Murdock's Last Stand

Chapter 4

Catherine didn’t know what hit her! Murdock’s big arms tightened around her in an embrace that made escape impossible. In that one instant before his mouth closed over hers, a dozen different elements swept through her consciousness. The sexual glint in Murdock’s hazel eyes. The faint scar on his left cheek. The musky scent of his masculine body. The sound of his accelerated breathing. And the width of his massive shoulders.

With her mind overloaded by exciting, threatening sensations and her body betraying her by pressing against Murdock’s rock-hard frame, Catherine opened her mouth to object. But before she could utter a word, he speared his fingers into her hair and gripped the back of her head solidly in one huge hand. Immobilized by shock and a primitive awareness, she could do nothing more than whimper when he took her mouth in a overpowering kiss. The ravaging attack possessed a tantalizing tenderness that she hadn’t expected. And that hint of gentleness was her undoing. All thoughts of protest vanished as she eagerly responded with a fierceness that equaled his. Lost to rational thought, removed from logical action by the all too human instincts controlling her, Catherine reached up and clasped Murdock’s shoulders, clinging to him as he deepened the kiss.

He walked her backward, up against the wall, and all the while devoured her mouth greedily. She trembled with expectation when she felt the thick, swollen hardness of his sex pulsing against her belly. Her short, round nails bit into the cloth of his shirt, trying to draw him closer.

Their tongues plunged, swiped and sampled, participating in a prelude to actual mating. When he buried his face against her neck, his lips searing her flesh, his teeth nipping, she drew in a deep, shuddering breath. Shivers of desire rippled along her nerve endings when his hand covered one breast and kneaded softly.

He thrust himself hard against her mound. Shock waves of fear and longing flooded through her. She gasped audibly, but made no move to stop him.

“Do you want to take this farther?” Murdock asked, his voice ragged with arousal. “If we don’t stop now, I’m going to have you right here, up against the wall. Is that what you want?”

Yes. Sweet mercy, yes! That’s exactly what she wanted. She wanted him inside her. Pounding. Throbbing. Filling her completely. Loving her as she’d never been loved.

“This is insane!” She loosened her tight grip on his shoulders. “How—how could I have let this happen?” She had been on the verge of having sex with Murdock—a man she neither liked nor respected. Had she lost her mind?

“You didn’t let it happen, honey.” Murdock eased his body away from hers and took a step back, allowing her breathing room. “I could see this coming a mile off. It’s been there, between us, ever since we recognized each other at the airport in Atlanta yesterday.”

Catherine shook her head as if to dislodge irrational thoughts and better comprehend what he’d just said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”