Express Male (17 page)

Oh, who was she kidding? she thought as she tossed her tiny bag onto the passenger seat of her car and folded herself inside. That wasn’t the only reason she was wishing Noah Tennant would hang around. He was the first man she’d met in ages who’d stirred feelings inside her she’d almost forgotten she had. Warm feelings. Woman feelings. Romantic feelings. Sexy feelings. And the fact that she was able to feel those things in light of the way her life had been turned upside down only made them that much more significant. That much stronger. That much more demanding.

Why couldn’t she have met him under other circumstances? Normal circumstances. Circumstances that would have allowed them to get to know each other better and provided them with an opportunity to see if the attraction—or whatever it was—rising between them might turn into something more.

Because there
was
an attraction—or something—rising between them. Marnie could sense Noah’s interest in her by the way he looked at her sometimes, and by the way he spoke to her, and she was certainly interested in him. Something had changed in the closet last night as they’d shared snippets of themselves and their lives with each other. In the kitchen that morning, before Padgett’s call, there had been…something…going on between the two of them. Something that thrummed. Something that sizzled. Something that demanded acknowledgement. And she couldn’t help wondering what might have happened if that phone had never rung.

But was Noah’s interest in her generated by Marnie and who she was? Or was it because she reminded him of another woman who had interested him once upon a time? She just wished she knew. If only they had more time to spend together in a normal situation. If only her life wasn’t such a jumble of confusion. If only he didn’t view her as a part of his job.

If only, if only, if only.

Even though parts of last night
had
felt almost like a normal situation, it hadn’t been normal at all. Noah hadn’t come to her house to have dinner so that they could become better acquainted. He’d been there because Marnie was living in fear of an intruder. An intruder into her home. An intruder into her life. An intruder into her peace of mind. And until that intruder was captured, she wasn’t going to enjoy any of those things again.

Not unless Noah was with her.

She told herself the reason she felt that way was because he was the only rock-solid thing in a life that had become filled with uncertainty. But she knew it wasn’t just that. There was something about him that had compelled her since the moment she met him. Even when he’d been interrogating her, there had been something there that had touched her deeply enough inside that she’d had that sexy concert-hall dream about him. And having spent more time with him in a less adversarial role, she’d discovered she actually liked Noah Tennant.

She liked him a lot.

She just didn’t know what to do about it. Men like Noah didn’t come along in a woman’s life very often. In fact, men like Noah rarely showed up at all. Unfortunately, what had brought him into her life would probably be the thing that drove him right back out again. And Marnie didn’t want to think about how she would feel when that happened. Because there was already a part of her that never wanted to let Noah Tennant go.

N
OAH WATCHED
Marnie pace from one side of her living room to the other and did his best to curb his irritation. Strangely, what irritated him most wasn’t the fact that Sorcerer had once again been a no-show and was again playing both of them for fools. No, what irritated him most was the fact that he hadn’t spent more than five minutes in a row tonight thinking about the assignment. Because the moment Marnie had stepped out of her bedroom dressed like…like…like…like
that,
he’d been too preoccupied by thoughts of…of…of…of…tasting her.

She may have never met her twin sister, but she’d pegged Lila’s fashion sense to the last detail.
Interesting
was a seriously deficient word for the bright turquoise leather miniskirt and skimpy gold-sequined halter top that left her back entirely bare, save the trio of delicate ties that held the garment on. And the gold, three-inch spike heels she wore with the outfit were likewise in keeping with Lila’s choice of attire. Add to it the dark eye shadow and lipstick that Marnie had applied to her features, and Noah would have sworn the woman pacing so restlessly was none other than Lila Moreau.

“I cannot believe I’ve been stood up again,” she said as she made her way from the fireplace to the piano. “How dare he? This goes beyond insulting.”

Were the situation not so precarious, Noah might have laughed. Mild-mannered Marnie Lundy, frustrated with being stood up by a menace to society she wished would leave her alone. Unfortunately, there was nothing funny about it. On the contrary, it only reinforced just how volatile Sorcerer was, just how unpredictable, just how dangerous. They really couldn’t know when or where he would strike again. Or even
if
he would strike again. And he would continue to terrorize Marnie with a game of cat and mouse in the meantime.

“It may be time to start thinking about putting you in a safe house for a while,” Noah said as she passed by him again. And as he did his best—honest he did—to keep his focus anchored above her shoulders. Inevitably, though, it slipped down instead to that expanse of creamy, naked back and the elegant curves of her hips.

She stopped abruptly before completing her usual circuit and turned to face him. “Safe house?” she echoed, sounding in no way pleased by the suggestion.

Noah nodded. And somehow made his eyes stay above her shoulders. “We can’t know what Sorcerer is going to do next, and I can’t keep watching your house this way. But until we find Lila or Sorcerer, he’s going to continue to be a threat to you. A safe house will at least give you more security than you have here at home.”

She blew out an exasperated sound and made her way to the sofa, collapsing onto the opposite cushion, much too close for Noah’s comfort. Because as she landed, the loose neckline of her top shifted a little to the left, revealing the top swell of one breast.

“I’ll think about it,” she said. “But I really hate the thought of leaving my house.”

“It’s not safe for you here, Marnie,” Noah told her. And didn’t look at her breast. Honest.

“I know,” she agreed. But she said nothing more about it.

They were sitting close enough that Noah could inhale the scent of her, an intoxicating aroma of the red wine she’d consumed to steady her nerves and the even more intoxicating aroma of Marnie. It was a contradictory combination of flowers and spices that was somehow not contradictory at all. In fact, it was damned nice. It made him want to lean in closer to enjoy it even more. Then, while he was leaning in closer, maybe he could run his tongue along her throat to see if she tasted as good as she smelled. Though why stop there, when he could taste her jaw, too. And then her cheek. And her mouth. And her neck. Then lower, tasting her round, luscious—

He realized he was staring at that brief expanse of naked breast again, and he jerked his eyes back up to her face…only to find her watching him and having seen where his attention lay. But instead of looking angry and offended, Marnie looked…aroused? Oh, surely not. Surely that was just wishful thinking on his part.

