Page 33 of Burn Bag

“Let’s slow this down,” the DJ said over the speakers. “Allow me to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Kavanaugh!”

Everyone cheered, and for a moment, I just enjoyed, for once, being in the spotlight. But then Bradford’s face changed from a grin to an intense look that I understood all the way down to my lady parts. His hand slid around my back as people started clanking their silverware against their glasses.

I held my breath as he drew me in closer, his hand sliding up my back in a caress that I felt all the way to my toes. With my body pressed against his, I could hardly breathe, scarcely think of anything over the pounding of my heart.

“Mrs. Kavanaugh,” he grinned right before his lips met mine in a brutal kiss.

Holy. Fucking. Fireworks.

His taste exploded on my tongue in a dizzying swirl of fantasy and expectations. With my heart hammering in my chest, I could practically feel what it would be like to have his fingers on me, to have his tongue roaming over my body as he made love to me.

So much passion and desire swirled in that one kiss that I nearly collapsed. It was only his strong arms holding me that kept me from falling to the ground in a puddle of goo.

When he finally released me, I saw the same confusion I felt swirling in his eyes. No kiss should be that damn good—should make me want to tear off my clothes and mount this man in the middle of the dance floor.

Yet, here I was, staring at him like I was ready to do just that. The cat calls still whooped around us as we gazed at each other. Those fireworks I felt when his lips first pressed against mine were still tingling throughout my body and exploding all around me. It became hard to breathe, hard to even stand upright as I continued to stare into those beautiful brown eyes.

And that’s when I realized that it wasn’t just his kiss that had me woozy. “I’m going to black out now.”

10

KAVANAUGH

I blinked at her words,sure I had heard them wrong, but then her eyes stared sightlessly over my shoulder and she collapsed. I barely caught her before she hit the ground. Heart hammering in my chest, I adjusted her in my arms as someone cut the music, and then I was striding across the room to a less crowded area.

FNG was shoving his way through, along with Lock. Both were medics and would know what was wrong with her. I laid her down on the couch in the entry, turning to the woman at the hostess stand. “Lights!”

“No, keep the lights low,” FNG ordered, shoving me aside as he knelt beside my wife and started examining her. It only took a few seconds for her to come around, and when she did, she grinned and popped right back up.

“Whoa, lay down!” I ordered, feeling all sorts of things that I couldn’t explain. I barely knew this woman. What the hell was this feeling in my chest?

“I’m good. I swear. It happens.”

“Passing out?” I snapped.

She smiled brightly, as if this was totally normal. “Vasovagal Syncope.”

“What?” I barked too harshly.

Lock sighed, running his hand through his hair. “It’s a sudden drop in blood pressure. She laid down and it restored the blood flow.”

I didn’t understand it at all. “What the fuck are you talking about? She just passed out!”

“It’s fine—” she started, but I glared at her, effectively cutting her off.

“It’s really harmless,” Lock explained. “It happens for any number of reasons. Locked knees, standing too long in one position, too much heat, seeing blood…”

I scrubbed my hand down my face, my heart still racing out of control. I’d seen women pass out before, but none of them had been my wife. “So, she’s okay?”

“I probably need to eat something,” Daphne shrugged, “but that’s just because I’m starving!”

She just sat there with a grin on her face as if that wasn’t the most terrifying ten minutes of my life. I barely knew this woman, and she passed out in front of me and took my damn heart to the fucking floor with her.

“Alright. Food and sitting. Not standing where you might pass out.”

She saluted me while standing and I immediately reached for her, afraid she was going to pass out again. “Yes, sir.”

“Don’t call me sir,” I muttered, walking toward our table with my hand firmly wrapped around her arm. All eyes were on us as we made our way to the head table. Murmurs filtered through the crowd, and I turned to them with a grin. “She’s okay. Let’s eat!”

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