Page 41 of Risk It All
“I’m not losing any ships on my watch,” he said, using both hands to try to pull the plastic piece from her grasp. She quickly figured out that he was trying very hard not to hurt her, and she was willing to use that to her full advantage. Her position bent over the coffee table took away her leverage, so she stepped onto the wooden surface.
She could tell that he was surprised by her move, and she used that to twist out of his grip. As soon as she was free, she jumped off the table and ran, unable to hold back a gleeful shout of triumph. Who knew that years of wrestling things away from her sisters would build necessary life skills?
She didn’t even manage to get a stride in before a thick forearm caught her around the middle. With a laughing shriek, she was pulled off her feet and back against Kavenski’s chest. Holding her with one arm, he tried to pry the ship out of her hands, but his gentleness was still his greatest weakness.
Squirming and breathless with laughter, she managed to cling to the game piece, but she wasn’t able to free herself from his hold. As she tried to wiggle out from under his left arm, she managed to get him off-balance, and he took a step back. Suddenly, they were both falling, tumbling down to land on the couch.
Kavenski’s back hit the cushions as she landed on top of him, the hard surface of his chest and abs knocking the breath out of her. Slightly stunned, she stared down into his equally startled face before she regained her bearings. Once she realized what had happened, she started giggling.
He attempted to frown, but it wasn’t even a good effort. There was too much laughter in his eyes for him to look menacing. “Return my ship.”
“Or what?” The words came out so breathless and husky that Cara almost didn’t recognize her own voice.
“War.” His arms had been banded around her, keeping her from rolling off the couch when they’d fallen, but now they moved. She only had time for a short, silly moment of regret that he wasn’t holding her any longer before his hands were moving over her, searching for the sensitive places most vulnerable to tickling fingers.
“Nooo!” she cried out, her laughter picking up again as she clamped her arms against her body, flattening herself against him and tucking her head beneath his chin, trying to minimize exposure. Still, he was relentless until she gave up. “Okay, okay! I’ll give you your ship back.”
Only when his hands moved to flatten against her lower back did she dare raise her head. Looking at his amused face, she wondered how she could’ve ever thought of him as closed-off. Now that she’d gotten to know him better, she could see all sorts of things chasing across his expression.
“Here.” She carefully placed the battleship on his forehead. “But know that you are a cheater, cheater, pumpkin-eater, and I’m never playing board games with you again.”
He glanced up, as if trying to spot the ship, and she laughed. “Never? What if we’re snowed in here for weeks?”
She felt her eyes widen as trepidation filled her. “You think we’re going to be stuck here that long?”
“Probably not.”
When she saw the slight upward curl of his lips, she thumped her fist lightly against his chest. “Rude. You scared me.” She tried to infuse her huff with more annoyance than she actually felt in order to hide that she was really enjoying lying on him like this. “And no. Even if we were snowed in here formonths, I wouldn’t play with you.”
That wicked curve of his mouth was back. He gave a small shake of his head so that the game piece toppled off onto the sofa. “You wouldn’t play board games.”
“Right.” Her voice was both sultry and absent as she studied his mouth. Normally, his lips were set in a hard line, but now that they were relaxed and actually smiling a little, he was a hundred times sexier. That was a problem, since she was already having a hard time keeping her head on straight when it came to him. She shouldn’t be playing with him, or wrestling with him, or—and this was the most important—lying stretched on top of him, her body touching his from chest to toes. “No board games.”
“So other games are still a possibility?”
Her lips parted as she tried to think of a rejoinder, knowing she needed to shut him down hard, but her body’s insistent need was distracting her, making it hard to think logically when she just wanted to go along with this flirty conversation and feed the hunger she could see in his eyes. It was the same hunger that pulled at her belly, urging her to do something extraordinarily stupid, like lean down and kiss him.
His eyes heated even more, as if he could read her thoughts and approved heartily. One of his hands skimmed up her back and under her hair, his fingers burrowing through the strands until his palm cupped the back of her skull. It took hardly any pressure for him to urge her head down until their mouths were just a breath apart.
For a long moment, they froze in that position. Cara could feel the heat from his breath and skin brushing her lips, and she was so tempted, more than she’d ever been before. She wasn’t sure if he moved or she did to close that last fraction of an inch, but either way, their lips were touching, and she wanted it more than anything.
At first, the kiss was exploratory, their lips brushing and grazing as if trying to figure each other out. Then it was as if a switch had been flipped, and Kavenski’s bossy side showed itself again. His mouth took over the kiss—or tried, at least, but Cara held her own. Ever since she’d first seen his mug shot she’d been wanting to do this, and now that she had her chance she was going to explore the way she so desperately wanted.
Their mouths dueled playfully, each trying to take over. It reminded Cara of how gentle he’d been while trying to get the game piece back, except that this was more intense and a lot more enjoyable. She nipped at his lower lip, drawing a groan from him that ended in a growl. Pressing his lips more firmly to hers, he wrapped an arm around her back and shifted both of them in a dizzying whirl.
By the time Cara realized that she was no longer on top, he was kissing her again, and she found it hard to care that she no longer held the position of power. Besides, he was still playing the back-and-forth game with her, giving and taking as they explored each other. It was impossible to focus on anything except the kiss, the feel of his lips and tongue and teeth as they moved against hers, and the secure press of his chest over her, bearing her down into the sofa cushions.
Everything about the horrible, ugly past day fell away, leaving only Henry Kavenski and his talented, beautiful mouth.
Chapter 13
Henry’s weight pressed her into the couch just enough for Cara to feel secure without being suffocated. That was Henry in a nutshell—safe but exciting. She smiled against his lips at the thought before getting lost in the feel of him again. With his mouth on hers, she could forget about everything outside their cozy cabin. It felt like the two of them were the only people in the world at the moment.
A muted roar followed by a sharp cracking sound yanked Cara out of her kiss-induced tunnel vision. Henry turned to look at the woodstove, where the fire blazed ferociously for a few seconds—fueled by the gust of wind down the stovepipe—before settling back down to a flickering smolder.
There’s a metaphor in there somewhere, Cara thought, torn between irritation that the noise had interrupted the most intense kiss she’d ever experienced and relief. Things were already so messy. They didn’t need to throw another container of gasoline on the raging dumpster fire that was their current situation, no matter how amazing that fire had felt.
Henry turned his attention back to her, and their mouths were suddenly too temptingly close together. Catching her rogue gaze focusing on his lips, she yanked her focus back to his eyes, which were another issue. The blue that was normally glacially cold burned like the hottest flame, and she felt warmth rushing to her face—and other parts of her body that were already overheated.
