Page 89 of The Rescuer

“We were best friends—are best friends—and we got married. We skipped everything else.”

She stared at him dumbly. “What are you trying to say?”

He leaned in, planting his palm on one side of her body to carry his weight. Heat waved off him, enveloping her, and his warm breath fell on her cheek. The familiar smell of leather and pine, mingled with Reece, drifted up her nose. The fingers of his free hand feathered over her hair, sending shivers skittering along her scalp.

“I’m trying to say I only got to kiss you once,” he murmured, “and I’m embarrassed to admit I was so damn drunk my memory is a little cloudy. I get that it’s a bad idea, but I can’t stop thinking about it. I’d really like to know how it felt.”

Her pulse jumped, and she swallowed to coat her suddenly parched throat. When she finally got her words out, they were a croak. “My memory’s cloudy too.”

His fingertips moved to her cheek, caressing as they mapped the contours of her face, trailing down the side of her throat, along her shoulder, and back to her collarbone. His eyes followed, as if he were looking at her for the first time. Did he like what he saw? The scrutiny clamped a vise on her stomach.

“Neve,” he whispered, twining his fingers in her hair, his touch featherlight. He dropped his head, his moist lips landing where her neck met her shoulder. “Why didn’t I see …?” he murmured against her skin. “So beautiful, so soft.”

The hand that had been propping him up moved to cradle the other side of her face, gently holding her in place while his mouth did magical things to her neck. She let her head fall into his hold, welcoming the sensations that washed over her and erased the sting of her gash. Tingles fired up every nerve ending in her body, and an errant moan escaped her. Did she have to be so … easy?

Yes, she did. She’d wanted this her entire life.

Oh God, if this is a dream, please don’t let me wake up.

He pulled back, and his lids lifted partway. “Is this okay? I don’t want to hurt you.”

He hadn’t even kissed her yet, and she was trembling like a bowl of Jell-O riding out a magnitude-nine earthquake.

“You’re not hurting me,” she managed right before she launched herself at him, catching him by surprise when her mouth landed on his. His firm lips softened, meeting hers, tasting and nibbling as he drew her bottom lip into his mouth with a gentle suck. A nip. Then his tongue got into the mix, first taking a swipe at that same lip before licking into her mouth, languidly probing, exploring. He tasted mildly like salt and something indescribably wonderful. The kiss was sensuous and slow, and her tingles turned to explosive chills that puckered her skin and her nipples.

Her fingers fell away from the covers she’d been holding in place and dove into tufts of his soft hair. His hands moved down her bare back, splaying across its width. His tongue plunged deeper, and she met it, dueled it, stroked it while his fingertips dug in. Growls reverberated in his chest and rose up to his throat. His weight pressed against her, and she lay back, the covers still a barrier between them.

He broke the kiss and looked down at her with a lopsided grin, his breaths coming rapid and ragged. “I can’t believe I could have forgotten something that mind-blowing.”

“So you remember now?” she panted.

“I don’t know. Brain’s not firing on all cylinders at the moment. I’d better make sure.” His mouth found hers once more, but before the kiss could get a head of steam, he abruptly pulled away. When she opened her eyes, his were wide.

“What?”

“I shouldn’t.” He sat up, sliding his hands from underneath her and tunneling his fingers through his hair.

She stroked his steely upper arm but otherwise didn’t move. “Shouldn’t what?”

When he looked at her, his eyes filled with regret. “You’re hurt, and I’m acting like an asshole. And there’s a whole other boatload of reasons I shouldn’t have started this. I want you, Neve. You must know that. But I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost control.”

Knowing she’d made Reece Hunnicutt lose control, even for an instant? Wow. Power surged inside her, emboldening her.

She raised up on an elbow and slid the covers down to her waist. “I’m not sorry.”

His eyes lowered and rested on her bared breasts. His expression turned pained.

“Reece?” She tugged on his shoulder.

He raised his gaze to hers. “We shouldn’t.”

“I know.” She brought her hand to her chest and stroked her nipple, turning it into a hard bead. What possessed her to be so brazen, she wasn’t exactly sure, but she did know this: She was laying herself wide open to complete and utter humiliation—and holding her breath while she did so.

He licked his lips. “Neve, if we cross that line, there’s no going back. We won’t be talking annulment anymore. It’s divorce with a capitalDand the black mark you said you don’t want.”

She trailed her fingertips over her breast, drawing his gaze once more. “I know that too.” But did she? Her desire for this man overflowed, consuming every other sense, like her ability to see and to reason—or to remember he was moving away in a month.

Something shifted in his eyes, and pain transformed into a dark gleam of lust that lit a blaze inside her. He’d given up the fight. Pushing her hand away, he lowered his body on top of hers and took her mouth with such heat and hunger she thought a floodgate had been torn off its hinges.

---