Page 48 of Her Delta Force Protector

“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed because he wanted to keep being smart. He set his laptop aside, then wrapped his fingers around her neck and pulled her to him. “Kissing you now.” He’d wanted his mouth on hers since the last time they’d kissed, and as their lips touched and their tongues tangled and tasted, and her sex-on-the-beach scent intoxicated him, he couldn’t remember why he’d resisted.

He took her down on the bed with him, then slid his arm under her and pulled her on top of him. She came willingly. Spread over him, she pushed her hand under his shirt, and when her fingers traced the contour of his ribs, he feared he was going to embarrass himself just from her touching him.

He hadn’t been with a woman since before his last mission, so that had to be the reason he was on the edge. When he’d returned home, it was to learn that Harper had died, and he’d had no desire to hook up with someone while mourning the loss of his best friend. And now a miracle had happened, and she was here in the flesh, in his arms.

Why was he fighting this attraction between them? He pulled away. “Harper.”

“Mmm?” She blinked her eyes as if coming out of a trance.

Had he ever seen anything sexier than her beautiful desire-filled eyes and lips plump and damp from his kiss? “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“You mean you and me naked?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, that.”

“I’m sure.”

“And you understand the rules?”

She held up her hand and lifted a finger. “No falling in love.” Another finger went up. “No expectation for a future between us.” Up went a third finger. “We stay best friends no matter what.”

He covered her hand with his. “That pretty much covers it.” Those were the rules he wanted, so why was he annoyed at hearing them?

“I have a rule, too.”

“Hit me.”

“As long as we’re doing this, we’re exclusive. Someone comes along you want to be with, we’re done. Still besties, though.”

“Damn straight it’s an exclusive deal.” Another first, this irritation coming at him when thinking of her with some other man. He didn’t do jealousy. Also, he didn’t like how easily she was agreeing to his rules.

“Okay, so we’re doing this?”

“Yeah, we are.” Her smile made him think of a cat that had gotten into the cream...rather pleased with herself. “But later. I need to let Duke out before we lock up for the night, and then I want a shower.” He also wanted to think this through one more time before they did something that she would regret in the morning.

“I’ll take my shower while you’re doing that.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He kissed her. “Back in a few.”

He slipped his gun into a jacket pocket, grabbed the flashlight that was mounted on the wall at the back door, then clipped Duke’s leash on his collar. Outside, Kade walked around the tree line with the flashlight shining on the ground. There were no footprints or any signs of disturbance. Satisfied no one had been nosing around, he waited for Duke to do his business, then they walked down to the dock.

“No, you can’t go in,” he said when Duke pulled on the leash. Duke sighed, then dropped to his belly at the end of the dock.

The full moon was now covered by a cloud, and as he stood in the dark of night, Kade thought hard on Harper and what he wanted. He snorted. There was no doubt what he wanted, but would she end up regretting it if they went through with this friends-with-benefits thing? If she did, then he would have big regrets.

He’d learned to go with his instincts, and that was the reason he was hesitating. His instincts told him they were rushing into this too fast. He also didn’t really know where her head was. What had changed with her? She’d never looked at him with eyes that were turned dark with desire before.

That’s not true, dude.There had been that one time when they had a planned movie night. He’d gotten called out the week before, only returning in the early evening of their movie night. He’d texted her to let her know he was back, that he’d left the door unlocked for her, and to come on over. He’d thought he had time before she arrived to take a shower and get dressed. When he’d walked out wearing only a towel because he wasn’t expecting her yet, she was already there. Her gaze had roamed over him, and then her eyes had lifted to his and they had been darker. Her cheeks had turned pink, and she’d stammered something, and then she’d gone to the couch, picked up the remote, and refused to look at him.

He hadn’t thought much about it then, but now he wondered if she had always been attracted to him and had hidden it. If she did feel something for him, that was another reason to keep his hands off her. He reached into his pocket and brought out her hair tie. Why had he kept it? Why did he want to? He didn’t have the answers, so he slipped it back into his pocket. But he did come to a decision. Harper wasn’t going to like it, especially since he’d already agreed that sex was on the table.

“Up, Duke. Time to go inside.”

When he returned to his bedroom, Harper was asleep in his bed. Her hair was spread out over one of his pillows and one bare leg was out of the covers, and he was pretty sure she was naked. He refused to be creepy and lift the covers for a peek. Seeing her in his bed, something possessive and primitive settled in his chest, followed by a longing the likes of which he’d never felt before. He wanted to slide into the bed behind her and curl around her so that their bodies touched from their heads to their toes.

Instead, he showered, and then he settled on the sofa with the TV on but no sound. Duke curled up next to him and was soon snoring. He spent the night considering different scenarios that might happen with the people after Harper and planned for each possibility.

Chapter Twenty-Five

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