The Meaning Of…With Denise Agnew

Scene: The alley scene from Dangerous Intentions

Denise A. Agnew
Ellora’s Cave

A woman searching for the perfect man.…

Wealthy magazine editor Kiley Chapman lives with the frightening memory of her kidnapping ten years ago. When she advertises for a man for a hero profile article, she soon discovers bodyguard Scott Danger lives up to his name. Charismatic and confident, he erodes her resolve to stay cool and uninvolved, and the wildfire sexual attraction between them guarantees sparks she doesn’t want to acknowledge.

A man in serious peril of losing his heart.…

Security specialist and ex-Special Forces soldier Scott Danger prides himself on having impeccable restraint—a man who disciplines both mind and body. It’s questionable how long he can resist his powerful and heated attraction to Kiley—and all bets are off when he must protect her from a deadly stalker bent on destroying all they hold dear.

**

Kiley didn’t know how long she’d walked before her feet protested. Sandals like these didn’t work well for “shopping-until-you-drop”. She’d take her aching feet to the office and then back to Susan. She turned around swiftly.

And ran smack into Scott Danger.

“Oof.” The air rushed out of her as their bodies came together, and she released a gasp. His big hands gripped her arms.

“What the—” she started.

“Don’t say it,” he muttered, his voice deep, hot, and irate.

His hair fell about his shoulders in a wild tumble. His jaw was clean-shaven, and he smelled spicy and warm. The antagonism in his eyes, though, made her step out of his grip. Scott took hold of her upper arm and marched her back toward her uncle’s building.

“Let me go,” she said.

“Not on your life.”

“I’ll scream.”

“Go ahead.”

She trotted to keep up with his long-legged stride. “Would you slow down?”

“We’re heading for the parking garage.” He threw her an icy green glance. “Then we’re going to your place and you can explain to me why you ran off this morning.”

“Because I had better things to do than sit around like a little damsel in distress. I went to see Susan and then my uncle.”

“I know. I’ve been following you.”

Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “When I left the house you weren’t following me.”

“I heard you take off. And I caught up with you at the hospital. I’ve been watching you ever since.”

“Right,” she said doubtfully.

“I saw you get a cup of coffee at the cafeteria and take exactly four sips before throwing it out. I saw how you looked in the window of the lingerie shop.”

Amazement shot through her and froze her blood. He had followed her without her being the least aware.

Scott’s gaze softened. “Kiley, if I can follow you without you knowing it, imagine what one of Thorson’s henchmen could do.”

Humiliated because he’d gotten the best of her, and stunned by the truth, she didn’t know what to say.

Kiley saw the black limousine coming down the street about the same time he did, but his reaction took her by surprise. Scott yanked her into the alley next to them and ran.

She stumbled over a trashcan and sent the metal nuisance flying. She cursed under her breath, gritting her teeth against the pain.

Deep inside the alley he stopped. She pulled against his hand. “What the hell are you—”

“Quiet.”

His hand clamped over her mouth as Scott wrapped an arm about her waist and brought her against his body. She gasped, surprise rolling through her stomach. Damn if she wasn’t having déjà vu.

He looked down the alley toward the street, his mouth drawn tight. Kiley experienced every inch of his hard muscles with intimate detail. His hips rammed her stomach, and a funny ache throbbed where he squashed her. Though he wasn’t hurting her, his chest mashed her breasts.

Oh, hell. That felt way too…intimate. Exciting in a deep, primordial way she couldn’t stop. She shifted against him in protest, a sound echoing from her throat.

The scent of threat seeped into her pores. She shivered against him. For what seemed an eternity, he trapped her like an insect on flypaper.

Suddenly Scott removed his hand from her mouth and his arm from about her waist. She staggered back a step and came up against a brick wall.

She licked her lips. “What—”

“Thorson’s limo was coming down the street.”

“How do you know it was his limo?”

“The license plate. Stay put.”

He walked to the edge of the alley and scanned the area, then came back to her. “It’s clear. I don’t think he saw us.”

Kiley started around him. “Then I can leave.”

He grabbed her arm. “No.”

She backed out of his grip and came up against the wall again. Residual anger broke forth. “I suppose you found the note I left you telling you that I wouldn’t need your help any longer?”

Scott glared. This man had the facial expression down to a science. He could scare puppies and little babies. He could frighten her, if she let him.

“Cat got your tongue?” she asked.

He took a step forward. “You deserve a good—”

“Spanking?”

