“You’re impossible,” she hissed. “This is a bad idea.”

He traced her slit, then showed her the slickness on his thumb. “Oh, I beg to differ. You think this is a great idea. I’ll bet your ni**les are hard too.”

Tierney’s face flamed. “No, they’re not.”

“Will I make a liar out of you if I reach into your bra and check for myself?”

Don’t answer.

“That’s what I figured. Your body likes this edge of danger, no matter how much your pretty mouth protests. Hold on to the armrests.” His mouth skimmed the top of her bikini line. His hands—she loved having those coarse hands on her skin—slipped up the inside of her thighs. He spread her open, exposing every intimate inch to his gaze. To his mouth. To his control.

He swirled the tip of his tongue around the folds of skin hiding her clit, parting his lips to awaken that bit of elusive flesh by sucking on it.

Tierney gnawed her lip and closed her eyes. Damn him. He was a drug. He’d turned her into an o**l s*x junkie.

Renner’s tongue followed the curve of her sex down, past the drenched entrance to her pu**y, past the tiny strip of skin that separated the two holes, stopping to lap her back door.

Every lower muscle—pussy, anal, stomach—tightened at that first wet swipe of his tongue. She gasped at the second swipe. Moaned at the third. “My God, you play dirty.”

“You like the dirty stuff.” The tip of his tongue circled her anus again. “Fair warning, I’ll be shoving my c**k up this sweet, tight hole one of these days.”

She managed to grit out, “You really have time to give me a play-by-play of a future sexual encounter? Can’t you focus on this one? Sort of exposed here.”

His laughter vibrated against her sensitive tissues and goose bumps zipped up her spine. “You’re just impatient for me to do this.” He slipped a finger inside her. “And this.” He licked her slit from where his finger moved in and out of her pu**y to the top of her mound.

Tempting, to let her head fall back and lose herself in pleasure as he gorged on her.

Renner lifted his head. “Tierney, darlin’, look at me. Look at yourself. You are so f**king amazing. Is it any wonder I’m obsessed with you?”

She glanced down. Her fingers were white from crushing the armrests. Her chest was actually heaving. Her legs were so tensed they were close to cramping.

“No one’s gonna bother us. Janie won’t show her face until we show ours, since she wants us in here, uninterrupted, making a decision.” He kissed her thighs. Her lower belly. Her white knuckles. “You’re sexy as all get-out. Enjoy this. Because I am enjoying the hell out of it. You’re like some goddamn addiction.” He opened his mouth over her clit and began those light tongue flutters that sent her off like a rocket.

She had to remind herself to breathe. “Renner, please—”

He growled and kept licking.

Three rapid knocks sounded and Janie walked in. “Sorry, but I have one other question—”

The top of Renner’s head thunked underneath the desk.

Tierney jerked as if she’d made the noise.

“Where’s Renner?” Janie asked.

I’m riding his face.

“Tierney?”

“Ah. He’s around here someplace.”

He licked the crease of her thigh.

She gasped and her whole body writhed like a demented marionette when he blew a stream of air across her wet sex.

Janie started toward her, a look of concern on her face. “What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing! Don’t come any closer. I—I think I might be coming . . . down with something.”

“Oh. That sucks.”

“I’m about to—” Renner settled his mouth over her clit and sucked, and she emitted a sound between a wheeze and a whimper. “Sneeze.”

Janie began backing up. “I’ll just come back later.”

“Shut the door on your way o—oh my God.” He did that swirling, suctioning thing with his lips. It felt so damn good she didn’t care if the whole compound heard her get off.

About two seconds after the door slammed, Renner cranked up the intensity of his intimate kiss and Tierney flew apart. She didn’t bother to keep quiet. She reveled in every throbbing pulse, every rhythmic suck from his eager mouth, every stroke of his rough hands on her bare flesh.

In short, she enjoyed the hell out of it.

Chapter Twenty-three

Snow fell in big fluffy clumps outside her window. The holidays officially started next week with Thanksgiving, but this snow had that Christmas vibe. Made her think of eggnog and evergreens and cookies. Which was why Tierney was sneaking into the kitchen for one of Dodie’s crispy molasses cookies to satisfy her sugar craving. Maybe she wouldn’t be tempted to grab a jumbo bag of M&M’s at the C-Mart to stave off her depression because Renner was gone for ten long days.

But as she tiptoed past the metal cooling racks, she heard someone crying. She reversed course and entered the prep area. Another sob sounded and she tracked the source to Dodie, leaning against the wall, unsuccessfully muffling her cries with a towel.

Alarmed, Tierney said, “Dodie? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

White spots of flour dotted Dodie’s blotchy face. “Oh. No. It’s just . . .” Tears followed the deep grooves by her mouth and dripped off her chin.

Tierney heard Renner and Janie arguing in the dining room. About Dodie? Must be serious if Renner was still here. As gently as possible, she asked, “Did you burn the pies again?”