High Seduction Read online

  “You plan on putting on a show for the neighbours?” she asked.

  “There’s no one on this level but us.” Tim sat next to her, stroking a hand from her hip toward her ankle. “I could close them, but it’s a waste of time.”

  She leaned on one elbow, wondering why there was a slight sense of disappointment coursing through her. “Forget the windows, and take off your clothes.”

  His eyes lit up and he followed her directions. Sort of.

  Under her, the silky sheets caressed her skin, and she was tempted to roll on their surface like a puppy, wallowing in the sensual pleasure. While she moved back to settle against the pillows, Tim undid the buttons on his cuffs. The tails hung out, and the open shirtfront showcased his chest, offering teasing glimpses of muscular abdomen, but he still wore just as much as before.

  Erin moved quickly to the edge of the mattress. Forget lazing about like an Egyptian ruler. “You seem a little hard of hearing right now,” she scolded.

  She caught his open shirtfront and tugged up and back, dropping the material from his shoulders and leaving bare lots of lovely, firm body. Tim shrugged his shirt off the rest of the way as she got distracted, slipping an open palm over his chest to caress the light layer of hair swirled over the surface. Two hands were needed for this kind of exploration, and she leaned in to plant a kiss inches over a nipple.

  Tim wrapped his fingers around her wrists and stopped her from reaching her next goal. “This is about you, remember?”

  “I am remembering. This is all about me, and what I want right now is to play.” She tugged on his grip, raising a brow until he let her go.

  Only she didn’t get to help him out of his pants. Tim crawled over her, crowding her against the mattress, and those talented lips were at her throat and she wasn’t going to complain.

  She used her fingers to trace his shoulder muscles. To enjoy rubbing her thumbs along strands of muscle that tempted her. To run her fingers through his hair, and listen to the sounds of admiration escaping him.

  He kissed her belly button and sighed happily. She laughed when he did it a second time, then gasped as he dropped lower and covered her sex without further warning.

  “Tim, enough.”

  He wasn’t budging, and this time she wasn’t willing to let him get away with it.

  Erin wrapped her legs around his head and trapped him. Anyone else would have paused in what they were doing, but Tim simply lifted her hips and stroked her intimately again, his tongue dipping deep inside. Her body lay at an angle, shoulders resting on the mattress, senses being played, pleasure rising.

  “Tim. Damn you.”

  His voice vibrated against her. “You want me to stop?”

  At this point, no. “Don’t you dare,” she warned.

  He took her up to the point of climax and then, damn the man, he did exactly what she’d told him not to. He dropped her hips and moved away.

  Erin was ready for him, though. Ripped open his zipper and pulled his cock free. She slipped on the condom she’d found under the pillow, and he laughed.

  She pushed him over, needing her full weight to do it, but he was on his back, cock rising vertically as she straddled him. She found the center where they met. Rubbed over him until it was very clear he was ready for the next stage.

  Erin planted both hands on his naked chest as she rocked. “Now are you ready to listen?”

  “I always listen,” Tim insisted. He settled his hands on her hips and helped her move over him, increasing the intensity tenfold as friction shot skyward.

  She straightened, clutching his hands. Pausing the motion. A slight lift of her hips and the broad head of his cock touched her wet core.

  “Oh love, yes.” Tim’s head tilted back in pleasure as she sank onto him. The thickness of his shaft pressed in all the right spots as she worked herself down. She was wet, but between the condom and his girth, it still wasn’t easy.

  She undulated a few times, loving how they connected so right. How riding him like this rubbed her clit against his body and gave her an extra edge. Even that wasn’t enough because he smiled and slipped one hand between her legs, running his fingertips along the seam where they joined. Pulling up moisture to ease his touch.

  The tempo increased. Need increased. Erin lifted and lowered more rapidly, savoring the slick, edgy pleasure riding her spine. The tension gathering in her core like a firework about to go off.

  “That’s it, love. God, you should see what I see.” Tim didn’t skip a stroke, but his other hand was in motion over her torso. Cupping her breast, fingertips splayed over her belly, curling around her back.

  Her breasts swayed as she rode him, gasping breaths escaping them both. Fire flashed in her veins and triggered another climax, and Erin rocked in place, torso shaking as the orgasm gripped her tightly.

  Then Tim took over, lifting her hips slightly off him so he had room to move. To thrust upward and drive his cock deep into her core. Her sheath squeezed around him, tightening as he forced the pleasure on and on. She moaned, somewhere between wanting it to never end and needing to collapse in the next second.

  Then he shouted, slamming them together and arching up to join her, his body shaking as he released control and took his pleasure.

  Erin rested her head on his shoulder and unashamedly let him support her. “I give up,” she admitted. “You’ve fucked me boneless.”

  “Hmm.” He kissed her temple, running his hands over her hair and her shoulders, her butt resting on his strong thighs, his cock still inside her. “We need to work on your stamina.”

  “I think you’re kind of done as well,” Erin teased. She took a deep breath and relaxed further. “At least, you’re done for now.”

  “For a few minutes, yes,” Tim teased. “I’m not twenty anymore, but I do recover eventually.”

