“It wasn’t selflessness, Grace. I wanted to see you again.”
The teasing dimmed in her eyes. For the count of several heartbeats, neither of them spoke. Finally, she shivered. “Lord, there you go again. Looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re thinking about swallowing me whole.”
Warmth unfurled in his gut. And lower. “I’ve found most really delicious things taste better if you savor them.”
He watched, mesmerized, as two things happened simultaneously. One, her breathing picked up. And two, her nipples hardened into tight points beneath the T-shirt.
Shewasn’twearing a bra.
Just as he’d known would happen, his feet took him around the island before he’d made the conscious decision to move. Spinning her barstool until she faced him, he placed his hands on the counter’s edge on either side of her and leaned close.
Close enough to see the golden flecks sprinkled through the brown of her irises. Close enough to feel warmth bathe his hungry mouth when she blew out a shaky breath.
She smelled like his soap and shampoo. But underneath was…Grace. The hint of Dove deodorant and Downy dryer sheets—so wholesome and pure.
Which just made him want to do reallyunwholesomeandimpurethings to her.
“You’ve showered and finished your sandwich, Grace.” His voice sounded less like his voice and more like Canteen Green’s rumbling engine. “If I recall, according to your order of operations it’s time to…” He trailed off and let his eyes drift down to her mouth. A muscle twitched in his jaw when her tongue darted out to wet her lips in an unconscious invitation. “How did you put it?”
“Christen the cabin?” she ventured breathlessly.
Cupping her cheek in his palm, he gently rubbed the pad of his thumb first over her bottom lip and then over the top one. He remembered being tempted by her lips the first time he’d seen them. He was evenmoretempted now because he knew how soft they were. How eager they could be when she met him lick for lick, suck for suck.
“I want to take you to the bedroom, Grace.” He’d meant to ask a question. It’d come out a statement.
She swallowed again. And instead of answering, she simply nodded.
The Green Berets had trained him to control his breathing, slow his heart rate, and tamp down his adrenaline. But all it took was that small gesture of acquiescence and he forgot everything he’d learned.
Three years of longing, three years of yearning, three years of dreaming and fantasizing were about to become reality.
When he held out his hand and she slipped her fingers into his, he noted how pale her skin was compared to his. How delicate her fingers looked cradled in his thick, callused palm. The contrast of her feminine softness held tight within his masculine strength had his inner barbarian beating at the gates.
He wanted to pillage. To plunder. To ransack and ravage and claim. But he also wanted to cherish. To treasure. He wanted to wrap her up and hold her close and make all the ugliness and danger that was the world outside disappear.
When he gave her a gentle tug, she came willingly to her feet. He was stopped from dragging her into the bedroom, however, because the move brought her close to him. Close enough so the tips of her breasts brushed his chest.
It was like being hit by the prongs of a stun gun. Electricity sizzled his nerve endings. Crackling heat fired his blood.
The bedroom’s too far, he decided.
18
The instant Hunter’s lips claimed her own, Grace realized she’d been lying to herself for three straight years.
The fire she’d felt when he kissed her the night of the fundraiser had nothing to do with her being vulnerable and stinging from her ex’s foul accusations. It had everything to do with Hunter himself.
The man was a marvel.
Unlike others, he didn’t begin the kiss by shoving his tongue into her mouth. No. His lips were soft and firm. The palms of his hands were callused and gentle as he framed her face and canted her head to the side so he could better fit their mouths together. And his breath was warm and sweet as he nipped and sucked and teased, igniting her desires soshewas the one who eventually went up on tiptoe, curled her hands into his hair, and dipped her tongue into the waiting wonder that was his hot, delectable mouth.
“Mmm,” he hummed with delight. And it was all the encouragement she needed to sample and suck and play.
For long minutes, he let her take the lead and matched her play-by-play. Catching her tongue. Sucking her lips. Eagerly exploring her mouth.
