Then, with her forehead braced against his and her sweet breath pelting against his mouth, she was tearing at his jeans.

“I need to fuck you so bad.”

He wouldn’t deny her even if he could. He raised his hips and she slid back enough to pull his jeans down far enough to release his cock. It was brutally hard and ready. So was he. While she struggled with her cargo pants, he pulled the condom out of his back pocket. He’d only just slipped it on when Gwen straddled his waist and dropped down on him.

Lock’s eyes briefly closed as the heat of her pussy nearly seared him, the wetness only making him want her more. He’d gotten her like this, nothing else meant more to him than that.

Her arms went around his neck and she growled with absolutely no pity, “My God, Jersey, I’m gonna fuck you so hard.”

Good thing he’d had that condom in his pocket, because she might have taken him without it. Shocking, since there were some things Gwen didn’t fuck around about, and protection was at the top of that list.

But Christ, there was something about him. She couldn’t explain it. He wasn’t like the kind of guys she’d ever been with before. You know…assholes. Guys who kept unlicensed guns under their pillows, always walked off the other way whenever they saw a cop coming, and thought grabbing her by the back of the head and trying to force her head into their lap was sexy.

Lock wasn’t anyone’s bad boy, and there was a time Gwen thought that was the only kind of guy who could get her off. She was wrong. Really wrong. Because not only did the grizzly get her off, he kept her going.

Kept her wanting more. And, even more important, he made her want to make sure he got as much pleasure as he gave to her. Even she’d admit she wasn’t a very “giving lover” and had been told so more than once. But why should she give when she didn’t think they deserved it?

For the first time ever, though…she’d met someone who deserved it. Who might deserve everything.

She moved her hips slowly at first, her gaze staying right on his because she couldn’t seem to get enough of that, either. The way he looked at her. Not like he thought she was just pretty, but like he…well, respected her or something. It was weird, she couldn’t explain it, but it turned her on more than if he treated her like the hottest European supermodel. Maybe because in this world looks only got you so far for so long, then they went on their merry way and all you were left with was what you had inside.

And that was it, wasn’t it? Lock looked at her as if he could see exactly what she had inside—and he liked it.

Realizing that, knowing it was true, Gwen got turned on more and she tightened her muscles until Lock’s eyes crossed.

His hands gripped her waist and he said her name. A few times.

She rode him harder, faster. She wanted to see his face when he came, see the pleasure she brought him.

She wasthinking so much about him, watching him so close that it wasn’t until she came—the strength of it tearing up her back and causing her to scream out—that she realized she’d been that close to coming.

As he watched her go over, he gripped her hips tight and brought her down hard once, twice. He exploded inside her, his entire body one rigid line of muscle. Gwen instinctively gripped his cock again, squeezing him dry until he fell back against the couch, gasping for breath. She dropped on top of him, working hard to get her own breath back when those big arms wrapped around her and held her close.

“So…you’ll stay the night?” he asked after a few minutes.

And if Gwen weren’t completely wiped out, she would have laughed. “Yeah,” she sighed against his neck. “I’ll stay the night.”

She’d never found watching other people have sex very interesting, but tonight it was part of the job. Part of what she had to do to get what she needed.

Truth be told, she had the equipment to drill a precision hole in the back of this idiot’s head and was tempted to do it. Right here, right now. But she was older now and she’d like to think she was smarter, too.

She’d discovered that getting information was more important than instant gratification. Unfortunately, getting information required waiting, which she could tolerate, and watching, which was beginning to make her ill.

She’d do it, though, because it was her job now. Maybe. She was still making up her mind. And it was a nice night anyway. A beautiful night.

CHAPTER 22

Lock was still arguing with Gwen at his front door. “Let me take you home.”

“I’ll catch a cab.”

Leaning against the door frame, Lock gripped her denim jacket by the lapels and tugged her closer until she was flush against him. “It’s polite to see a woman to her door—and then make out with her.”

“Yeah, exactly. I have a job today, so I can’t afford to let you get me confused and horny when I’m dealing with a sewer line.”

“Eew.”

“Wuss,” she teased. “Besides, not all of us are artists.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“You’re so friggin’ cute when you blush.”

She went up on her toes and Lock came down so she could kiss him. “I’ll call you later today. Okay?”

“Yeah. But remember what we talked about…be careful.”

“I always am.”

Lock watched her walk down the hallway and disappear into the elevator. He wished he could have taken her home, but she was right. He would have been forced to try out that Kingston Arms bed, and she’d have lost a whole day of work. The last thing he ever wanted to do was get in Gwen’s way, but he also wanted to make sure she built time in for him.