I shot him a big grin.What could I say?I appreciated the view.
“Something was broken?”His lips pressed together in a grim line and his voice hardened.
I hurried to reassure him.“No.Everything is fine.I gave her a thorough inspection, tightened a few bolts here and there.All four engines are good to go.”
The tension leached out of his shoulders.A tingle of warmth spread to my belly.
Ignoring it, I braced my feet and tightened my stomach muscles to roll up to sitting.When he offered his hand, I placed the bundle of tools on the ground and grabbed his hand with both of mine.
It felt almost effortless as he pulled me upright.
I stopped just inches from him.He didn’t release my hands right away and I didn’t try to free myself.
I liked being in his space.
The top of my head came up to his lips, so I had to tilt my head back just the tiniest bit to look at him.
This close I could see the tiny scar just below his bottom lip.It would have been practically invisible except his scruff didn’t grow there.My fingers itched to trace it.
Before I could check the impulse, I tugged my hand free and traced that thin white line with my fingertip.“What happened?”
“Bar fight.”His mouth curled into a smile and the move brushed his lips against my fingertips.My skin tingled.
I smiled too and shook my head.“It’s always a bar fight.Never anything as mundane as running into a bulkhead.”
He laughed and the sound teased my insides.
I brushed my thumb over his stubble.The tiny whiskers rasped against my nerve endings like sandpaper.
“What are we doing?”he asked.
“I was tinkering with the engines until you got here.What are you doing?”Was I flirting with him?
His warm hand cupped my cheek.“You know what I mean.”
I stared at him a long moment, my gaze never leaving his.“I don’t know.But I like it.”Too much.I kept that part unspoken.
A half step was all that separated us, so I took it, invading his space and pressing my torso against his.My other hand, the one that had been gripping his, now grasped his shirt.
Using that anchor, I shifted to the balls of my feet, needing those precious inches to match my mouth to his.
His lips were firm.Full.Everything a man’s lips should be.
I brushed my mouth over his.Once.Twice.Three times.Teasing little air kisses.
Dax didn’t react.
My stomach plummeted.Had I just made a horrible mistake?
My body froze while my brain frantically sought an escape plan.
Maybe I’d just faint.Drop to the floor and pretend I hit my head and didn’t remember this.
Yes, that seemed like a perfect plan.
Just as I commanded my muscles to relax, to step away, Dax’s hand, the one that had rested on my cheek, cradled the back of my head.His arm wrapped around my waist.
Instead of melting to the floor, I sort of melted into his chest.
