In Death 09 - Loyalty in Death

handful of his hair. "This is crazy," she panted. "Why do we always want to do this?"
    "I don't know." He swung her out of the elevator, then into his arms for the quick trip across the room to the big bed. "I just thank God for it."
    "Put your hands on me. I want your hands on me." And they were, even as she fell beneath him onto the bed.
    "A year ago." His lips traced over her face, along her jaw. "I didn't know your body, your moods, your needs. Now I do. It only makes me want you more."
    It was insane, she thought dimly, as she met his mouth with the same urgent hunger that touching him, tasting him, always caused this deep ache to grind inside her.
    Whether they loved fast and furious such as now, or with sweeping tenderness, that ache, that want never seemed to lessen.
    He was right. He knew her body now, as she knew his. She knew where to touch to make his muscles tense, where to stroke to make them quiver. And that knowledge, that familiarity was unbearably seductive.
    She knew what he would bring her, this time, every time, whether it was a slow, burning build or one breathless burst: pleasure, deep and dazzling, with the excitement that shimmered around it.
    He found her breast, giving himself the thrill of taking her into his mouth. Soft, firm, his. Her back bowed, her breath caught, and beneath his busy tongue, her heart hammered.
    His hand closed around the teardrop diamond she wore -- a symbol that she had learned to take what he so needed to give her.
    Then they rolled, tugging at clothes so flesh could slide and stroke torturously against flesh.
    Her breathing quickened, firing his blood. She who was strong and steady could be made to tremble under him. He could feel her body straining toward release, see in her face those flickers of shock and delight as it built.
    As he took her over, he closed his mouth over hers and swallowed her long, shuddering moan.
    It wouldn't be enough. Even as her system started that lovely glide toward contentment, she knew he would drive her back up again. Drive her to where every pulse in her body pounded, every nerve sparked.
    Braced and ready, she reached for him, struggling to give back even as her mind shattered and emptied, her system careened helplessly back into the heat.
    She said his name, only his name, and arched up to take him inside her. The joining was smooth, and it was hot. Agile, eager, she pistoned her hips to meet each thrust. She could drive him as well as be driven. His fingers clamped down on hers, locked tight. Another layer of intimacy.
    She could see in his eyes, so wildly blue, that he was as lost as she in this moment, this magic.
    Only you. She knew he thought it, even as she did. Then those glorious eyes went opaque. With one breathless cry, she clung to his hands and threw herself over with him.
    He lowered himself, sighing as he stretched out to rest his head between her breasts. Beneath him her body had gone lax as water. He knew she'd spring up soon enough, throw on her clothes, and go back to the work that consumed her.
    But for now, for just a few moments more, she was content to drift.
    "You should come home for lunch more often," he murmured.
    She laughed.
    "Fun time's over. I've got to get back."
    "Mm-hmm." But neither of them made a move to rise. "We have dinner at eight at The Palace with some top-level staff and their spouses from one of my transportation arms."
    She frowned a little. "Did I know that?"
    "Yes."
    "Oh. I've got this thing at seven."
    "What thing?"
    "Will reading. At B. D. Branson's."
    "Ah. No problem, I'll shift dinner to eight-thirty and we'll go by Branson's first."
    "There's no we here."
    He lifted his head from her breast, smiled. "I think I just proved you wrong."
    "It's a case, not sex."
    "All right, I won't have sex with you at Branson's, but it might have been interesting."
    "Look, Roarke -- "
    "It simply makes sense, logistically." He gave her cheek a pat and rolled aside. "We'll go from Branson's to the hotel where dinner is set."
    "You can't just sit in on a will reading. It's not a public event."
    "I'm sure B. D. has some comfortable place where I can wait for my wife without intruding, if that's necessary. As I recall, he has a very spacious home."
    She didn't bother to grumble. "I guess you know him."
    "Of course. We're competitors -- not unfriendly ones."
    She blew out a breath as she sat up and eyed him. "I'll see if the lawyer approves it, so pending that, fine. And maybe later, you'll give me your