"I really hope they nail him." She looked at him, her hazel eyes wide, sh.e.l.l-shocked from the events of the past eighteen hours. "I'm just glad you got the girls out before..." Her throat convulsed over a swallow.

He threaded his hand through her hair and pressed her face into his neck. "Don't think about that. It's over now." He pulled her tighter against him and buried his face against her hair. He kissed the top of her head and trailed kisses down her cheek.

"It was so awful," she said in a choked whisper. "Hearing the gunshots, not knowing if you were okay."

"Yeah, it kinda sucked for me, too."

She laughed a watery chuckle and lifted her mouth, her lips parted, to brush his. She wove her fingers through his hair and held his face to hers. "You could have died. I was afraid you were going to die." She'd been holding it together, composure never slipping as she'd stayed on task, but now he could feel the tremors coursing through her body as delayed trauma hit her with devastating force.

He clung to her, holding her steady as she kissed him with adrenaline-fueled desperation. He opened his mouth, welcoming the invasion of her tongue. She tugged his shirt up his chest and ran her hands up the hot skin of his back.

Her hand ran up his rib cage, pausing when it came across the bandage on his left side.

"What is this?"

"Nothing," he said, grabbing her hand and pushing it down to his waist.

"You're hurt," she said, her voice catching. She yanked his shirt over his head and leaned in for a closer look.

"It's just a graze," he said, trying to distract her as he felt her fingers go icy against his side.

"I swear to G.o.d," she said, her voice trembling, "if you try to tell me it's just a flesh wound I'll punch you."

"It is." He chuckled, wincing as he peeled back the bandage the EMT had put on to reveal the angry-looking furrow. "I didn't even need st.i.tches."

Her fingers traced the outline of the wound before she carefully replaced the bandage. Then her palm slid up to his chest, pausing over his heart, warming over the steady thrum. Her other hand curled around his neck and she pulled him down for a kiss. "I need you," she whispered against his mouth. "I need to feel you inside me."

He slipped off her gla.s.ses and tossed them in the direction of the coffee table without breaking contact with her mouth, starving for the taste of her. He knew what she was feeling. After dodging several rounds of gunfire and feeling a bullet graze his side, he felt it, too. The need to connect, to prove he was alive in the most primitive way possible. His c.o.c.k thickened to full hardness, eager to give her what she needed.

Her shaky fingers fumbled with his belt and tugged at the b.u.t.tons of his pants. He shoved his pants down his hips, groaning when her hand closed around his erection, stroking, squeezing almost enough to hurt.

"I want this." Her grip tightened in emphasis. "I want you inside me. Now." She kissed and stroked him, panting and almost frantic with desire.

This was a side of Toni he'd never seen, aggressive, hungry, needing him like no woman ever had before. Her hunger stoked his own. His c.o.c.k swelled in her hand. He felt bigger, harder than he'd ever been in his life. Somehow he got her pants off, shoving them and her panties down in one motion. They had barely hit the floor before she toppled onto the sofa, pulled him down on top of her, and guided him between her thighs.

The sweet heat of her p.u.s.s.y closed around him, so slick and tight he had to use every ounce of restraint not to come right then and there. She shimmied under him, trying to urge him deeper, but they kept sinking into the too-soft cushions of the couch. With a groan of frustration, Ethan caught her legs around his waist and lifted her off the couch and onto the floor.

She moaned and arched her back as his hips surged forward, taking him deep. He tried to slow down, tried to restrain himself from pounding her into the floor the way he wanted to.

Toni's fingers clawed his back. "Don't hold back," she said, shoving her hips against his. "I don't want you to be gentle. I want you to f.u.c.k me like you mean it."

He felt her tighten around him, tightening her inner muscles, kneading him from the inside until he saw stars behind his tightly closed lids. "Jesus," he muttered, unable to resist her demands. He thrust without restraint, pumping inside her so hard he had to hold her hips to keep her from sliding up the floor. He was lost in her, every cell focused on her, giving her what she needed, his own pleasure almost too much to stand.

