hair and pulled her close for another soul-searing kiss before urging her back toward the bed.