Page 48 of Sergeant's Christmas Siege

And he knew he wasn’t likely to forget anytime soon the soft little noise of frustration she made as she writhed on him.

“Rush, rush, rush,” Templeton rumbled. And he could hardly believe he was about to do this. But here he was, doing it. “Is this how it normally works for you, Trooper? Let me guess. A few shots in a bar, a rush toward oblivion, and that’s it?”

“What do you mean, ‘that’s it’? What else is there?”

She sounded cranky and irritated, and Lord knew, he liked that, too.

“That’s barely an appetizer,” he told her. “And all this time you’ve been thinking it was a full meal? That explains a lot.”

Kate stiffened, and her eyes changed to something far more dangerous, but Templeton wasn’t afraid of her. Not when she was mostly naked, and he could feel how soft and hot she was against him with their bodies tight together, separated only by a few layers of their clothing.

“We can either do this or not,” Kate snapped. “It’s an offer that’s unlikely to be repeated. So if you’re not interested, terrific. You can go.”

“It’s not that I’m not interested.” And Templeton wasn’t a goddamned saint, so this was hard. Harder than she seemed to imagine while she sat on his lap and tempted him almost beyond endurance. “It’s that I’m too interested. You want to bang me like I’m some guy you picked up in a bar? I’m going to have to pass on that.”

“Oh my God,” Kate breathed. “Let me guess. Deep inside, you’re sweet and shy andmushy. You wantintimacy. You want tomake sweet love.” She didn’t actually gag at that, she only gave the impression of it, which wasn’t much better. “Too bad, Templeton. Because all I want to do is—”

“You don’t know what you want,” he told her, cutting her off. “But don’t worry, little trooper. I’m nothing if not a dedicated teacher.”

She started to roll her eyes, but Templeton stood and took her with him. He was still fully clothed, something he reminded himself of as he moved, because it was like armor. Or something. It was going to save one of them, anyway, and he had the distinct impression that it might be him.

He carried her into the bedroom and tossed her into the center of the bed.

“Finally,” Kate muttered. To the ceiling.

Because she was ungrateful. Ornery. Sullen. Surly—and that was when she wasn’t acting the cool, controlled cop.

Templeton didn’t think he’d ever wanted someone thismuch in his life. Or ever would again. He needed to indulge that want, then move on before emotions got involved. He knew that.

But that wasn’t the point of this. Not right now.

The bed was nice and high, perfect for his purposes. He reached down and took hold of her, dragging her toward the edge of the mattress. Then he peeled those ridiculously, delightfully girlie panties off her legs.

And he wanted to linger. He wanted to take his sweet time exploring every inch of her, getting to know the variances in the way she tasted. There behind her ear. In the hollow between her breasts. At her waist, her navel, and every sweet inch of her long, strong legs.

He wanted to make a meal of her. But he was going to have to settle for dessert.

And notify the Vatican on his way out, because he was clearly signing himself up for instant canonization.

He bent down, keeping her legs apart with the width of his shoulders. He scooped his hands beneath her butt to hold her in place, then lifted her up like she was on a platter.

Her breath went out of her with a gratifying stuttering sound that was sweet music as far as he was concerned. She lifted herself up on her elbows and scowled at him down the length of her own gorgeous body.

“Oh no,” she said. Sounding even crankier than before. “I don’t do that.”

“Do what? You don’t have todoanything but lie back and continue rolling your eyes at the ceiling.”

“That sounds super fun, but I have a better idea. Why don’tyoulie back? I’ll climb on top and make us both feel great.”

“Sure thing,” Templeton rumbled, and nipped gently at one of those strong thighs of hers. He felt her jolt beneath his hands. He discovered, to his delight, that when she flushed like that it covered the whole of her body.Better still, goose bumps rose up everywhere. He could even smell her arousal, sweet and feminine. She shuddered. “But first, indulge me.”

And then he leaned forward and got his mouth on her.

At last.

Tough, ornery Kate melted like candy. Soft and hot. He licked his way in, easing his way through her slickness, then finding the part of her that was the neediest. He teased her there. Using suction. His teeth.

Whatever worked.

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