She arched and moaned under him, her hand coming up to caress his face. Her thumb traced his mouth, he caught it and sucked it between his lips.

"Ethan." His name was a broken sigh, her eyes were wide, filled with something like wonder as she gazed up into his face.

His heart swelled like a balloon in his chest, bigger and bigger until he couldn't breathe. She made him feel as powerful as a G.o.d, as weak as a child, as she wrapped her legs around him and stared up at him with such open need and and trust. He drove himself impossibly deep inside her, gasped at the slick, tight grip of her sucking him in, sucking out his soul.

He was falling, so hard and fast, the ground coming up to meet him with devastating impact. He hoped he made it out of this alive.

Toni was going to die. She was sure of it. Nothing could feel this good and not kill her. Every nerve in her body was tight as a bowstring, vibrating with pleasure, and she knew that when she came she was going to blow apart into a million little pieces.

She would welcome it, since it meant she got to feel Ethan's huge, amazing c.o.c.k tunneling inside her again and again. He was amazing. He was magic. Heating her from the inside out, banishing her fear, her guilt, until nothing was left but pure, unadulterated pleasure. She wanted this never to end. She wanted to swallow him up, absorb him into her body and never let him go. She wanted to hold on to him forever so everything could always feel as perfect as it did right now.

Her fingers tensed, her toes curled, and her o.r.g.a.s.m bore down on her like a tidal wave, pounding through her in a devastating wash of pleasure. He rode her through it, sliding in and out as her body clenched and pulsed around him.

His thrusts increased in speed and her legs fell open. Suddenly he froze, muscles trembling. "f.u.c.k."

"What is it," she whispered. "Why are you stopping?"

"I didn't put on a condom, I'm safe, I promise." He made a mournful sound, bent his head, and started to pull out.

"Don't," she said, gripping the firm muscles of his a.s.s to keep him in place. "It's okay."

"What about..."

Awash in pleasure, she didn't even consider the consequences of what she was about to do. "It's okay. I'm okay. I want you to come inside me."

He rested his weight on his elbows and came down over her, his mouth closing over hers. His tongue slipped inside, taking up a slow, lazy rhythm that matched the movements of his c.o.c.k inside her. Pleasure curled in her belly until she was again matching him thrust for thrust, moan for moan. His hand came between them, his thumb circling her c.l.i.t in firm strokes. "I want you to come with me," he murmured into her mouth. He swelled even bigger inside her, filling her completely. His eyes squeezed shut and the muscles of his arms and chest stood out in stark relief. With a final thrust, he let out a harsh cry and came hotly inside her.

Another o.r.g.a.s.m rolled through her, jolting in its intensity. When she came down, Ethan was murmuring against her neck, telling her how beautiful she was, how much he wanted her. Then, so m.u.f.fled against her throat she wasn't sure she heard him right, "Christ, Toni, I think I'm in love with you."

The words were barely out of his mouth before every muscle in his body went rigid. Her eyes flew open. The shock in his blue eyes mirrored her own.

"I..." His voice trailed off.

She didn't have any problem completing his thought. "Didn't mean to say that. Don't worry about it." Her throat got tight as she struggled against the urge to say it back.

What kind of idiot fancies herself in love after less than a week?

She pushed at his shoulders and tried to roll out from under him. But he held her there, pinned. "Don't. Don't try to shut me out."

"I'm not shutting you out. I'm letting you off the hook." She shoved harder at his shoulders, and this time he let her go. Avoiding his gaze, she searched the living room for her discarded clothing.

"What if I don't want to be let off the hook? What if I meant it?"

"No one falls in love in less than a week, Ethan," she said, as much for her own benefit as for his. "We had s.e.x. Again. That's all." She hurriedly pulled her panties up over her hips and reached for her T-shirt. He was still on the floor, bare-chested, with his pants below his hips. His p.e.n.i.s was still half hard, slick and shiny-wet with the evidence of their pa.s.sion.

