“You weren’t supposed to agree so readily.”

“Sadie,” he said, his dark eyes burning hotter now. He reached out and gently touched her glass, lowering it. “You know what this is.”

“I know,” she said. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Then why are you angry?”

“Because,” she said, setting her wineglass down on the trunk and standing, moving over to where Eli sat and standing in front of him, “I had a little fantasy.”

“Did you?” he asked, his focus sharpening.

“Mmm-hmm.” She put her knee on the couch, next to his thigh, and then the other one, straddling his lap. “It had to do with getting you to relax a little.”

“This is not the way to relax me,” he said, putting his hands on her hips. “You realize that, right?”

“I was going to relax you,” she said. “Lick the wine flavor off your lips.” She leaned in and traced the outline of his top lip with the tip of her tongue. “But I have to say you taste pretty good all on your own.”

He took a deep breath, his hold on her tightening, his head falling back. “You’re dangerous. Do you know that?”

“I’ve never been accused of being dangerous.” She planted her hands on his chest and leaned forward, kissing him hard. “Flaky. Fun. Fluttery. Lots of F words, none too naughty. Never dangerous.”

“Then the men you’ve been with before were blind.”

“Or maybe we just didn’t have this kind of chemistry. It’s definitely a little bit more combustible than the norm.”

“True,” he said, sliding his hand upward, forking his fingers through her hair, his thumb teasing the edge of her lips. “You still mad at me?”

“Not really,” she said.

“Good. Because I didn’t come here to fight.”

“I’m hoping you came for another one of those F words.”

“Yep,” he said, “and I stand by my original statement. You, Sadie Miller, are dangerous as hell.”

“You’re not exactly a kitten, Deputy Garrett.” She arched her hips forward and gasped as she came into contact with his erection, rock-hard and obviously ready for her.

Really, she was becoming less and less disappointed in the loss of her brief domestic fantasy.

He tightened his hold on her hair and tugged her face down to his, kissing her deep and long. Leaving her gasping for breath. “Not exactly,” he said.

Just like that the intensity was back. The need that hit hard like a punch to the stomach and made it hard to breathe. The desire that verged on pain, her core already so slick with need for him, so sensitized, one more calculated move against his cock would send her straight over the edge.

But the releases Eli offered weren’t easy. Not a sweet relief like the opening of a flower, they were like going through a storm. And she was charging in willingly, knowing full well how it would be. Knowing that this time might be the time that saw her washed overboard, completely adrift.

It was worth the risk. Every time it was worth the risk.

She kissed him back, bit his lower lip as she tugged his T-shirt up over his head. Then she put her hands on his chest, all that hard, hot muscle for her to explore. Just for her.

“You, too,” he growled.

And she hastened to obey, tugging her shirt up over her head, undoing the front clasp on her bra. She leaned forward, a short, sharp sound escaping her lips when her nipples came into contact with all that hot bare skin.

He moved his hands over her back, his touch firm and sure. He touched her with the kind of authority she had no issue with at all.

He tightened his hold on her and picked her up, switching their positions so that she was lying sideways on the couch, on her back, with him over her, his hands on the snap of his jeans. Heat flooded her face, her body, anticipation coursing along her veins as she waited for him to get his pants off.

She undid her jeans and pushed them and her underwear down her legs. “Come on,” she said, “you’re going to kill me.”

“I don’t think you’re going to die,” he said, leaning in, tracing the outline of her nipple with his tongue.

“Yes,” she said, the breath rushing from her lungs, “I really think I might.”

“I didn’t realize you were so fragile,” he said, kissing her lightly on the breast before moving downward, pressing another kiss to her stomach.

“I am not fragile.”

“You sure, baby? Another one of those F words.”

“You turn into such a bad man when your dick is hard,” she said, her voice shaky.

“And you like it,” he said.

“Hell yes, I like it.”

“Then we don’t have a problem.” He took hold of her leg, his fingertips sliding along her inner thigh, her muscles quivering in response.

“Except the little problem where I die because you won’t give me what I want.”

“What do you want?” he asked, pressing his lips along the path his fingers had just traced.

“Oh...I... You know.”

“You want this,” he said, leaning in, hot breath blowing across her clit.

“Oh...yes. Please.”

“You’re going to have to ask me by name.”

“Please, Eli,” she said. She wasn’t above taking orders. Hell, at this point, she was so desperate for release she wasn’t above begging. “Oh, please.”

“Please what?”

“Please do...you know.”

“You want me to lick you until you scream?”

Heat shot through her, her face burning hot. She was not a prude, but she’d never had a man talk to her like this before, either. And the fact that it was Eli, straight-arrow Eli Garrett who didn’t get double entendres and who’d once put her in handcuffs in an un-fun way, made it feel all the more illicit and shocking.