He crashed as the adrenaline drained from his veins and he gripped the wall. He met Caitlyn’s gaze and saw the same jittery relief wash over her.
“Too close,” she whispered.
“Not close enough,” he said. Then he tugged her against him and kissed her.
Caitlyn froze in shock at the unexpected lip lock and then sank into the kiss, sank into Kurt’s warm, strong embrace, and let herself fall intothe delicious whirlwind. They came together with a spark, igniting like flash paper. She’d never experienced anything even close to this with another man.
Lips, teeth, tongue, hands, all hungry and searching, seeking and driving them closer. Their bodies fused together.
His breath was her breath, his heartbeat hers.
She pressed him to the wall slipping her leg between his thighs while wrappingthe other one around his hips, bringing them together where it mattered most.
He groaned deep in his chest and flipped them around so that she was caged between him and the cool plaster. Her hands slid beneath his shirt, eager for the feel of his hot skin against her fingertips. He was so goddamned sexy with all his hard muscles and quiet strength. She couldn’t even remember why she didn’t wantthis. He kissed her face, her neck, nipped at her shoulder, pushed aside the collar of her shirt and worked his way down her chest. She willed her clothes to disintegrate, or maybe combust, leaving her instantly naked and ready.
Ding dong.
Shit.What now?
Kurt froze, his muscles rigid, his breath coming hard and as fast as hers.They both looked at the monitor on which a mail courier was visible,placing a package against the door with a thump before retreating.
“Jesus.” Pushing away from the wall, Kurt disentangled himself from her grasp and ran a hand through his hair, staring at her with dark eyes full of desire and… regret? “That was—”
“Maybe what we both needed,” she finished.
His eyebrows rose.
She lifted one shoulder. “You know, adrenaline can have that effect.” She was sucha liar. Maybe even a coward.
His face blanked. “Adrenaline. Right.” He took a deep breath, turning away from her to peer through the viewer in the door.
Caitlyn stared at his broad back, still able to feel his warm skin and the contours of his muscles under her fingertips. Her entire body was keyed up from their red-hot make-out session. What had she been thinking kissing him back? Why hadn’tshe pushed him away?
Maybe because he was the best kisser ever. Or maybe it was because kissing him was almost better than flying. She didn’t go home with a guy every month or anything, but she hadn’t been celibate. She had kissed other men, she’d had sex with other men, but none of them affected her like Kurt.
It made him far too dangerous. She couldn’t risk getting emotionally tangled up withhim, giving him that kind of power over her. Which meant rejecting him again, and it fucking sucked. Kurt was not for her. Not for the short term and definitely not for the long term. The loss of “what could be” was nothing compared the pain of loving someone and losing them. Case in point, her sister. Lambert hadn’t intentionally taken Rose to hurt her, but the end result was the same.
If shefell in love with Kurt and he left—because that’s what men did—or died, she’d never recover.
She nearly snorted at her assumption that she would live long enough for it to matter. Lambert presented himself publicly as a jovial man, but she had gravely injured his only son. That would be unforgivable for anyone, and he could be ruthless.
Kurt turned away from the door, and for second she couldswear there was a residual heat in his eyes.
An answering fire flared deep in her belly, and she looked away to break the connection. “Maybe this isn’t the best place to hide out after all.”
“This is why I wanted some of my guys here. They can keep watch, warn us when someone’s coming, help us fight off any threats.”
“But they can’t get here anytime soon. Not with all the airports shut down.”
“No.” He followed her back to the kitchen. “Once we have phones and a computer, I can get Valerie to look into Lambert. If there’s anything online that can help us, she’ll find it. Tara will work on getting a few guys out here, and whatever else we need.”
“You’re lucky to have such a loyal team.”
“I am,” he said. “I have good friends.”
Rockley was the most loyal friend Caitlyn had. How pathetic.But it was her own fault. She couldn’t avoid connections and still expect to have a stable full of people ready to sacrifice for her.
Except Kurt was here doing just that, despite how she’d treated him when they were stationed in Oklahoma. He deserved so much better. If she could take back how much she’d hurt him…
“I didn’t cheat on you when you were at Indoc,” she blurted.
