Her jaw dropped and her lips twitched. “You did not just say that.”
Yeah, he had. “There’s definitely something here, Doc. You feel it and so do I. But it was a rough afternoon, we could’ve died, and emotions get the best of all of us. I don’t want to take advantage of you. Ever.” His body rioted and he shoved hunger down. Hard.
“I’m not a silly tourist, Ace Osprey,” she whispered.
No shit. She was the sexy woman he’d been dreaming about for many months. His flirting had been harmless because she was way too smart to take a chance on a guy like him. At least right now, until he fixed his head. “I’m a bad bet, baby.”
Now one of her eyebrows arched, and a small chunk of mud fell onto the floor. “Who says I’m betting on you? Maybe I just want to take your hot body and reputation for a spin.”
He grinned. Yeah, she was cute. “That’s bullshit.”
She shrugged, and more mud fell onto the rug by his door. “Are you saying you’re not interested?”
“You know I am.” He hadn’t hidden anything from her.
“So what’s the problem?” She took another step toward him, no indecision in her stunning eyes. No confusion. “I’m not asking for anything beyond this night, Osprey.”
Yeah. That was the fucking problem. He wanted more than a night and always had with her. From the first second they’d met. But he’d known he had to deal first. “How about we go on a date?”
“Don’t want a date,” she whispered, her dirty hands pulling her sweater over her head. Her bra was a light pink with a heart in the middle.
Something inside him snapped.
Months of control shattered in an instant.
He closed the distance and grabbed her. His hand locked around her waist and pulled her hard against him. Heat ripped through him. Fast. Brutal. Her palms hit him, and even soaked and shaking from the cold, she burned straight through him.
His other hand slid into her wet hair, his fingers tightening as he held her there. As if letting go wasn’t an option anymore. He lowered his head and stopped just short of her mouth. His breath came rough, and control was almost a distant memory. “Tell me to stop.” The words came out like a demand. Like a plea.
She answered by kissing him.
The second her soft lips touched his, he was gone. He groaned low in his throat, the sound ripping straight from somewhere primal. His mouth claimed hers instantly, hunger roaring free after being caged far too long. The kiss wasn’t gentle. Couldn’t be. It was heat and desperation and months of wanting her crashing into reality.
Finally.
Her fingers fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer, and that tiny movement nearly undid him. He tightened his grip at her waist, dragging her flush against him. She was so damn soft. So utterly feminine.
His brain shorted out.
There was only sensation.
Her.
Only the intoxicating taste of her mouth, the soft gasp she breathed against his lips, the way she melted into him like she belonged there. Like she’d always belonged there.
He deepened the kiss, losing himself in the feel of her. Heat coiled violently through his bloodstream, desire crashing into adrenaline until he couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. He tore his mouth from hers. “Shower,” he said.
Because if he didn’t redirect this, didn’t move, didn’t do something?—
She nodded, eyes dark, lips swollen, breath unsteady.
He took her hand. Even that simple contact felt charged and electric, her cold fingers sliding into his like a perfect fit. He led her down the hallway, alarms already going off in his head. It was too late. Everything felt unreal and heightened, like the world had narrowed to this single, inevitable collision.
At the bathroom door, he stopped and turned to look at her. Her hair was wet, her skin flushed. Those blue eyes still burned with the same reckless heat tearing through him. He had to give her one more chance, even if it killed him. “Are you sure?” He sounded like he’d swallowed those pine needles outside.
Her breath hitched. “Yes.”
That was it. The last barrier gone.