If he was shocked by her word choice, he didn’t show it. Instead Scott took another step toward her, until he almost touched her, and Kiley was forced to tilt her head back to look at him.

He put his palms down on the wall next to her about shoulder height. “Something much worse. I’m taking you out of here, and you’re not going to give me trouble.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, you’re fired.”

“Your uncle hasn’t fired me.”

“I have.”

“You don’t pay the bills, sweet thing.”

Sweet thing. Barclay had called her that all the time. She hated it. Hated it. Hated it.

Kiley didn’t care for his Neanderthal attitude. Pissed, she pushed with both hands against his chest. It didn’t budge him. “Don’t call me that again. I ought to kick you in the balls.”

“But you won’t.”

“You just expect me to go along with this shit without question?”

“For the moment.”

“A woman could get bruised being around you.”

“Better bruised than dead.”

Though light wedged its way into the alley, the darkness still hung here, cloaking Kiley like a shroud. Fear warred with a primitive feeling she couldn’t ignore. Somehow, despite his barbarism, she knew he would shelter her against any threat.

She could trust him with her life.

Rallying against the flutter deep in her belly, she said, “Well, don’t do me no favors.”

He grunted. “Sounds like a line from an old movie.”

“Lethal Weapon.”

“What?”

“Lethal Weapon. Danny Glover says to Mel Gibson—”

“Yeah, I remember.”

His gaze focused on her mouth, and suddenly the air changed. Like a lightning bolt it hit Kiley, hot and fierce and unprecedented. His heart beating against her fingers, and the rise and fall of his breathing called to her body in a rhythm that recognized him as all man. Her heart pounded, her body aflame as he pressed his chest and hips closer. Closer yet. His erect cock pressed her belly, and she opened her mouth to—

What?

Protest that their encounter apparently turned him on?

She had to acknowledge the deep, insistent ache that centered high up in her pussy, the relentless tingling that built within her clit. Her nipples tightened into sensitive buds. She squirmed against him the tiniest bit, and a breath hissed between his lips.

When she looked up into his fire-intense eyes, she saw one thing.

He wanted to kiss her.

Or kill her.

She wasn’t sure.

“You’re the most exasperating woman I’ve ever met. A true pain in the ass.”

“If you dislike me so much, why are you holding me so close?”

His emerald eyes sparkled with an overwhelming passion that called to her on levels she didn’t understand and had never encountered.

“Who said that I dislike you?”

“You said I was a pain.”

His mouth turned up for a second in a quick show of amusement. “Yeah. But you’re more than that. There’s something about you that fascinates me.”

She didn’t know what to say. In fact, his clear admiration and his honesty threw her off guard.

“The question is, why do you hate me?” Scott asked, his voice husky and soft.

She licked her lips, and his gaze landed on her mouth. “Why do you care?”

“I care because you’re under my protection. I made a big mistake letting you out of my sight, and I won’t make it again.”

He traced the side of her neck with his index finger, and the shock trembled through Kiley like a mini earthquake. “You may think I’m a cold-hearted son of a bitch, but I’m damned good at my job. Your uncle paid me to protect you, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Caught between a fierce blazing anger, and the sensation that something hot and unbidden flared between them, she took a deep breath.

His eyes turned wolf on her. Mysterious. His gaze took in everything about her, and she could have sworn he could read her mind.

Lord, he ought to bottle it and sell it. He could make a fortune seducing women with that look.

“What do you care about?” she asked. “Winning the next verbal battle? Making your point?”

Scott dropped his hand back onto the wall. One corner of his wide mouth turned up, and Kiley pinpointed her stare onto the spot, unable to look away.

“I haven’t made many points with you.”

Her gaze flicked to his again. “Try Andrea in the magazine accounting office. She’s single, available, and not as picky as I am.”

“Picky? About what?”

“The men she sleeps with.”

With his other hand, he touched the hollow of her throat. She sucked in a slow breath as the heat from that delicate, single touch spilled hot across her skin. “What kind of men do you sleep with, Kiley?”

She rallied against the arousal tightening with hot coils inside her. She sighed. “You’re crude, you know that?”

“Add rude and lewd and you’ve got all the clichés down.”

She made a scoffing noise in her throat and pushed against his chest again. When her fingers landed on his hard torso, the sensation tantalized Kiley as nothing had in a long time. She imagined Scott’s chest and powerful arms naked for her touch. Dark hair peeked from the open collar of his shirt. Did he have a hairy chest, or did that bit of masculinity tease her unnecessarily? Blond head. Dark chest hair. A delicious combination. Almost against her will, her hand smoothed over his red polo shirt. She wanted him bare under her exploration, and the realization startled her.

