Although Shae never would have been able to dial up all the details of the night she’d first said it to Capelli, her instincts had been spot-freaking-on when she’d told him he looked like trouble. Of course, at the time, the accusation had been a flirty little joke about how seriously he’d extended his hand and given up a solemn “pleasure to meet you”. But with the way he was kissing her right now, so hot and so deep and with just the right amount of wrong, Shae couldn’t deny the truth.

James Capelli was trouble. The best, baddest kind.

And God, the unexpected discovery only made her want him all the more.

Sliding her hands into his hair, Shae tightened her fingers to hold him close. He met her move for move, cupping first her face, then the back of her neck in a borderline possessive grip. A shiver worked a path up her spine as Capelli swept his tongue over the seam of her mouth. But it was a demand for entry Shae wanted to give, and she parted her lips without thought. Her tongue darted out, tasting the firm curve of his bottom lip before gliding up to deepen the kiss. He only let her take for a minute, though, and then he was pushing back, pressing inside her mouth with greedy strokes, turning the spot between her legs molten.

Shae broke from his lips, although truly, she had no idea how. “You sure about this?” she asked. She wanted him—badly enough that she felt the force of it in her blood, thumping against her eardrums with every rapid-fire heartbeat. But as much as she wanted to strip off every stitch of their clothing and do unspeakably wicked things with him right there on her couch, what she didn’t want were regrets.

Capelli’s gaze winged up. Widened over hers. Darkened with intensity that transformed her breath into a dim afterthought.

“I’m sure,” he said.

“Thank you, baby Jesus,” Shae murmured, her hands flying out to start unbuttoning his shirt.

But he captured her fingers in one nimble grab. “Not so fast.”

Her heart jackhammered against her rib cage as she tried—and failed—to balance his answer with his actions. She must’ve broadcast her confusion though, because before she could say anything, Capelli used his hold on her hand to pull her close.

“Do you remember last night, when I said I wanted to find every single place that makes you scream?”

“Yes,” she said against his mouth, more sigh than actual word.

“I hope your walls aren’t thin, because I’m starting here”—he reached into the sliver of space between them to drag his thumb over her kiss-swollen bottom lip, applying just enough pressure to the sensitive skin at the heart of her mouth for her to open up and taste him, and oh God, oh God, she was going to fly apart before they even started—“and I’m taking my sweet fucking time with the rest of you.”

For a second, Shae just sat there on the couch cushions, lost in the sheer, hypnotically dirty promise. Then her impulses fired back, and she drew his thumb past her lips in one swift, sinful move.

“Fine by me, Starsky, because when you’re done, I’m taking you my way. Fast”—she pressed her chest against his in a rush—“Hard”—added a kiss to back up her claim—“And so goddamn hot I won’t be the only one screaming.”

They crashed together in a burst of punishing kisses and bad intentions. Digging her fingers into Capelli’s shoulders, Shae blew past every pleasantry she could think of to seat herself directly in his lap. Every part of his body went rigid beneath hers save his hips, which lifted off the couch in one rough thrust. But then his arms were around her rib cage, her center of gravity changing faster than she could fight it, and within seconds, Capelli had pushed to standing with her wrapped firmly in his grasp.

“Bedroom,” he said, the word coasting down her neck as he strung a trail of open-mouthed-kisses there.

“Yes. Go.” She took full advantage of the opportunity to knot her legs around his waist a little tighter when he started to walk, the friction of her thong against her already aching clit tempting her to bite out a moan. “Oh God, that’s good.”

“That’s nothing.” Capelli’s smile was dark and wildly sexy as he moved over the threshold of her room, setting her down carefully at the foot of her bed. “You really want to know what good feels like? Take off your clothes so I can show you.”

Shae’s breath caught in her throat. Her fingers itched to yank off her sweater and jeans and throw them to the floor—shit, she’d throw them into the next county just to be one step closer to naked with Capelli right now. But something about the glint in his stare made her pause instead.

“You want my clothes off? Start stripping too. I’m an equal opportunity girl, and I’m not in the mood to wait.”

For a second, she thought he’d balk. God knew his expression implied as much. Then suddenly, surprisingly, Capelli reached down to undo all the buttons on his shirt and cast the thing aside.

“Whoa.” Want spread out, low and hot between her hips at the sight of his broad, bare shoulders. The flat plane of his chest gave way to chiseled abs and a leanly muscled waist, a dusting of sandy blond hair leading from his navel to the top button of his jeans, and seriously, who knew he’d been hiding all that under the cover of plain old clothes?

“You’re staring,” he said, and in that moment, Shae was powerless to come out with anything other than the raw truth.

“Because you’re fucking beautiful.”

Capelli surprised her again with a laugh. “I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around, but I’m damn sure I’d like to find out.” He stepped toward her, close enough to touch even though he didn’t, and her heart hammered even faster in her chest. “Prove me right, Shae. Take off your clothes and show me how beautiful you are.”

