And nothing could possibly have prepared him for Trooper Kate Holiday climbing on top of him and sliding her body.All.Over. His.
“Did I fall asleep?” Templeton asked, though his drawl sounded a whole lot less lazy than it usually did. And he was vaguely concerned that he was having a cardiac arrest. “Is this a dream?”
“Call it what you want,” Kate replied. Gruffly.
Like she was finding the reality of her body on his body as hard to handle as he was.
And Templeton found that he didn’t really have the words to call it anything at all, because she was settling against him. Stretching herself out along the length of him, making sure to rub a bit wherever she touched, and then propping herself up on her hands so she could look down at him.
Her skin was flushed, which he liked. There was a bright heat in her eyes that made every cell in his body go alert and awake.Aware.
And best of all, her mouth, generous, wide, and the faintest bit sulky tonight, wasright there.
Templeton was so hard it hurt.
And that was before he processed the rest of it. Her torso flush against his, her strong thighs bracketing his hips and cradling him where he most wanted it.
It wasdefinitelycardiac arrest, and he loved every second of it.
“Is this what a trooper looks like after a couple drinks?” Templeton asked. “Hallelujah.”
Kate’s eyes glittered, and not drunkenly. “Sure. Let’s call it the wine.”
She sounded almost angry, which didn’t make a lot of sense. But Templeton couldn’t say he cared that much. And his jubilant body cared even less than that. Especially when she bent her head, collapsed against him so he could feel the weight of her small breasts against his chest, and pressed her mouth to his.
She kissed him like she was desperate. Like this was alldesperation.
Kate twined herself around him and moved her hips against his. And she kissed him, again and again, like her life depended on it.
Like they were both going to turn into stone any second and she needed to get as much of this in before it was all granite and regret.
Templeton wrapped his arms around her the way he had wanted to from the start. He reveled in the fierce way she angled her mouth against his, the sweet, hot glory of the way she rocked herself against him, and the feel of her—more solid than she looked—above him and astride him.
And Templeton had never considered himself a particularly good man.Goodwas the province of other men, whose hands were a lot cleaner than his had ever been.
He’d imagined this too many times. Too many and then more. And he liked the idea of his trooper desperate.
Butforhim. Notathim.
“Hey.”
He held her away from him, lifting her up off his body as he jackknifed into a sitting position and then deposited her beside him on the couch. She caught herself and stayed on her knees.
And he thought his halo was so damned bright it was practically high noon on the equator somewhere up in this cabin.
“What’s the problem?” Kate demanded.
“Is there a rush? A countdown of some kind? You seem to be in a hurry.”
Kate glared at him. “I’ll admit I didn’t see this coming. All that talk, and that’s all it was, wasn’t it?Talk.”
“I beg your pardon. Are you calling me a tease?”
“If the shoe fits, Templeton.”
He managed to keep from howling while his cardiac arrest kicked at him. He rubbed the hand he’d much rather put on her over his heart, like that might calm it down. And assured himself that was excitement, not emotion.
“Not at all. If you’re ready to go, we can go. I only want a little bit of clarity as to why you’re acting like we’re in a death race to the finish.”