Birthright

his hands down her arms in one long, possessive stroke. Pressed his face into her hair.
    She heard his breath draw in. Draw her in.
    Her body poised for more, for the flash and grab. Struggled to resist it. It would be a mistake, she knew it would be yet another mistake.
    “I love your hair, especially when you let it fall all over the place like this. I love the way it feels in my hands, the way it smells when I bury my face in it.”
    “We’re not going to have a repeat of the other night.” Her hands white-knuckled on the deck rail. “I initiated that, and I take responsibility for it. But it’s not going to happen again.”
    “No, it’s not.” He scooped her hair to the side and rubbed his lips at the nape of her neck, nibbled his way to her ear. “This time it’s going to be different.”
    A hot tongue of lust licked along her skin until she dug her fingers into wood to keep them from reaching back and grabbing him. Her knees were going shaky, and the long, liquid pull in her belly nearly made her moan. “Whatever the approach, Tab B still fits into Slot A.”
    His chuckle was warm against her throat. “It’s all the getting there, Cal. Did you ever think the sex was always the easy part for us? We just fell into it, into each other. Fast, hard, hot. But you know what we never did?”
    She stared straight ahead, fighting to keep the moan trapped. She told herself to turn and push him away. To walk away. But then he wouldn’t be touching her like this. She wouldn’t feel like this.
    God, she’d missed feeling like this.
    “I don’t think we skipped anything.”
    “Yeah, we did.” His arms came around her waist. She waited for his hands to stroke up to her breasts. Shewouldn’t have stopped him. She ached for that first rough grip of possession, that one instant of shock before she knew she would take, and be taken.
    Instead he only drew her back against him, nuzzling. “We never romanced each other.”
    Her pulse kicked in a dozen places in her body even as she felt herself starting to melt back against him. “We’re not romantic people.”
    “That’s where you’re wrong.” He brushed his cheek over her hair. He wanted to wallow in the scent, in the texture. Wanted, more than he’d ever imagined, to feel her yield. “Where I was wrong. I never seduced you.”
    “You never had to. We didn’t play games.”
    “All we did was play.” He brushed his lips over her shoulder, back along the curve of her neck. And felt her tremble. “Why don’t we get serious?”
    “We’ll just mess each other up again.” Her voice went thick, surprising them both. “I can’t go through that again.”
    “Callie—”
    Her hand closed tight over his, squeezed. “There’s someone out there,” she whispered.
    She felt his body stiffen. He kept his lips close to her ear, as if still nibbling. “Where?”
    “Two o’clock, about five yards back, in the cover of the trees. I thought it was just another shadow, but it’s not. Someone’s watching us.”
    He didn’t question her. He knew she had eyes like a cat. Still holding her, he tilted his head so he could scan the dark, gauge the ground. “I want you to get pissed off, push away from me and go inside. I’ll come after you.”
    “I said we’re not doing this. Not now, not ever.” She shoved back, twisted away. Though her voice was pitched toward anger, her eyes stayed steady and calm on his. “Go find one of the eager grad students who like to worship you. God knows, there are plenty of them.”
    She turned on her heel and strode back into the house.
    “You’re not throwing that in my face again.” He stormed in behind her, slammed the glass door shut. Hegave her a light shove to keep her moving, and snagged a pair of jeans on the way.
    “Make sure all the doors are locked,” he ordered, and slapped off the lights in his office. “Then go upstairs. Stay there.”
    “Like hell.”
    “Just do it!” He dragged on the jeans in the dark, grabbed shoes. “I’m going out the back. Lock the door behind me, then check the rest of them.”
    She saw him close his hand over the Louisville Slugger he’d propped against the wall.
    “For God’s sake, Jake, what do you think you’re going to do?”
    “Listen to me. Somebody killed Dolan just a few miles from here. What I’m not doing is taking any chances. Lock the goddamn doors, Callie.” He kept moving, as agile as she in the dark. “If I’m not back in ten minutes, call the