He tilted her chin until she gazed up at him. She quivered under his gentle touch as his hand came up and caressed her cheek. “You sure as hell don’t want rescuing.”

Her throat felt dry and aching with tension. “I never said I wanted to be rescued.”

“You wanted a hero for your magazine article. Instead you got involved with something a hell of a lot nastier than you expected. Now you’re in over your head and you don’t want help when it’s right here in front of you. Isn’t that a little twisted?”

“A little twisted is us in this alley having a conversation like we’re on Park Avenue or something. Can we get out of here?”

“Not until we get a few things straight. You aren’t going anywhere without me from now on, is that understood? I’m glued to your hip.”

“But—”

“You aren’t to put one pretty, painted toenail out the door unless I tell you.”

“For your information, I don’t paint my toenails. For a hotshot you sure aren’t very observant.”

His brows drew together and his mouth dropped open. She almost smiled. It felt good to see this big, confident man lose street audacity. Scott looked down at her short hemline and took in the length of her bare legs and her sandal-shod feet with a long, hungry perusal. His salacious grin set warmth into her belly that burned steady. His fingers traced over her throat again and into the hair at the back of her neck and her eyes almost closed at the exquisite sensation.

“Forgive me,” he said. “You’re not to put one beautiful, naked leg, or toe, outside a door without me going first. Got that?”

She simmered, but not from anger. Did this man realize what he did to her? She didn’t seem to have control over her reactions to him and her frustration level escalated.

“Okay, that’s enough. I’ve got enough material for the entire hero article just from the last two days,” she said. “The magazine spread is yours. Jackson Cole can kiss it goodbye.”

“You think getting a dumb-assed magazine spread changes anything? Do you think I’m not serious?”

“No, Mr. Danger.”

“Would you please just call me Scott? You called me Scott before. Why is it so hard for you?”

His voice went soft and husky. Intimate. It reminded her of last night when he’d gazed at her over the dinner table and tried to stare her down. He’d won the battle then because she couldn’t handle the crystal warmth in his eyes that knocked her breath away. Scott was right, though. She had broken down more than once and called him by his first name. But that didn’t mean she would continue in the same vein.

“This isn’t the fifties. I’m not Ozzie and you sure as hell aren’t Harriet. You can call me by my first name.” Scott shifted.

“Great. We’re standing in a stinking, grimy alleyway discussing movies and television shows.”

He shrugged. “All in a day’s work. You should see what I was doing last week.”

“You hole up in alleys with women every day?”

That smile came across his face and stupefied her. God, didn’t the man know his grin gave off megawatts of virile charm?

“Only with beautiful women with stubborn mouths they can’t keep shut.”

“That’s a first. I don’t think I’ve ever been complimented and insulted in the same breath.”

“Call me Scott,” he said huskily.

He could do what he liked with her, to her and at her. She wouldn’t budge on this item. “Bite me.”

He angled his head closer, his breath warm on her face. Sensual heat rolled through Kiley. “That can be arranged.”

She swallowed hard. “I don’t think so, Mr. Danger.”

“You even call your enemies by their first names.”

“If I want to call you Rumpelstiltskin or Harry Houdini, I will. Or maybe you don’t like strong women with a mind of their own.”

“Yeah, right. My boss for the last few years is a woman, and I don’t have a problem taking orders from her. She knows what she’s doing which is a lot more than I can say for you. Why are you so determined to fight me?”

“Because you’re pushy and stubborn and—”

“Jesus,” he muttered.

“And don’t curse.”

“What? Real heroes don’t curse?”

“Well, at least they don’t have gutter mouths.”

“Gutter mouth? Who has a gutter mouth?”

“You’ve done a hell of a lot of cursing in the last few hours.”

“Yeah, more than I’ve done in months. And you know why? You. You’re a pain in the ass,” he gritted out, his eyes blazing. “And you have nothing to talk about. I’ve never heard a woman curse as much as you.”

Inexplicably, tears of anger surged into Kiley’s eyes. Damn it. Double damn it. More than anything she wished her worst anger would come out in shouting, or anything but tears. All her life she fought this propensity, and she hated that it reared its head now, in front of this man.

“Back off,” she said, her voice sounding raspy to her own ears.

