Fiery Read Online Free

libido urged him to. He didn’t kiss her tentatively, though she resembled an antique doll. Firm, but not demanding, he moved his lips, brushed the tip of his tongue over her bottom lip.
    She opened for him, but he didn’t take the plunge. The hint of spice intrigued him. He slid his tongue over her lip again, easing the slightest bit into her mouth. Spicy and sweet. Not coffee. Chai with a sprinkle of cayenne.
    Carmen moaned, tightened her hold on his collar. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. Holding her, he lifted her from the bench and turned to sit. He settled her on his lap and while every impulse told him to go for the bases, he settled for sliding his hand from her waist to her hip. His fingers sought purchase in her curves.
    “Ryan,” she whispered against his lips.
    “Hmm?” He moved to her neck, memorizing the softness of her flesh.
    “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
    “Life’s too short for shouldn’ts.”
    She released the hold she had on his collar and moved her hands to his neck. Her fingers slipped into his hair. Longer than it had been in sixteen years, she found enough to grip. The light tug ramped his desire up a notch.
    He nipped at her neck, pulling for only a second at her skin. She arched against him. Her breasts, shown to perfection by the low buttons on the top and the red bra peaking along the edge, swelled.
    She settled her mouth at his ear and swiped her tongue across his lobe. His heart slammed against his ribs. His blood thrummed.
    He could happily take her to the wood floor of the gazebo and drive deep. Instead, he trailed his mouth along her neck. Pulling her shirt and bra strap back as far as her shirt would allow, he kissed her collar bone. His free hand slid along her stomach, reached for the knot of her shirt.
    A single tug was all he needed to have the knot falling free. With that gone, the shirt slipped farther up and down her shoulder. He’d never needed a woman like he found himself needing Carmen, and that made her a danger he couldn’t indulge.
    Struggling to breathe evenly, he eased back.
    She followed his retreat for half a second before shaking her head and moving off his lap. She turned away while she righted her clothes. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
    “Probably not,” he agreed. Though he already wanted to do it again.
    “Don’t think you won just because I let you kiss me.”
    “You kissed me back, Woman.”
    “I told you not to call me that.”
    “And you call me bossy.”
    She lifted a shoulder in a jerky shrug. He still felt the satin of that shoulder on his tongue. She didn’t want him to think she was submissive. Her eagerness to argue would make the next few weeks of working together a misery, yet a part of him liked that she wanted to fight.
    Not ready for the next round quite yet, he went to her. Resting a gentle hand on her shoulder he turned her. “Why don’t you call it quits for today?”
    “I haven’t done anything.”
    She’d done more than enough, though. “I can finish ripping out the bushes.” The exertion of some energy might help his arousal subside, though he doubted it would last long. “If you’re free later we could get together to discuss the plans.”
    “What’s wrong with what I drew?”
    “Too many of the plants aren’t native to Maine and some of the rock ideas won’t work. Too many little ones needed that would never stay put.”
    “The plants aren’t native?”
    “I don’t work with non-natives.”
    She huffed. “I get it. You’re a purist snob.”
    “No. I just don’t like the way they take over the area, driving out everything that belongs here.”
    “Is that so?” She shook her head and stomped toward the gazebo steps. She spun at the edge and glared at him. “Just so you know, sometimes the non-natives are what add color to a place. You natives need to learn to adapt.”
    She stormed away before he could form a rebuttal. Somehow he doubted they’d been talking