“I don’t know much about art. Do you know Cassie? Shane’s wife? I think you’d like her. Your tastes are similar.” If what Matt suspected about Tate’s childhood was correct, Cassie’s experience as a victim’s advocate might be really helpful as well. If anyone could understand Tate’s perspective, Cassie would.

“I don’t. I mean, I’ve seen her around town. Who could miss her?”

“What do you mean?”

“Uh, hello? It’s not like you can miss a nearly six foot tall woman who looks like Cassie. I’m as straight as they come and I think I have a crush on her.”

Matt laughed. Cassie was startlingly beautiful but the woman he was with right then was a thousand times more precious and she didn’t even know it. “She’s a pretty woman, yes. I’m sure you’ll meet her soon. Come and sit down here. I can’t kiss you if you’re all the way over there.”

He plopped down onto her couch and she stopped, looking at him, surprised. “What?”

“Yeah, not so good with the woo am I? I’d love for you to come here and sit with me.”

Tate didn’t know quite what to do. Matt Chase flustered the hell out of her. A sense of unreality settled into her. The guy, the donut of her dreams sat on her couch and wanted to kiss her? Did she hear him right?

“Tate? Did I say something to upset you? I want more than a kiss.” He stopped and shook his head. “What I mean is I want to take you out too. This isn’t just some fun way to spend my Sunday. Although, I’m certainly enjoying being with you. God, I’m usually more smooth than this,” he mumbled and she laughed, kicking off her shoes and moving to the couch.

“I don’t know what to say.”

Scooting so that his body pressed full against hers, he put a finger over her lips. “Then don’t say anything just now. I really need to kiss you, Tate. So I’m gonna.”

His hand slid up her arm and cupped her neck, holding her, tipping her chin up. Before she had much of a chance to register anything but the delicious heat of his palm, his lips found hers.

Slow. Incrementally building up the heat, he gently led her to open up to his tongue. She’d never been really crazy about kissing but she realized it was just that she’d never been kissed by someone who knew what he was about before. All the difference in the world lay right there.

He didn’t jam his tongue in her mouth and down her throat, he teased her with it, tasted her, tickled her with the tip. His teeth joined the action, coming in to nip her bottom lip from time to time until she nearly panted with wanting him more.

The heat of his mouth moved from her lips, skating along her jaw to the hollow just below her ear. A gasp ripped from her gut when he sucked there, the wet, warm sensation shooting straight to her ni**les and then to her pu**y, flooding her with moisture.

Needing more of him, she adjusted, sliding her hands up into his hair.

Matt had never wanted a woman more than he did as the taste of her rushed through him. She was soft under his hands, smelled right, felt good. These little sounds kept coming from her, little moans and sighs of need, and it drove him crazy. He didn’t want to scare her but if he didn’t get inside of her sometime soon his c**k would explode.

Before he knew it, her hands had slid from his hair to his chest and she was opening the front of his uniform shirt. Hesitantly but with some strength, she pushed him back enough to get on her knees and part the front of his shirt. When she leaned down to brush kisses over his collarbone before moving to flick a tongue over his ni**les, he jumped, breathing her name like a prayer.

Her hair was like silk over his superheated skin. Needing to see it all, he reached back and undid the clasp holding it up. It tumbled down in a sweet-smelling wave.

When one of her hands slid down his belly and her nails scored over his c**k he moved back into action.

He took her arms so he could see in her face. What greeted him, passion-glazed eyes and kiss-swollen lips, made him suck in a breath. Holy shit she was beautiful.

“Tate, I want you. Are you with me?”

Swallowing, she nodded before licking her lips.

“Bedroom?”

She stood, held out a hand and led him toward the back of the house. He felt her tremble a bit, but as he was shaking too, it was hard to tell where he began and she ended.

Her room was messy and it made him smile.

“God, I’m sorry. I…well it goes without saying I wasn’t expecting to bring a man back here.” She motioned toward her unmade bed and turned out the light he’d turned on.

For some reason, that comment only made him want her more.

“Good.” He used his body to push her toward her bed until she fell back and looked up at him, her hair a brilliant corona around her head. “Tate, I want to see you.” He turned on the bedside lamp before moving to unbutton the bodice of the dress she wore.

The blush was back and she put her hands over his, stilling them. “Turn the light off, please.”

“But I won’t be able to see you that way. Tate, I’ve been fantasizing nonstop about your body for weeks now.”

“I can’t. Matt, please.”

Instead of turning the light off, he lay down on the bed and pulled her to him. “Tate, are you changing your mind about making love to me?” She shook her head but he saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes. “What is it, sweetness? Am I scaring you? Moving too fast?”

She buried her face in his neck and he burrowed through her hair to hold her. “I don’t want you to see me naked.”