The Cutting Edge Read online

  He drove a little too fast, and when she glanced at him she saw that his jaw was set, and his sensual mouth was pressed into a grim line. He looked hard and dangerous, not the sort of man a woman should play with. In more primitive times, he would probably have thrown her over his shoulder and carried her off. Tessa glanced at him again, and a shiver ran down her spine, because there was a ruthlessness in his face that frightened her a little.

  When they reached her apartment, he silently took the key from her and opened the door, then stepped back for her to enter. Tessa switched on the light and turned to face him, but whatever she’d meant to say was forever lost as he closed the door and locked it. She caught her breath, her eyes lifting to his. His eyelids had drooped sensually, so that only a thin line of navy blue was revealed, but his intent was plain to read. Without a word, he shrugged out of his coat and unknotted his tie, pulling it free from his collar, then tossed the discarded garments over the back of a chair. “Now,” he whispered harshly, his eyes never leaving hers, “come here and touch me.”

  Blindly, Tessa walked into his arms.

  His mouth was hungry and hurtful, but her mouth clung to his in a trembling ecstasy that asked for all he could give her. Her ribs were crushed by the almost brutal grip of his arms, but she couldn’t get close enough to him. She ached at the hateful separation of their flesh. She heard husky little whimpers, but though she didn’t recognize them as her own, Brett heard them, and everything male in him responded to those feminine sounds of pleasure. He bent her over his arm, and his mouth left hers to sear a path down the smooth column of her throat, down even more to the firm jut of her breasts. He fastened his mouth on her flesh, and even through the fabric of her dress she felt his moist heat, and desire so sharp that it was painful sliced through her.

  She sagged abruptly against him as her knees wobbled and lost their ability to hold her upright. Just as swiftly, he swung her up in his arms and took the few steps to the closest chair, settling into it with her draped over his lap. Tessa opened her love-drugged eyes, the green depths deep and dreamy as she looked at him. Her hands wound around his strong neck. “I’ve tried not to love you,” she whispered achingly, unable to hold her love secret, “but I can’t stop myself.”

  A strong shudder rolled through him at her words. It didn’t matter how many other men had heard the words of love from her luscious mouth. It didn’t even matter that he’d never wanted a woman to love him. He’d always been coolly indifferent to any feelings of devotion he might have aroused…until Tessa. She was a challenge like none he’d encountered before. It wasn’t the resistance she’d put up against him, because she really hadn’t resisted him at all. Rather, she’d eluded him, letting him glimpse her womanly richness, then flitting away out of reach. She was so intensely female that he instinctively wanted her; she was a woman who could match the fierceness of his masculinity. In loving him, she gave herself to him, and he wasn’t inclined to let her go free again.

  His left arm under her back, he arched her up to meet the hungry possession of his mouth, while with his free hand he began opening the line of tiny buttons that marched down the front of her dress. Tessa trembled in his grasp, but didn’t protest. She didn’t want him to stop; she wanted him to love her like this forever. She’d learned that there was a time for giving and a time for taking. This was her time to give. She’d give all of herself to the man she loved, freely, with all the loving generosity of her nature. Her heart was slamming against her rib cage so violently that she felt dizzy, and in an effort to get more air she turned her head away from his kiss, exposing the tender, elegant line of her throat to him. He explored it with his hot mouth, and Tessa made a little whimpering sound. She wanted him; she needed him so much that she ached deep inside, and she clutched at him with desperate fingers.

  “Slow down, slow down,” he murmured, easing the dress off her shoulders. “I want this to last a long time. Let’s get this off you, so I can see you; I want to strip you naked and touch you all over.”

  She pulled her arms out of the sleeves and lay back into the cradle of his arm, letting him look his fill at the way her breasts pushed at the thin silky fabric of the white camisole she wore. She hadn’t worn a bra, so the dark pink nubs of her hardened nipples were clearly outlined, the small tips begging for his attention. His breath came harder and faster as he lifted her up and tugged the dress down around her hips, then pushed it down her legs and off. She lay on his lap, and his eyes burned her flesh as they moved slowly over her body. Besides the camisole, her only garments were her matching tap pants, a delicate lace garter belt, silk hosiery and her fragile high-heeled sandals. His hand drifted over her body, learning the contours of her, stroking her silk-clad legs until he reached her ankles. Slowly he removed her shoes and let them drop; then his fingers trailed back up her legs. He fingered the elastic of her garters, and a look of almost brutal desire hardened his face.

  “You should be put under lock and key,” he said gutturally, never taking his eyes from the path his hand traveled. His fingers curled under the waistband of her tap pants and he pulled them down, revealing the soft little hollow of her navel. He circled it with a gentle finger, then the as-yet uncovered riches of her body lured him on, and his hand moved upward to her breasts. He fondled her, his hand burning her flesh. Tessa twisted on his lap, wanting him to push the camisole away and touch her bare flesh.

  “Please,” she begged softly, arching up to him.

  “What is it you want?” he whispered. “Is it this?” He slid his hand inside the camisole and cupped her breast, his thumb rasping over her taut nipple and setting it on fire.

  Tessa moaned, squirming against him. “Yes. Yes.” She began trembling so violently that her entire body quaked, and he soothed her, cuddling her closer against his hard frame while his hand continued to stroke her breasts.

  “Easy, honey,” he crooned. “I’m going to give you what you want. Touch me; tell me what you want me to do to you.”

  The first part of his instructions was easy to carry out. Her hands were drawn to him anyway, and she put them on his chest, feeling the heat of his body burning through his shirt. But the second part… . How could she tell him, when all she knew was that she wanted him so badly she was dying from the exquisite pain of it? She was surrounded by his power, his sexuality.

  “I don’t know,” she whispered shakily, clinging to him. She drew a deep, wavering breath. “I don’t know how to handle you.”

  His blue eyes were so dark that they were almost black. “Sweetheart, you know exactly how to handle me. You know what I want.”

  “But that’s the problem, I don’t.” Summoning up all her courage. Tessa gave him a tender, shaky smile. “Or rather, I know what you want, but I don’t know how to go about it.”

  Brett went very still, his eyes burning as they searched hers. He considered the meaning of her words, and because he was so sensually aroused and acutely aware of her every reaction, he went straight to the heart of the matter. “Tessa, haven’t you ever had a man before?”

  “No.” Her hands moved over his face. “I love you, and I want you to be the first.”

  A curious spasm crossed his face; then he surged to his feet, with her held high in his arms. “I’ll show you,” he muttered hoarsely. “I’ll take care of you, honey. You don’t have to be afraid.”

  He strode swiftly to her bedroom and shouldered the door open, then crossed the room and placed her on the bed. He turned on the bedside lamp, and she stared up at his hard face. He didn’t look cool and aloof now. He was burning with desire, all other thoughts wiped out of his mind. Gently he removed the rest of her clothing, leaving her lying nude on her bed, and she made an instinctive move to shield her body from his probing gaze. “No, let me see you,” he said, and held her arms above her head while he touched every inch of her with his eyes. Incredible that this lovely, delicate piece of femininity had never lain uncovered before a man’s hungry eyes before. Incredible that no othe