For a moment or two, she got lost in them. “What stopped you?”
“My head was too far up my ass.”
A breathy laugh pushed past her lips. “I could have helped you with that, you know. I’m a trained medical professional.”
He gave a slow shake of his head. “I needed to work things out on my own. Sorry it took so long.” His dark eyebrows drew down as his thumbs brushed over her cheeks. “I feel things. For you. Things I haven’t felt in a very long time. There’s something between us, something powerful. Do you feel it?”
She nodded, but a sad realization squeezed her heart like a vise. “I won’t be a replacement for Carmen.”
“I would never ask that of you.” His voice was tight with emotion. A genuine smile warmed his mouth, and it transformed his entire appearance, from ruggedly handsome to soul-searing gorgeous. “So what do you say, Bones?”
She had no idea where any of this would lead. Knowing her luck, it would end in disaster. Come tomorrow, she’d go to the embassy for help, while Wade and the guys continued on the road to Dos Cruces. He still didn’t trust her, and that little fact stuck in her craw like a broken piece of glass.
And yet, after everything she’d been through, she needed this—needed him, so much she nearly shook with it. Wade was right; there was something powerful between them. If she didn’t take a chance and explore it, even if it lasted for only one night, she’d regret it for the rest of her life.
“I say you need to stop talking and kiss me like you mean it.”
A wolfish glint came into his eyes and made her pulse race. “Yes, ma’am.”
Bending his head, he kissed her again, long, slow, wet, and deep, his fingers curving around her nape, holding her head steady while he plundered her mouth with infinite skill. She’d expected wild and unrestrained, not the sweetness that caught her off guard. His tongue slipped past her lips, tangling with hers, and Hope let out a soft moan as she melted against him.
One large hand skimmed down the length of her spine, coming to rest at the swell of her ass. As he tucked her closer, heat slid through her veins at the feel of his obvious arousal.
He grazed his teeth along the column of her neck, finding that sensitive spot she really loved, and it was all she could do not to dissolve into a puddle on the floor. “Before the night’s over, I’m going to learn every square inch of your body. I want to know how you move, how you sound, how you taste when you come. And once I figure all of that out, we’re going to do it again. And again. You okay with that?”
She was totally on board with that. Too bad her tongue had stopped working. Unable to form words, her response was half groan, half gasp.
His teeth worked over that spot on her neck again and fire flashed through her veins.
“I need to hear you say it, Bones.”
With a great deal of effort, she summoned the words. “Yes, all of it. Yes.”
She slipped one hand between their bodies, loving the steady pound of his heart through the thin barrier of his shirt. Needing more, she skimmed her hand lower, past his chiseled abs and the waistband of his jeans, not stopping until she found the thick, hard bulge beneath his fly. She stroked, and a thrill went through her at his sharp intake of breath.
Gripping her wrist, he pulled her hand away.
She huffed in protest. “I want to touch you.”
“Later.”
“Now.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
His jaw tightened as his gaze met hers, and she saw the raging inferno burning beneath the calm exterior. “It’s been awhile, okay? I want this to last.”
Surprised by the admission, she pulled back a little to see him better. “How long of ‘awhile’ are we talking?”
The tips of his ears went pink. “I don’t know. Give or take…” He paused, his broad chest rising on a deep inhale. “Four and a half…” Even longer pause. “Years.”
She blinked a few times. Honestly, she wasn’t sure what figure she’d expected, but that wasn’t anywhere in the ballpark. “Well. All things considered, I suppose that makes sense.”
“You don’t understand,” he said, his voice strained. “I’m working with a hair trigger, Bones.”
“That’s okay. It’s not like I’m timing you with a stopwatch.”
“Yeah, but…”
The pink at the tips of his ears went beet red, a feat she hadn’t thought possible.