“Conocido.” Joaquin cleared his throat. “Yeah. That was … uh…good.”
A surge of tenderness washed over him. Mia had been distracted last night because she’d been thinking ofhim. She’d been trying to do something sweet and sexy forhimwhen that fucker had walked up behind her and openedfire.
Joaquin was struck again by how close it had been. Mia could so easily have been killed. Wu and the FBI needed to catch that son of a bitch—and soon. Had they even questioned Powell? Joaquin didn’t want to think about that now, not when Mia had opened the evening to more interestingideas.
“I’m touched that you did this for me.” He took her wine glass and set it with his on the coffee table. “If you want a language lesson,hermosa, you only have toask.”
He sat up, and, careful not to bump her injuries, turned her in his arms, drawing her across his lap so that she straddledhim.
She gave a little gasp, her arms going around hisneck.
“Sí.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “Right now, I want to kiss you. A kiss isun beso. If that’s what you want, too, saybésame. Kissme.”
Her pupils dilated. “Bésame.”
He brushed his lips over hers, contact igniting the desire he’d tried hard to ignore these past few days. He willed himself to go slowly, tasting her, testing her with his tongue, letting her anticipation build. She gave an impatient little whimper, slid her fingers into his hair, drew him closer. He answered by taking her mouth with his, her lips pliant, her body soft againsthim.
God, she tasted good. She felt good, too, her body so different from his, the feel of her sending blood to hisgroin.
Now she was kissing him back, challenging him, stealing control of the kiss, then melting in his arms when he stole it back. There was nothing cold or hard or aloof about Mia. She was soft and sweet and hot andeager.
“Joaquin.” She must have felt his hard-on, because she flexed her hips and pressed herself against him, moaning against hismouth.
His entire bodytensed.
Joaquin broke the kiss, held her cheeks between his palms. “How far do you want to go with this, Mia? I don’t want to rush you, and I don’t want you to do anything you don’t reallywantto do just to please me. I canwait.”
“I can’t. I want you, Joaquin.Pleasetell me you broughtcondoms.”
Her words made his pulseskip.
He saw the longing in her eyes, felt it down to his bones. He reached for his camera bag and pulled out a small foil package. “I grabbed a fistful from the big bowl of free condoms they had at thehospital.”
She laughed and took it from him, her lips curving in a sexy smile that hit Joaquin in the solar plexus. “Way to planahead.”
* * *
Some partof Mia thought she must be dreaming as Joaquin got to his feet, scooped her into his arms, and carried her to thebedroom.
He set her on her feet beside the bed, ran his thumb along her lower lip. “I want to undressyou.”
She nodded, trying to ignore the voice in her head that told her that he would be disappointed, that she wasn’tsexy.
“Relax.” He slid his hands beneath her pullover, lifted it over her head, tossed it aside. “Oh,Mia.”
His eyes went dark, his gaze moving over her. He reached out, cupped the bandage on her ribs, then he dropped to his knees and pressed a light kiss to the skin just above the bandage on her hip. “Lo siento, Mia. I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurtyou.”
The tenderness of the gesture caught her off guard, made her chestconstrict.
“I’ll beokay.”
“No.” He looked up at her, his intensity taking her by surprise. “I don’t want you to beokay. I want you to be happy. I want you to feel cherished. I want to make youscream.”
Her breath caught, something fluttering deep in her belly. Did he want her permission forthat? “Okay.”
For some reason that made him chuckle. He caught the waistband of her yoga pants and drew them down her legs, wrapping a strong arm around her to help her keep her balance as she stepped out of them and kicked themaside.
He’d seen her like this yesterday. He’d seen her wearing nothing but panties and a bra, but that had been different. It hadn’t beensexual.