  Sleep beckoned. It was too tempting to stay where she was. To roll to the mattress and close her eyes and stay with him, but she couldn’t. Didn’t want to give up that much power this early in the relationship.

  The sex had been amazing, but . . .

  Erin rolled her shoulders back and stretched, enjoying how Tim’s gaze instantly dropped to her torso, admiration in his every move. Still, it had to be done. She rose, ignoring the loss of him from her body as she shifted to a sitting position, then off the mattress.

  Tim reached for her, but she avoided his touch. Matter-of-factly she found her feet and, under the pretense of stretching, got further into a safe zone.

  He watched her, a far-too-knowing look in his eyes.

  Erin bluffed. “That was great, but I need to be going.”

  “Okay.”

  She padded from the room in search of her clothes before she started analyzing his comment, or worse, looking for a different response.

  * * *

  It was tempting to grab hold of her and not let her leave. Tim fought with himself, with what he knew about her and what he hoped for their future.

  Patience had to be his catchword, no matter how much it sucked right now.

  But even if he was being patient, he was going to play all the cards he could. He couldn’t bully Erin into their future, and didn’t want to. But he sure as hell could seduce her into it.

  He got rid of the condom, chuckling over Erin’s discovery of it. Then he pulled on his robe and slipped out to the living room.

  She was tugging her shirt over her head, her pants already on.

  “Remind me to pick you for the speed-dressing competition,” Tim teased.

  Erin paused, a wry smile breaking free as she straightened. And slowed down. “Yeah. I know.”

  Tim crossed the room to her side, smoothing her shirt over her hips, touching her softly, but intimately. She wanted to escape, so he’d let her. But she wasn’t leaving without enough reminders to make her thoughts turn toward him, toward them, again and again. “No agenda. You set the pace.”

  She laughed and tugged on his belt loops. “You just fucked me with your pant
s on. I was naked, and you were still partly dressed even after I told you to strip. I think me setting the pace is already an illusion.”

  “Forgive me for wanting to repeat a pleasant memory.” Tim curled his hands around her torso and settled her against him, legs spread wide so she was cradled tight to his entire length.

  “A good memory?” She looked thoughtful, then shook her head slowly once. Paused. “Oh.”

  Tim rubbed his cheek against hers. “The first time we made love—I didn’t get my clothes off that time, either.”

  Erin nodded, her eyes darkening as she remembered. “And I was completely naked . . . I seem to be naked most of the times we’ve fooled around.”

  “You do naked very well.”

  Then he stopped the conversation before she could twist things, or head down paths he didn’t want to discuss yet. Shadowy places in their relationship that they would need to discuss, but not here or now.

  Instead, he kissed her. One hand cupping the back of her head, the other resting gently on her hip. Space between them now, only their mouths touching. Tender and passionate, as if he were giving her a piece of his soul to care for until the next time they’d be together.

  The idea wasn’t that far off reality.

  She matched his intensity, accepting his gentleness. When he pulled away after the final caress of their lips, her eyes were filled with stars.

  He walked her to the door. Slipped on his shoes while she got her boots on. Held her hand in the elevator when she snuck her fingers into his.

  Walked her to the front doors, and he was already tired of that, but it was right. She wasn’t ready for more yet. Maybe neither was he.

  But soon.

  CHAPTER 10

  January

  Five A.M. looked rotten no matter which side of the clock you came at it from. Tim rolled from his bed and shuffled his clothes on, the emergency call-out having shattered yet another incredible dream.

  He was more pissed off about that than the fact it was five in the bloody morning.

  One solid month he’d worked with Lifeline now. He’d trained with the team and worked with them, relaxed and played. The job was going great, and he was far more invested in the lot of the team than he’d actually expected.

  Erin?

  Was driving him absolutely batshit crazy.

  They fooled around at least a couple times a week. He’d been doing everything he could to give her space. To allow time for her to figure out that what they had right now, while hot and satisfying on one level, wasn’t the end goal.

  One moment he would consider ceasing being patient. Just make his demands, and let her discover for herself what he already knew. Then the years they’d been apart would register, and his lingering uncertainty about why she’d left in such a panic would return, and he’d be tossed right back to square one.

  Following her agenda, which was unforgettable red-hot sex. Like he should complain.

  But . . .

  He shook off his frustration and concentrated on the job waiting for him. Early morning or not, a call-out in January was probably going to involve freezing his ass off at some point in the next couple of hours.

  Tim pulled into the parking lot at HQ surprised to see that the chopper wasn’t being prepped. Instead, a small plane waited on the airstrip.

  Something different. Something big was going down.

  Marcus met the team in the prep room. “Coastal call-out. There’s a tourist excursion gone down in the Pacific Rim Mountains, and the weather is making it impossible to approach the crash site. We’ll use the plane to get you out there, then as soon as there’s a break in the weather you’ll move in. Erin, you’ll have a bird waiting at the base out of Comox. Pack ropes and climbing gear, and extra winter equipment in case.”

  “Coastal should mean less snow, right?” Devon asked as he grabbed bags off the shelves and unzipped them in prep for loading.