The evidence of her stupidity. Oh, G.o.d, what had she done? The damp warmth between her own thighs mocked her, a vivid reminder of how careless she was not only with her heart but also her body. "I need to go," she said, launching herself toward her jeans where they lay crumpled in a corner.

"Toni, you're not leaving until we talk about this." She heard Ethan get up, heard his heavy footsteps approaching. "How are you going to get home, anyway, when you don't have a car?"

And of course he wouldn't give her a ride. b.a.s.t.a.r.d. "I'll call a cab," she snapped. Her phone rang as she slid her jeans up over her hips and she fumbled it out of her pocket, grateful for the distraction.

The caller ID displayed her friend Megan's number. She'd been friends with Megan since high school, when they were the only girls in the computer club. Megan still lived in Seattle and worked for Microsoft.

Toni felt a sharp stab of homesickness at the sound of her friend's voice. At Megan's innocent "How are you?" Toni wanted to lock herself in the bathroom and give her a play-by-play rundown of the events of the last few days, starting with the call from Marcy and ending with her confusing and dangerous reaction to Ethan Taggart. If anyone could talk sense into her, it was Megan.

But Ethan was staring at her, his arms folded across his bare, hard chest as he waited for her to get off the phone. Toni would keep Megan on the phone all night if it meant avoiding the discussion Ethan wanted to have.

Toni offered a semi-sincere "Fine" in response to Megan's greeting.

"You don't sound fine," Megan replied, "but I have excellent news."

"Good, because I need it."

Ethan c.o.c.ked a dark eyebrow and made a "wrap it up" motion with his hand.

Toni walked over to the window, showing him her back. She heard his heavy footsteps thud across the hardwood floor, the thump as a kitchen cabinet was opened with unnecessary force.

"Sounds like there's a juicy story there somewhere," Megan replied, and Toni couldn't help but look at Ethan, who was still watching her and obviously eavesdropping. "Too bad I'm about to go into a meeting. But I wanted to tell you-I got the job in Paris!"

Toni made appropriately excited sounds and offered her congratulations. Megan had been trying to get transferred to the Paris office for six months now.

"That's not the only good thing," Megan continued. "I'm only going for a year, so I'm keeping my apartment. I already talked to my landlord, and he's totally cool with you subletting it until I get back. Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, great." Toni's reply sounded lackl.u.s.ter to her own ears. What was wrong with her? This was the solution to all of her problems. Megan's apartment was gorgeous, located only a few blocks from where Toni had lived. Better yet, her landlord was a family friend, so her rent was well below market value. And because Toni wouldn't have to come up with a security deposit, she didn't need to wait to build up her bank account before she could move.

All she had to do was pack up her stuff and head north. Megan's apartment was furnished, and Toni could fit all of her stuff in the trunk of a car.

"Why don't you sound more excited?" Megan asked. "This is the perfect solution to the mess John left you in after he dumped you."

"I know," Toni said, doing her best to brighten her tone. "This is great news." But the reason for her lack of enthusiasm was less than twenty feet away, chugging a gla.s.s of water before slamming it down on the granite counter, watching her with an intense blue gaze that made her insides melt like hot fudge. Less than a week ago, Toni would have been jumping for joy at Megan's news. Knowing that she didn't have to wait until the end of the summer to move back to Seattle should have had her over the moon.

But that was before she had met Ethan, before he'd blown through her defenses and shown her exactly how amazing a physical connection between two people could be. But it was more than mere s.e.x. He'd stripped her naked in more ways than one. She'd talked more to him about Mich.e.l.le and how her sister's death had affected her than she ever had to anyone. He alone seemed to be able to get her to admit to feelings she'd rather keep boxed up and stored away in some deep, dark corner of herself.

He'd told her he loved her.

But she couldn't stake her future on something he said at the height of climax.

Could she?

Even as every logical brain cell warned her he would get bored quickly and move on, something about him tugged at her, pulled her in, until the thought of moving back to Seattle and never seeing him again was enough to make her physically ill.

