“You stalked me?”
“I don’t know if I’d
exactly call it stalking.” Jack sighed when Nichole raised her brows. “Yeah,
okay, I stalked you, but only long enough to find out where you worked. I’m an
ass.”
“An ass and a toad,”
she said as she slid off the rock, landing next to Dakota. “Is he always a
toadstool?” she asked his dog. Dakota huffed, sounding way too agreeable.
“You’re donkey doo, you know that?”
Jack couldn’t help it.
He laughed. That got him a glare from Nichole. Even Dakota, the traitorous
thing, gave him a dirty look. “You have a talent for name calling. Donkey doo
just replaced doggie doo as my favorite one.”
She pushed up, crossed
her arms over her chest, and scowled. He wondered if he should tell her that
her attempt to glare him into next week wasn’t working, mostly because her arms
were pushing her breasts up. He was a man. Breasts trumped all else, and hers
were ten times better than perfect.
“Eyes up here,
soldier!”
He could tell her that
a SEAL was never referred to as a soldier, but she could call him soldier all
night if she let him anywhere near those sweet girls. As difficult as it was,
he managed to drag his gaze up to her face.
“Sorry,” he said. Or
not. Now that he knew his scars didn’t disgust her, like a broken record, his
male brain was stuck on one word. Sex. Now. Okay, that was two words, so he
wasn’t as boneheaded as he was acting.
Sex now with her.
There. A complete
sentence. He could think again. That was good.
He tried a smile but
didn’t get one back. He sighed. It was time to grovel. “You’re right. I’m
donkey doo, doggie doo, a toad, and all those other things you called me. I
knew it was creepy to stalk you, but—” She narrowed her eyes. “Right, no buts.
I’ll take you home, then I’ll disappear from your life.”
“Probably a good
idea.”
He was glad she
thought so because he sure didn’t. Although it was undoubtedly for the best,
considering the way his chest hurt at the thought of never seeing her again. Better
to put a stop to those kinds of feelings while he still could.
“I’m sorry, Nichole.
Really.” He tugged his shirt back on, then picked up his pack from where he’d
dropped it on the rock.
“So that’s it? You’re
not going to try to change my mind?”
Was that what she
wanted him to do? Women were confusing. He glanced at the dogs. Rambo had woken
from his nap and was sitting quietly—a minor miracle that—next to Dakota, both
of them staring at him, as if waiting to see if he’d manage to screw this up. He
tried to think of the right words, but his mind was a complete blank.
To hell with it.
Didn’t actions speak louder than words? He strode to Nichole, cupped her
cheeks, lifted her face, and lowered his mouth to hers. When she didn’t slap
him, he took that as a positive sign. On a soft sigh, she melted against him.
He raised his head.
“This is me doing my best to change your mind. Is it working?”
“Yes, you creepy
stalker, it is. Now shut up and kiss me again.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He was
trained to follow orders, and this was one he was definitely on board with. Her
breath quickened, matching his own as their tongues tangled. Drunk on
endorphins, his worries about his arm, his future, about anything melted away.
He’d found his oasis, and he never wanted to stop kissing her.
Wild need raged
through him, and he wanted to devour her right here. Right now. He wasn’t sure
he would ever get enough of her, of her taste, of the feel of her body pressed
to his. He wanted to consume her and be consumed by her.
“You taste like
cherries,” he murmured against her mouth.
“Lip gloss.”
How could he resist a
woman who smelled like vanilla and tasted like cherries? He broke away from her
mouth and peppered kisses across her cheek until he reached her neck. He
pressed his tongue over her pulse point, feeling the rapid beat of her heart.
She purred, sounding like a kitten. He smiled against her skin, gave serious
consideration to taking her down to the ground with him.
This wasn’t the
place—and maybe even not yet the time—for giving free rein to what he wanted,
what he was practically dying for. He reluctantly pulled away, then rested his
forehead against hers. She scared him. The timing was all wrong for the
connection and chemistry they had between them.
Yet he knew he wouldn’t
walk away from her, even though he should.
1 comment:
Sounds like a great read!
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