Нора Робертс - Key of Knowledge

“This is the little game I call writing for a living. Go away, come back later.”

“Im talking about the flower, and Ive got just as much right to be here as you do. Its my brothers house.”

“And this is, currently, my room in your brothers house.”

She gave it one derisive scan. There was a bed, unmade, her own childhood dresser that shed passed to Flynn when hed bought the house, an open suitcase on the floor. The desk where Jordan worked had been Flynns during his teenage years and was missing one of the three drawers that ran down the side. On it was a laptop, some files and books, a pack of cigarettes, and a metal ashtray.

“Looks more like a weigh station,” she commented.

“It doesnt have to be pretty.” Resigned, he reached for his cigarettes.

“Thats a brainless habit.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He lit it, deliberately blew out smoke. “Half a pack a day, and mostly when Im working. Get off my back. Whatre you riled up about, anyway? I thought women liked getting flowers.”

“You sent me a single red rose.”

“Thats right.” He considered her more thoughtfully now. Her hair was pulled back, so shed been working. She hadnt bothered with makeup, so she hadnt planned on leaving the house. She was wearing jeans, a very faded Penn State sweatshirt, and shined black-leather boots with a stubby heel.

Which meant, he deduced from his knowledge of her, that shed been planning to work around the apartment, then had grabbed the first pair of shoes that came to hand because shed been in a hurry.

And that meant the flower had done the job.

“The single-red-rose gambit is supposed to be romantic.” He smiled when he said it, just a little smugly.

She stepped into the room, skirted the suitcase. “You said it reminded you of me. Just whats what supposed to mean?”

“Its long and sexy, and it smells good. Whats the problem, Stretch?”

“Look, you went for the big splashy date Saturday. Good job. But if you think I can be taken in by a fancy meal and a rosebud, youre sadly mistaken.”

He hadnt shaved, she noted, and could have used a haircut. Damn it, shed always been a sucker for that heading-toward-scruffy look on him.

Then there was the expression on his face when she stepped in the door, before hed known she was there. Half dreamy, half gone. And his mouth had been sort of grim and determined.

She had to grip the doorjamb to stop herself from rushing over and biting that mouth.

And now he was just watching her, that cocky half smile on his face. She didnt know whether to punch him or jump him,

“Im not some starry-eyed kid this time around, and… what are you grinning at?”

“Got you over here, didnt it?”

“Well, Im not staying. Im just here to tell you it doesnt work.”

“I missed you. The more Im around you, the more I realize how much.”

Her heart fluttered and was ruthlessly ignored. “That doesnt cut it with me either.”

“What does?”

“You might try straight-up honesty for a change. Saying what you mean without any of the goofy touches. Which are clichйs, by the way,” she added as he stubbed out the cigarette and got to his feet.

And clichйs became clichйs, she thought, because they goddamn worked.

“All right.” He stopped in front of her, hooked his fingers in the neck of her sweatshirt and tugged her forward. “Cant get my mind off you, Dana. I can tuck you away in it for stretches of time, but youre still in there. Like a splinter.”

“So yank me out.” She thrust up her chin. “Go ahead.”

“I like you there, which makes me a glutton for punishment. I like you here, curling your lip at me and smelling of rain.”

He reached up, tugged the band out of her hair and tossed it aside. Then he wrapped his fingers where the band had been. “I want to take you to bed, right now. I want to sink my teeth into you. I want to bury myself inside you. And when were done, I want to do it all over again.”

He angled his head, kept his eyes on hers. “Hows that for straight-up honesty?”

“Not half bad.”

HE stared at her, trying to gauge her mood. “If that wasnt a yes” he decided, “youd better run for the door. Fast.”

“It—”

The rest of the words spilled down her throat when he swung her off her feet. “Too late. I win by default.”

She did her best to frown, but it wasnt easy with the giddy thrill pumping through her. “Maybe I only want you because youre one of the few guys who can cart me around like Im in the featherweight division.”

“Its a start. I like your build, Stretch. Lots of territory to explore. What are you carrying now?” He juggled her a bit. “About one-fifty?”