No, not wishful, he immediately denied. The last thing he should be wishing for was Marnie. But when neither of them glanced away, and when her eyes grew darker and her mouth opened the slightest bit, as if she were silently requesting a kiss, he realized he’d gone beyond wishing for Marnie and right into wanting her.

So what else could he do but jump up abruptly and say, “Is there any more coffee?”

She looked confused for a moment—which, by God, made two of them—then nodded. “I think so. And coffee sounds, um, good.”

Without thinking, Noah extended his hand to help her up, and automatically, Marnie took it. Her palm was soft and warm as it glided over his, stirring something deep inside him, low in his torso where he hadn’t felt anything stirring for a very long time. He tugged her to standing, but must have pulled too hard, because she stumbled forward on her very high heels, landing against him with a soft nudge.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Marnie’s head was tilted down toward his chest, so Noah couldn’t see her face. He felt her, though. In lots of places. Her hand was still joined with his, and the fingers of the other were curled over his shoulder, where she’d grabbed him to catch herself. Beneath his other hand, he felt the swell of one hip, where he must have inadvertently caught her to steady her. Her respiration was a little off, and her breasts pushed against his chest with every rapid breath she took. Her belly, too, was pressed against his, as were her hips and thighs. But it was her heartbeat he noticed most. Because it hammered against his chest even more rapidly and raggedly than his own was pounding.

She began to push herself backward, away from him, mumbling an apology and something about too much wine. But her retreat didn’t come quickly enough to prevent the sizzle of heat that shot straight to Noah’s groin. Nor the keen hunger that erupted inside him to touch her more intimately. The second she moved away from him, he experienced a sense of loss, as if she’d reached inside him and plucked out something he needed to make him happy. And the only way he knew to get it back would be to have Marnie in his arms again, her body pressed against his from shoulder to calf, a place where she suddenly, strangely, seemed to belong.

That feeling, that
need,
was only compounded when he watched her bend over to collect the empty wineglasses from the table. The exquisite bow of her backside encased in the tight leather skirt beckoned to him, made him want to reach out and cup his hands over the lush curves or press his pelvis against hers. He’d never noticed what a great ass she had. But then, she’d never been wearing anything like…like…like
that,
had she?

His agitation—among other things—grew when she straightened and turned to face him, because his eyes were drawn immediately to where the skimpy gold top had shifted, plunging even lower than before over truly spectacular breasts. Not because they were large—though they sure as hell weren’t small—but because they were perfectly formed, high and round…and almost half revealed by the deep V of her neckline. Again, Noah battled the urge to reach out and touch her, and was shocked by his own lack of restraint. He’d never experienced such an immediate, profound response to a woman, had never had to curb an impulse to take what wasn’t his.

He forced his gaze upward, to Marnie’s face, but that part of her aroused him even more than the rest of her did. Because her mouth was full and ripe and red, her lips parted slightly, as if she were having trouble breathing…or wanted very much to be kissed. Her eyes were darker than he’d ever seen them, and at first he thought it was because of the addition of cosmetics. Then he realized her pupils had expanded, as if she were seeing Noah, too, for the first time, and trying to catalogue everything about him. In that moment, she just looked so beautiful and so sexy and so sensual and so arousing and so…

Without even realizing he was doing it, Noah took one small step forward, closing what little distance lay between them. He lifted a hand toward her face, wanting to touch her to see if she felt as hot as she looked. But he halted himself before his fingers made contact, knowing it would be a huge mistake. He was about to congratulate himself on his willpower when Marnie, without even paying attention to what she was doing, put both the wine bottle and glasses back onto the table, then closed her fingers over his.

Without hesitation, she pulled his hand forward to place it on her cheek, where he’d wanted so desperately to put it himself. She closed her eyes the moment his palm skimmed her jaw, flattening her own palm over the back of his hand to hold it there. Her lips parted again, but this time a sound escaped from inside her, a low, sensual, needy sigh that ripped through Noah and shredded what little hold he still had on his good judgment.

The next thing he knew, his mouth was on hers, though which of them had instigated the kiss, he honestly couldn’t have said. He only knew that a line had been crossed, so there was no reason he had to retreat to his side just yet, in for a penny, in for a pound, you only live once, nice guys finish last, winner take all and every other cliché he could think of to justify doing what he knew better than to do.

She tasted even better than she smelled, a mix of potent spirits, forbidden pleasure and luscious woman. It was almost more than Noah could bear, and certainly more than he could resist. But then, why resist, when both of them clearly wanted the same thing? And wanted it so badly, too…

With a groan of surrender, he tangled his fingers in the hair at her nape, reveling in the rush of silk that tumbled over the back of his hand and forearm. Cupping his palm over the curve of her skull, he tilted her head to one side and slanted his mouth more insistently over hers, filling her mouth with his tongue. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her, couldn’t quite get her body where he wanted it to be, so he roped his arm around her waist and jerked her forward, harder against himself. She gasped at the action, but crowded herself into him, threading the fingers of one hand through his hair, as the other twisted in the fabric of his shirt.

For long moments, they warred over possession of the kiss. Ultimately, Noah won. Marnie’s body went slack against him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself from falling. He dropped both hands to her waist in an effort to help, then felt their bodies shifting. He didn’t realize what was happening until he was flat on his back on the sofa, with Marnie lying alongside and on top of him. This time she was the one thrusting her tongue into his mouth.