She didn’t hesitate. Curling her fingers around the hem of her sweater, she lifted the cotton over her head, barely letting the garment fall to the carpet before she kicked out of her boots and jeans.

“Holy…” His eyes raked over her peach-colored lace bra and thong. “Don’t your co-workers find that distracting in the locker room?”

“Are you kidding?” She laughed. “I don’t wear this stuff when I work. Even if I did, I doubt Gamble and Walker and Slater would notice.”

“Good,” Capelli bit out, reaching out to pull her close. “Let me notice.”

Hooking both thumbs beneath the ribbons that served as her bra straps, he slid the satin and lace from her shoulders. A quick turn of one wrist freed her breasts completely, but Shae didn’t shy away from letting him look at her in the soft, golden light spilling in from the hallway. Capelli didn’t speak, simply took her in with a long, loaded stare that moved over her like a touch, and wetness bloomed in hot demand between her thighs. Framing her face with his hands, he captured her mouth in a kiss, pulling her tight against his hard, bare chest.

“Ah.” Shae exhaled, half sigh, half something else she couldn’t begin to name. The kiss blew past sweetness and went straight for pure pleasure, with Capelli taking and teasing and tasting, until finally, he broke from her mouth. But he didn’t move on to touch her in any of the places she expected him to. He bypassed her tightly beaded nipples and the hot, aching spot between her thighs, tracing a path down the shell of her ear with his tongue instead. The feather-light contact sent flutters of want through Shae’s belly, her pussy clenching as he slid lower to kiss the hinge of her jaw, and she arched up to get more of his touch.

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Capelli said, smiling that dark, wicked smile she’d had no idea he was capable of, but God, it turned her on. “Let me find you. Let me figure you out.”

Returning his attention to her body, he did exactly as he’d promised to the night before. He explored her with his fingers and lips, learning all the unexpected places that made her want to beg him to fuck her. The hammering pulse point at the base of her neck. The outer curve of her breasts. The shockingly sensitive spot inside her elbow. Each touch heightened her arousal, turning her sex slick and her breath into moans, until finally, Shae was certain she’d splinter apart.

“Capelli, please.” She pushed up to kiss him, not gently. Whether it was the plea or the need-soaked tone with which she’d uttered it, she couldn’t be sure, but something made him pause.

“You want more,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and thrusting his hips against hers. The press of his cock, hot and hard and so damned close to where she wanted it, made Shae reckless, and she thrust right back.

“I want you,” she said. But before she could reach out and back up her words with any sort of action, Capelli dropped to his knees in front of her.

“You want me? You can have me. Right after I have you first.”

He tugged her panties down in one fast yank. Sliding off his glasses, he looked up at her, and sweet Jesus, Shae had never wanted anyone so badly in her life.

Capelli didn’t wait. Shifting forward, he ran his tongue over the seam of her sex, and Shae had no choice but to cry out.

But the sound only made him bolder. Parting his mouth wider over her folds, he kissed her more deeply, stroking his way inside. Pleasure shot through her, powerful enough to make her bend at the waist, yet still, he didn’t relent. Capelli licked and sucked, finding every last sweet spot hidden between her legs. Shae tilted her hips, greedy for more—for everything—and with punishing thrusts of his tongue, he gave it over and over.

“Oh my…God.”

Shae’s head dropped back as her hands lowered to make fists in Capelli’s hair. His tongue slid up, turning firm circles over her clit and sending sparks across her field of vision. She gave in on a moan, gripping him close as he worked her core harder and faster with his mouth. Each movement coiled the tension in her belly tighter, bringing her closer and closer to release. Somewhere in the fog of her consciousness, Shae recognized the tiny desire to hold back, to wait until he was inside her before crashing over the edge. But the edge was right there, and Capelli seemed intent on pushing her over, and suddenly, the tension in her body was too big and too bright to ignore.

“I…I want…”

He read her without question, even though she knew she made no sense. With one final sweep of his tongue, he destroyed the last of Shae’s resolve, and she started to tremble and shudder in waves.

“That’s it. Right there,” he grated, the vibration of his whisper against her hypersensitive clit twisting her need to come even tighter. “Let go, sweetheart. Scream for me.”

God help her, Shae did. Her orgasm smashed over her in waves, and Capelli rode out every one with his mouth, his fingers, his words. Just when she was certain her legs would give out, there were his arms, folding tightly around her to guide her to the rumpled bedsheets behind them.

“Jesus, Shae. You really are beautiful.”

The words made something snap deep inside of her, and she turned to kiss him, hard and fast.

“And you’re overdressed. Now are you going to sit there, or are you going to let me do something about that?”

As if a pendulum swung to swap out their positions, Capelli gave up the lead. Shae made fast work of the rest of his clothes, until nothing stood between them but his boxer shorts and a whole lot of unfettered want. Reaching between their bodies, she palmed his cock over the cotton, and he bit out a curse as he rocked into her touch.