A dangerous glint sharpened her eyes. “You think a comment like thats going to make me go gooey?”

“And every ounce exquisitely packed.”

“Nice save.”

“Thanks. I like your face, too.”

“If youre about to say something about it being full of character, Im going to hurt you.”

“Those deep, dark eyes.” He laid her on the bed as he looked into them. “I never could get the image of those eyes out of my head. Then theres that mouth. All soft and ripe and tasty.” He nipped into her bottom lip, tugged gently. “I could spend hours thinking about your mouth.”

She wasnt going gooey, exactly, but she had to admit something inside was definitely warming up. “Youre better at this than you used to be.”

“Shut up. Im working here.” He cruised his lips over her cheeks. “Then theres the dimples. Unexpected, capricious, strangely sexy. Ive always loved the look of you.”

He took her mouth again, long, slow, and deep until the pleasure spread from that point of contact through her body and straight down to her toes.

Oh, yes, she thought, he was much, much better at it now.

“Remember that first time with us?”

She arched a little, shifted a little as he nuzzled at her neck. “Since we all but set the living room rug on fire, its a little tough to forget it.”

“All that pent-up passion and energy. Its a wonder we survived it.”

“We were young and resilient.”

He eased back, smiled at her. “Now were older and smarter. Im going to drive you crazy, and its going to take a very long time.”

The muscles in her belly quivered. She needed to be touched. She needed to be shared, and with him—always with him—she could have both.

Shed known they would end up here when shed walked out of her apartment. Maybe shed known, down deep, theyd end up here the minute shed opened Flynns door and seen Jordan standing outside.

She wanted, he wanted. She could only hope that could be enough for her.

“It happens I have some time on my hands just now.”

“Lets start… right here.”

His lips took hers with a kind of restrained urgency that shot shock waves of hot need through her system. Even as her heart leaped, he changed the tone, gentled it until that raging beat went slow and thick.

She floated back on the memory of what had been between them. The fire and the sinew of it. And forward again, to what was now. A kind of wonder and depth.

Helpless to resist either, hungry for the familiar and the new, she wrapped herself around him.

His body was familiar. The years hadnt really changed it. Long, broad at the shoulder, lean at the hips. The play of muscles under her hands, so much the same. The good solid weight of him, the shape of his mouth, his hands, so much the same.

How shed missed this knowing of another. And the rush of love that streamed through the pleasure of being known by him.

Yet even as she slid into the old rhythm, he eased back and just looked at her.

“What? What is it?”

“I just want to look at you.” He unbuttoned her shirt, taking his time about it, skimming the backs of his fingers over the exposed skin. And never taking his eyes off hers. “I want you to look at me. Who we were, who we are. Not so far apart, really.” Still watching her face, he trailed his fingers over the thin cotton of her bra. “But just far enough to be interesting, dont you think?”

“You want me to think?” She shivered as those lazy fingers brushed her nipples.

“Youre always thinking.” He drew her up, slipped the shirt away. “Such a busy mind. Just one more thing about you that appeals to me.”

As his hands stroked her back, she linked her arms around his neck. “Youre awfully chatty, Hawke.”

“Just gives you one more thing to think about, doesnt it?”

He opened the clasp of her bra, then walked his fingers over her shoulders to nudge the straps down.

His lips touched hers, retreated, touched and retreated until her arms locked around him and with a catch of breath her mouth fused to his.

Hed wanted that—that quick flash of need. For him. Because no, he didnt want her to think, but only to feel what they could bring to each other. Here and now.

His fingers tangled in her hair, then his hands fisted there, drawing her head back so that he could plunder her mouth, her throat. So that he could, for a moment, release the restless animal that prowled inside him.

He could have devoured her in one reckless bite. But that was too fast, that was too easy. Instead he let the heat rage and tormented them both.

He feasted on her, then sampled. His hands rushed over her, then slowed and lingered. When she trembled, so did he.

Her body had always been the purest of pleasures to him. Not just the shape and texture, but its eagerness to enjoy, its openness to the adventure of sex. The thunder of her heart under his lips aroused him as much as the ripe breasts.