“What?”

“I said…back away from me.”

Scott’s hands went to her waist. The heat of his fingers made her jump, his touch sparkling in Kiley’s blood like little electrical jolts.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice tinged with a strange tenderness. He slipped his hands up to her shoulders, smoothing her skin with a gentle caress. “I’m not usually this…what you do to me is unreal—”

“What I do to you?”

“I can’t keep my hands off you. Can’t stop wanting to touch you.”

His gaze went lambent, filled with a craving so carnal she felt its touch through her skin, in every sinew, every bone. Amazed at his admiration, she also found deep satisfaction in knowing she could move him to such heights. Whether she wanted to or not, she loved and hated his attention.

Her anger disappeared as if the last few minutes had never happened. Heaven help her, this man was unbearably sexy. When he turned on the soft gaze and husky tone, her heart increased to ramjet speed. When he looked at her like he wanted to kiss her, to do more, she lost control, lost the anger she needed to keep him at a distance.

Smooth and without force, Scott slid his arms around her waist, bringing her against his body again. She left her hands on his chest, stunned. Thumping like two instruments beating a wild song, her pulse and her heart danced in her chest until she felt dizzy. His thick, fully erect cock pushed against her stomach. Oh, yes. No doubt he wanted her. Her nipples tingled, moisture gathering between her legs. She shifted her legs, wanting something to take away the ache building with tremendous force inside her. She needed more of his touch, more of his sensual caresses. As if on cue, his palms slid up and down her back, resting first on the bare skin at the top of her sundress, then lower to just above her ass.

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly.

“I’m mad as hell.”

“You don’t look mad, you look unhappy. Like a girl whose doll just got broken.”

“Don’t patronize me, Mr. Danger.”

“Scott,” he said with a sexy drawl that made her stomach tremble.

And she knew exactly what that sensation meant. “Why is it so important I call you by your first name?”

Was Scott closer? His lips seemed not so far from hers now. “Because it sounds sexy coming from your mouth.”

Suddenly he changed directions and his lips touched her right ear. Kiley gasped as pinwheels of excitement darted through her breasts and down into her stomach. Then she felt a tiny, almost featherlight sensation on her lobe. Oh. My. God.

“What…what are you doing?” she gasped.

“Biting you,” he whispered.

Chapter Eight

Kiley’s eyes closed as Scott gently nibbled her ear, then traced the lobe with his tongue. She gasped again and trembled in his arms, surprised by his action and her reaction. His cock pressed even tighter to her belly, and the long, thick bar of male sexuality made her shiver against him in delight. The world around her dissolved as sensations too exquisite to withstand raced across her body. She sank into another world, one populated by the two of them and no one else. The alley disappeared from her mind, until his touch stayed with her and became the center of her universe. His hands traced her back with caresses both bold and light.

As her hands drifted over his shoulders, then slipped around his neck, one of his hands cupped her ass cheek. Sensations bombarded her. Gone was the smell of the alley…the traffic noise. Gone was all discord. Heat spiraled through her breasts and headed straight for her belly. It didn’t stop there but settled deep between her thighs and took up permanent residence.

“Please,” she whispered, unsure why she pleaded.

Before she could open her eyes, his lips trailed across her cheek and his mouth covered hers.

Scott’s mouth moved over hers with ravenous attention, leaving out preliminaries. While her brain had tossed with chaos moments ago, now everything pinpointed down to this man’s body entangled with hers. His was so big, so wrapped around her. Never in Kiley’s life had she experienced a man’s powerful presence like this. She’d seen him move. Seen the strength that rippled through his body.

Now she experienced the sexual, male animal within him seeking her…wanting her. She could have been frightened. Instead his arms felt protective, cherishing, cradling and wildly sexual.

Explanation:

This scene illustrates extremely high sexual tension ready to explode. Dangerous Intentions was one of the first romantic suspense novels I wrote, and in the original version it was hot but not erotic. When I sold it to Ellora’s Cave, I upped the tension and realized this was one of the first stories where I really let my inhibitions go and allowed the characters to lay it out in bald, not so nice terms. It shows the hero and heroine battling within themselves to ignore the tension and losing in the end. They don’t like each other for certain reasons, but other reasons make them a perfect pair. To me the danger of the scene also heightens the sexual tension, the conflict between them. The alley is dirty, dim, and forbidden in some way, sort of like their raging attraction.

Learn more about Denise at her website!