"I can do that," I said softly, tugging at the waist of his briefs and pulling them down. He quickly wriggled out of them and then was naked in front of me.

Naked, and gorgeous. And hugely erect. His cock was long and thick, the crown tipped with a bead of moisture. I brushed a finger over that bead and was rewarded with his deep groan in response. My fingers moved hesitantly over the length of him, just testing. Fluttering. That was . . . exciting. I wrapped my hands around his length and bent to take the head into my mouth.

His breath exploded. "Oh, God, Marie. That's so good."

Encouraged, I swirled my tongue around the crown, then sucked it again. I wanted to please him, to make him as crazy for me as I was for him. My grip tightened on his cock and I sucked harder.

He thrust into my mouth, then pulled away. "You can put your mouth on me next time," he whispered, giving me another hot kiss. "Right now I want you pinned under me, screaming my name."

That visual stole the breath from my lungs.

He raised up over me, staring down at me with incredible tenderness, his hands spreading my hair around my head in a halo. "I always wanted to see you like this. Beautiful and soft."

"And naked in your arms?" I guessed.

"Naked in my arms," he agreed, then leaned in and kissed my shoulder. "With your breasts in my face, your nipples calling to my mouth," he continued, and followed that statement with his lips grazing over the tips of my breasts.

I gave a low, shuddering cry.

"Naked in my arms, with your thighs over my shoulders," he said softly, moving down my body and lightly running his mouth down my belly. His thumbs moved to my sex, and he ran one down the wet seam.

"Josh," I moaned, unable to do anything but breathe his name. "Please. I want you inside me."

He ignored my pleas, parting the lips of my sex and licking me in a long, slow motion that set me to shuddering and whimpering.

"You taste so sweet, Marie," he whispered, and I felt that wild purr start up again. "Slick and wet and so good. I could spend hours here."

I moaned at the thought. I wouldn't be able to survive hours. I'd expire, happy and content and boneless. When he licked again I squirmed under him, feeling that ache deep in my core rising and helpless to do anything about it. My hips rose in response to his next lick, and I cried his name out again.

"Need you," he breathed. "Next time, I'll spend hours there."

"Whatever," I said, twisting under him, desperate with need. "Please. I need you, Joshua."

He surged back over me, pushed my quivering legs wide, and settled on top of me, propping his body up on his elbows. Then he leaned in to kiss me again. The man loved kissing more than I'd thought possible.

He lifted one of my legs, anchoring it around his waist. His hand slid between us as he positioned himself, and I felt the head of his cock nudging at my entrance. I tensed a little, anticipating his slow slide into my body.

It had been so long that I wasn't prepared for his thrust as he sank in to the hilt, and I yelped.

He stiffened, the hot, glazed look in his eyes turning to horror. "Marie . . . baby? You okay?"

I squirmed, digging my fingernails into his flesh. He was so big. "I'm good. Just give me a minute. It's been a while."

He stared at me. "How long has it been?"

"A few . . . years. Maybe . . . a decade."

He swore, trying to pull off me. "Fuck, Marie. I'm sorry. I didn't know. I would have-"

I silenced him with a kiss, wrapping my legs around him. The last thing I wanted was to be treated like some delicate flower. "Shhh. Can we just go on with this?"

He kissed me back, almost grudgingly. "Tell me when you stop hurting."

I took his lower lip in my mouth and sucked on it, eliciting a groan from him. His hips jerked against mine, resulting in a little dig of his cock buried deep inside me. And it felt . . . good. A little twingey, but I was adjusting. I rocked my hips a little against him. "Oh, yeah. It's definitely stopped hurting. Give me more, Josh."

Strain creased his forehead. "I'll go slow, but you have to tell me if you hurt." And he very slowly rocked his hips against my own in a smooth, circling motion. I followed his lead, once, twice, and then he began to pump into me slowly, his gaze intent on my face, watching my reactions.

"I'm not a virgin, so you don't have to be so-" My mouth parted as he stroked into me. "Oh . . . "

"Good oh or bad oh?" His voice sounded strained, his movements stilling.

My fingers clenched his ass. "Good oh. Keep doing that, Josh."

He began to pump into me, harder, faster. The twinges of discomfort were soon buried in an onslaught of sensation. I'd never felt anything like this before. Every nerve ending was alive and on fire, and my hips rose to meet his with every thrust, my movements clumsy in comparison to his, but I didn't care. I needed him, needed this.

Josh whispered against my neck as he rocked deep into me, each thrust jolting my body, his movements becoming rougher, jerkier. My body was tensing but I wasn't quite there yet, and my fingers dug into him harder as his hips pistoned against my own. "Josh . . . I need . . . "

"I know," he gasped, punctuating his words with another thrust. "I'm going to give it to you."

Watching my face, he slid his hand between us, searching. His fingers parted the lips of my sex and found my clit, and then he thrust again, rubbing against it.

If I thought I was on fire before, I was an inferno now. My entire body jolted like a live wire, and the pleasure I'd been chasing came closer. "Right there!"

He continued to thrust, his fingers teasing the bud with quick, rapid movements. Thrust, stroke, thrust, stroke, and my body kept tensing harder until I thought I would snap in two, my muscles locking so tight.

And then I went over the edge, my entire body clenching around him in a hard, rocking orgasm. I screamed his name as he thrust hard and wild into me. His teeth locked down on my collarbone, biting me as he came in his own quick, violent release.

He rocked over me a moment longer, kissing my mouth one last, slow time, and then rolled over to lie next to me. He exhaled a deep, gusty breath.

I echoed it, my body still quivering. "Damn," I said softly.

"A decade, huh?"

"Hush up, Josh."

He kissed my palm. "In all seriousness . . . are you okay?"