  “Probably,” Marcus slipped back to the radio station. “But you’ll cross over glacier territory, so pack for anything. I’ll work on getting more details.”

  The flurry of motion around them moved in waves. Gear being loaded, clothing shoved into packs. Tim pulled aside his prepacked case of supplies from the medical stash, double-checking he had extra of everything. He took the bag along with one from the gear lined up by the hangar door and carried it to the transport.

  Erin was already on the plane, chatting with the pilot. She waved briefly, then ignored him. He did the same until the entire team was settled in the transport seats. The engine revved higher as they buckled in.

  Dawn hadn’t gotten farther than backlighting the eastern mountains before they were off. Mount Rundle grew smaller as the pilot raced the plane forward into darkness and away from the rising sun, following the TransCanada highway through the Rocky Mountains toward the coast.

  A soft touch on his arm pulled him from staring out the window.

  Once she’d gotten his attention, Erin leaned back in her seat, her voice over the speakers to his ears. “I need to sleep for a while. Wake me when Marcus has more information.”

  Tim nodded. Erin turned off her headset and closed her eyes, her breathing slowing as she settled farther into the seat. He snuck her fingers into his, then looked out the window to avoid meeting the gaze of anyone on the team.

  He wasn’t going to let them stop him from doing this much at least. She was going to know that he was there for her.

  Only by the time the headphones rumbled, the noise pulled him from the light slumber he’d fallen into as well. It took a moment to become alert, especially as Erin lifted her head from his shoulder. Her warmth had blanketed him during the time they’d rested. The lingering heat was nice, and made him want to keep her close at all times.

  Only now they needed to concentrate.

  Anders waved from across the seating area. “Time to wake up, everyone. We’ve got fifteen more minutes to the airport. Erin, they have a chopper warming up for you. You can finish getting her ready while we transfer supplies.”

  “This is the one that I used last summer?”

  “Yes. Fueled, cleared, and ready to roll.”

  She gave him a thumbs-up.

  “What’s Marcus got for us?” Tripp asked.

  “They’ve spotted the crash site, but it’s taking a long time to get the local SAR into position going overland. Winds were too high earlier to access the range, and while the conditions have improved a little, they’re worried about exposure if the rescue is put off much longer.”

  “Tricky flying situation?” Erin grinned harder when Anders responded in the affirmative. “Lovely.”

  Alisha joined them over the microphone system. “Your idea of a good time needs work, my friend.”

  “Right,” Erin drawled. “As if you’re not itching to be tossed from the transport hold into a spinning descent at the end of a rope. You’re as much a freak as I am.”

  The women grinned at each other before focusing back on Anders.

  Tim took mental notes as they planned their next steps. The plane set down and taxied rapidly toward where the helicopter waited.

  Confidence. Camaraderie. Even, yes, a sense of excitement at the rush of the unknown. Tim had always enjoyed his job, and taking chances, but something was different now.

  It wasn’t him going it alone this time. It was there in the team, and Tim was growing to crave the sensation of being a part of the whole. Wanted to be in a position to gain the admiration of them all.

  That in itself was strange. He wasn’t usually the one to go looking for pats on the back.

  * * *

  The first part of the approach was straightforward as far as she was concerned. Once they had crossed the Strait of Georgia and started down Bute Inlet, the sharp edges of glacial-topped peaks faced them like a row of massive sentinels, guarding the wilderness interior. Dark green pines broke to dusted white on the front row, the warmer air off the ocean keeping the snow from settling over the entire face. B
ut beyond that, as elevations soared, winter held the landscape in a tight-fisted clutch, beautiful and deadly.

  Flying into them was like facing an ancient power—one to be respected and feared at the same time. Friend or foe? From the safety of her chopper, she was a more powerful supplicant than the people they were headed to rescue, yet it could all turn on a breath.

  While Alisha and the others strapped themselves into harnesses, Erin brought the chopper closer to the mountain face. Below them the torn carcass of the missing plane desecrated two sections of the steep, rocky crags, the transport torn in two uneven pieces. Broken debris scattered between the main sections clung precariously to the precipice. One person waved, arms moving rapidly as they stood over the still form of another.

  Erin eyed the rescue location where she’d have to hover. Of course, they were right at the narrowest section, with two long valleys leading off in different directions. The ultimate worst situation in terms of crosswinds and back eddies off the steep ridges.

  It was one of those situations she both loved and hated. The challenge of keeping the chopper in the right spot, of guiding the massive machine over the varying terrain and dealing with shifting wind patterns was something Erin never got enough of.

  The fact that they were there because people were suffering wasn’t as thrilling. She was glad her skills helped save lives, but the reality of why the team was needed was horrid.

  On the more intimate side of the equation, knowing there was someone at the end of the winch line whom she cared about changed the situation all over again. It lent an extra edge of fear and adrenaline that made it more exciting in some twisted way.

  Erin listened carefully as Anders called out instructions, guiding Alisha down. The instrument panel gave feedback as well, but Erin’s attention remained on her forward focal point. Nothing to distract her. Nothing but the rescue and the victims below her who were waiting to be brought to safety and taken for needed medical attention.