Didn't she know better than this? Hadn't her experience with John been enough to teach her not to change her plans for any man? She knew exactly what she had to do to be successful, and John had thrown her so far off track she'd been afraid for a time that she'd never get back on. Now she had the chance to get back to her friends and to the life she'd missed so much in the past year. Was she actually contemplating giving it up? And for what? Because she was stupid enough to let a handful of o.r.g.a.s.ms fool her into believing this was true love?

Really, Toni, what in G.o.d's name do you think is going to happen? That he's going to declare his everlasting love for you? Ethan Taggart can have any woman he wants-and most likely already has. Are you seriously dumb enough to fall for the whole taming-the-bad-boy fantasy?

Toni was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them. What she had with Ethan was nothing more than a hot fling, made all the more intense by the crazy circ.u.mstances of this case. Now the case was closed, Kara was home, and Toni couldn't let herself be distracted from her plan.

"I can't wait to get back," Toni said, almost convincing herself that she meant it. Ethan's eyebrows shot up, then furrowed slightly. "I've been dying to get out of here for months."

"I can't wait to see you! But I'm leaving for France at the end of August, so you have to get up here before that so we can hang out for a little while before I go."

"I just have to wrap up a few details on a case and pack up my stuff. After that, I'm out of here."

Toni hung up, trying to ignore the imposing male presence now standing about two inches behind her. As if Ethan would ever be ignored.

"Who was that?" he demanded.

"My friend Megan." She told him the news about the apartment. "I'd been planning to move back sometime this fall, as soon as I could get enough money saved up. But now I don't have to wait. Isn't that awesome?"

He looked at her as if she'd just grown two heads. "You're moving back to Seattle?" he asked.

"I've been planning it for the last year. I moved here to be with John," she said, not wanting to go into the details of how, in addition to being cheated on, she'd found herself financially stranded here or else she would have moved back immediately. She didn't want him to see how pathetic she really was. "Since we broke up, there isn't much point in my staying."

"What about us?" he said.

"What 'us' Ethan? We've known each other for four days." Her heart picked up speed, and she tried not to let herself get caught up in wild fantasies of ending happily ever after with Ethan Taggart.

He leaned into her, pressing her up against the wall. "Tell me you don't feel anything. Tell me you don't feel something real here."

"Okay, I can't deny there's something, but it's not enough to base the rest of my life on." He leaned in and kissed her, sliding his tongue against hers in a way that made her want to give in, promise him anything. "People don't fall in love in four days," she repeated, feebly.

"Maybe I have," he said and kissed her again.

CHAPTER 18.

E THAN CUPPED TONI'S face, holding her still as he pinned her against the wall and devoured her mouth. His hands shook with frustration and l.u.s.t. And, yeah, a little bit of fear.

Okay, a whole f.u.c.king lot of fear.

There was a reason he didn't do love, didn't do commitment. He'd seen what love had done to his father, seen how his mother's abandonment had wrecked a strong man. Ethan never wanted to be that weak.

Yet here he was, handing over his heart to a woman too scared to take it. Didn't she realize he was terrified, too? Terrified of getting hurt, opening himself up and letting someone inside?

But after he'd blurted out the love he'd only barely acknowledged, he figured it was up to him to be brave. Or stupid, depending on how you looked at it.

"I love you," he said, the words sounding angry to his own ears.

"Don't," Toni gasped against his mouth, almost crying. "Don't say that."

He nipped her lip in punishment, then slicked his tongue over the sore spot. "Why not?"

Her fingers dug into the bare skin of his back, kneading the tense muscles. "Because I want to believe you too much, and we both know it's not true."

His c.o.c.k swelled against the zipper of his pants, insistent, needing. "You can believe me, please believe me." Christ, was he begging? He kissed her throat and sucked at the delicate skin.

"Please don't do this to me," she said, her voice high and breathy. "I don't want to talk right now. It's too much."