“There,” she said, wicked satisfaction curling low in her belly, reigniting the desire he’d just fulfilled. Shae slid his boxers from his hips, his cock springing free from the last barrier between them, and her heart pounded faster at the sight of him. A muscle pulled tight over the line of Capelli’s jaw, and in that second, Shae realized how hard he’d been fighting for his composure.

And just how badly she wanted to wreck it.

“You had me first.” She moved over the bed, turning to the side as she trailed a line of kisses down his chest, the sculpted plane of his abs. His cock jerked when she reached the scattering of hair leading down from his navel, and she reached down to stroke him in one long, slow glide. “Now I’m having you.”

“Shae—”

She slipped her mouth over his cock, and whatever else Capelli meant to say was replaced by a harsh exhale. A heady thrill raced through Shae’s veins at the sound, daring her to dare him. She ran her tongue over his length from root to tip, pausing for only a breath before she took him into her mouth as far as she could. He arched off the bed, chasing her touch as she retreated, and she repeated the movement just to see him do it again. Splaying one palm over the sheets next to Capelli’s hip, Shae pressed up to her hands and knees beside him, finding a steady rhythm of lift and lower with her mouth. Then suddenly, without warning, his fingers were between her legs, pushing inside of her with ease.

“Oh,” Shae cried out, her inner muscles squeezing at the unexpected pressure. She wanted to stay where she was, to not be distracted from giving him the exact same pleasure he’d given her. But Capelli touched her with sure, perfect strokes, and when his thumb moved up to graze her clit, her impulses gave in to the now-right-now demand flying down from her brain. Sparing only a second to grab a condom from the drawer of her bedside table, Shae straddled his hips, rolling the protection into place before angling his cock over her slippery entrance and lowering herself over him in one hard push.

A sound flew past her lips, somewhere between a sigh and a swear word. For a second, she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, could only feel the undiluted pleasure flooding her senses at the feel of his cock filling her so completely. Then she shifted, and even though the move was only a slight lift and lower, Capelli went bowstring tight beneath her.

“Shae,” he grated, a moan leaving his chest. “Jesus, you’re so tight.”

“You’re not going to break me,” she said, proving it by rocking her hips against his until there was no space at all between them.

His eyes met hers, locking into place. “I know. But if you keep that up, you just might break me.”

Just like that, Shae was done hesitating. She hinged forward and began to move faster, and Capelli reached down low to wrap his hands around the flare of her hips. He guided her motions, his fingers grasping with firm intention to lift her up and down on his cock. The feel of him, buried inside her so hot and so hard, sent bursts of pleasure deep into her center.

Led by nothing but reckless desire, she began to thrust with more speed. But the faster she moved, the more Capelli stayed right there with her, holding her close as Shae took everything she wanted. Release built in her belly, fast and dark like storm clouds, until her body thrummed with the undeniable need to come. Capelli thrust upward, finding some undiscovered spot deep in her pussy that stole the breath right out of her lungs, and she unraveled with a keening cry. The more her body loosened, the tighter his grew, and Shae fluttered her eyes open to pin him with a stare.

“You don’t have to hold back, Capelli. If you want it”—she rolled her hips even though they were already fully joined—“lose control and take it.”

He’d gripped her waist and swung her beneath him before she could fully register the movement. Hooking his hands under her knees, Capelli spread her thighs wide, filling her over and over in relentless thrusts. Shae moaned her approval, wanting each stroke more than the last, opening up to let each one bring him closer to losing control. But despite the intensity etched on his face and the power of his movements, he still somehow held back, and she looked up at him through the shadows.

“Let go, Capelli. Take what you need.”

The tension in his touch shifted, his stare turning dark and fierce. He filled her faster, harder, until finally, on a long, pulsing thrust—yes, God, yes, yes—he came with a guttural shout.

With her heart still slamming in her chest, Shae slid back to her awareness slowly, like emerging from a fog. Capelli pressed against her, their bodies loose and warm and thoroughly tangled, their chests rising and falling in rapid rhythm. After some amount of time she couldn’t begin to measure, he pushed up from the bed, moving down the hallway for a brief minute before returning to lie down beside her.

Shae knew the moment had the potential to get awkward—yes, they’d just had scorching hot sex, but not even that could change the fact that they were sitting here together in the near-dark of her bedroom, wearing nothing but a cotton bedsheet. But just because she and Capelli had lost their clothes together didn’t mean their minds had to follow, so she propped herself up on one elbow and looked at him.

“I didn’t feed you,” she said, and after a beat, Capelli’s laughter rumbled through her shadowy bedroom.

“A little random, but no. I don’t suppose you did.”

“I did promise.” Shae bit her lip, trying on her very best remorseful expression. “I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t deliver.”

Capelli turned to his side, bringing them face-to-face. He didn’t say anything, simply studying her for a second, then another, until finally, he broke into a smile.

“Given your culinary habits, I’m assuming you mean deliver literally,” he said, and Shae’s laugh flew out, unchecked.

“Hell yes, Starsky. I hope you’re hungry, because I can order Chinese food like nobody’s business.”