"I think I pulled a few muscles-but I've never been better."

Even exhausted and deliciously sated from lovemaking, I couldn't sleep. Next to me, his hand curled in my hair, leg thrown over mine, Josh slept, his chest rumbling in a purr. I closed my eyes and tried to will my body to sleep, but after an hour of tossing and turning, I gave up.

I carefully detangled myself without waking him and tiptoed down the hall for a quick shower. Then, after I toweled off, I headed for my puzzle.

Chapter Eleven.

I was just putting away the completed puzzle when Josh wandered into the room, yawning and scratching his head. He looked so deliciously disheveled that it made my pulse race.

He moved to my side and glanced at the puzzle box. "Did I sleep for long?"

"Seven hours." I was envious.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in for a kiss. I went reluctantly, feeling awkward. Wasn't this the part where he was supposed to tell me he'd call me sometime and then skate out? But he nibbled at my lips, and when I softened against him he began to languidly kiss me, his tongue sliding into my mouth with a slow promise. By the time he released me I was dazed, desire pulsing through my body.

His mouth inches from mine, he chuckled low. "You shouldn't have let me sleep so late. We could have had more time for . . . other things."

Heat flickered through me, especially when his hands slipped to my ass and began to knead it. I tried to focus my thoughts. "Do you have to work tonight?"

He nodded, molding my hips against his. "More vampire guarding. The usual."

And I had to work, too. Too bad we couldn't stay here all night and simply hold each other. A lovely thought. Josh certainly didn't seem ready to move. He kept caressing my backside and watching me with that possessive, intense gaze. I touched a hand to my hair. "I suppose I should start getting ready for work."

And he probably wanted to get going.

But he didn't seem to be in a hurry. He kissed me one more time and then released me. "Want to go out for breakfast?"

"It's dinnertime for everyone else."

Josh's smile was achingly sweet. "Not for you and me."

That made us sound like . . . something more. Did he always go out to breakfast with his dates afterward? I'd gotten the impression that he got away from them as quickly as he could. But the two of us were in that weird zone that was more than friends but less than a couple. Friends with benefits.

And friends could go out for breakfast.

"Sure," I said. "Give me fifteen minutes to get ready."

I wasn't surprised when Josh suggested the diner. I didn't even mind when he left me to go hunt down Carol and pull her into a big bear hug. The elderly woman lit up at the sight of him, and I smiled in response.

I felt that way whenever I saw him, too. There was something so boyish and exuberant about Josh. He was open and flirty and pleasant to everyone-everything I was not. What on earth did he see in me?

Voyons, it was obvious: he had told me himself. He was a predator, and predators liked the chase. I'd been playing hard to get, and now I wasn't hard to get anymore.

I felt a twinge of anxiety. Was I going to be another one-night stand?

But that was what I wanted, right? So why was I even thinking these things?

Carol showed us to the same booth we'd had last time, gave me a knowing wink, then headed off for coffee. The evening was young and the restaurant was full. When I slid into the booth, Josh slid in beside me, just like last time.

Except this time I didn't pull away. And this time he put his arm around my shoulders, drawing me close and kissing my temple. Affectionate. Sweet. Loving. Like a real couple.

Which we couldn't be. Disconcerted, I grabbed the menu. "What are you getting?"

"The usual," he said.

I grinned, amused. "I think I'll go with something smaller this time."

I ordered a breakfast platter when Carol returned, and Josh spent a few minutes chatting with her about how she was doing, and her cats. His arm remained around my shoulders the entire time, and Carol didn't blink at the sight.

Did he bring many dates here? It didn't seem like a date spot. Was she used to seeing him with his arm around random females? The thought made me unhappy.

As soon as Carol walked away, my phone rang. I fished it out of my purse and winced at the name displayed. Dad. I'd been avoiding him ever since my insomnia had hit and I'd started pursuing my crazy plan. I felt a little bad about that, but he was so wrapped up in Posey that I didn't think he noticed. His calls were less frequent and tended to be about the exciting places they were going, and why didn't I join them.

"Hi, Daddy," I said, giving Josh a warning to be quiet.

"Salut, ma petite puce," he boomed into the phone.

"How's it going, Dad? How's the trip to Vegas?"

"We're back early," he said. "You sound like you're in a restaurant! Hot date?"

"Not exactly. Just breakfast with a friend."

That friend slid his hand on the inside of my thigh and nipped at my shoulder. My entire body flushed in response.

"Friend, huh?" Josh murmured against my neck.

My dad was still chatting. "Have you been seeing this friend for long?"

"Not long," I said lamely. Thank God Josh couldn't hear the conversation . . . or could he? Shifters had good hearing. "So you enjoyed Vegas?"

"Vegas was great! But Posey spent all her money and we got bored. The show she wanted to see was cancelled, so we thought we'd come back and see you instead."

It was getting difficult for me to concentrate on the conversation, since Josh had his hand on my thigh. I could have sworn it was inching up even higher. Josh was watching me with an intense gaze, even as the food was set down. I gave him a faint smile, trying to concentrate on the call. "I'm working all week, Dad. I don't know if I can-"

"You get off at eight a.m. tomorrow, right? Posey and I'll bring you breakfast! It'll be grand. You know we'd love to see you."

I wanted to see my dad, too, but I wasn't sure about him coming over. I was worried he'd suspect something. "Gee, I don't know."

"Oh, come on," he said cheerfully. "Posey's been saving you some Avon samples, and she's dying to show them to you. And you should bring your friend so I can meet him."

This was rapidly getting worse. "Daddy-"

"What's the matter?" Josh murmured against my neck. "Don't want to be seen with me?"

I froze. "I just-"

"Come on, honey. I'm dying to see you again."