His Lover to Protect - Katee Robert Page 0,23
thought. “You didn’t seem that offended when my tongue was between your thighs and you were riding my mouth as you screamed my name.”
“Just shut up.” Because it was all too easy to remember exactly how good it felt when he had his mouth on her countless times the night before last.
“Don’t worry your pretty head about it. It’s just a strange coincidence that I’m here the same time as you.” Luke finally seemed to realize he still had his arms around her, because he let go and took a step back. “Though maybe I should be following you. You don’t seem to have the sense God gave a toddler.”
Ouch. She wasn’t sure what hurt more—that he thought so little of her, or that he could dismiss the sex they’d had in a few short sentences. She might have left him yesterday morning, but that had nothing to do with him or the sex.
She hated how dismissive he was of everything about her, and so she spoke without thinking. “And you do?” She sent a pointed look at his knee. “I’m not the only one shaking.” A low blow, and one she instantly regretted. You’re a goddam nurse, and you’re poking at his injury because he pissed you off. Classy, Alexis. Really classy.
As he started to say something, the skies opened up. Luke cursed, but she only tipped her face up and breathed out some of her anger. If she’d wanted to bicker with someone, she could have stayed at home and gone head-to-head with Drew or even Ryan. This trip was bigger than some grouchy former military man who seemed determined to make her life a thousand times more difficult.
Her peace lasted all of ten seconds, when her body registered that she was soaked and the cold set in. Alexis wrapped her arms around herself and looked around. Both the other groups were hustling back down the way they’d come, huddled inside Windbreakers and their packs. Not Luke, though. Of course she wouldn’t be that lucky. He just stood there, glowering at her. “What? Don’t you have some other helpless woman to bully?”
Unexpectedly, he laughed. The sound rolled through her, deep and addicting. Oh my God. Luke shook his head. “Bullying you is a full-time job.” He seemed to consider for a second. “And you’re anything but helpless, even if you are a giant pain in my ass.”
Once again, she was struck that his crappy attitude seemed calculated to keep her distracted from the huge drop just a few feet away. She wasn’t sure if she should thank him or smack him for interfering in the first place—even if he did help get her to the edge. “Was that an actual compliment? I might pass out right here from the shock.”
“Princess, if you’re passing out from anything, it’ll be hypothermia.” He eyed her backpack. “Did it cross that pretty little head of yours to put on a fucking jacket before you traipsed through Norway?”
Wow, he was really doling out the backhanded compliments today. She glared. “I had a jacket, which I took off when I got too warm.” She wasn’t a complete idiot. Maybe her clothing choices didn’t line up with what he thought was smart, but she had come prepared. Mostly.
“You’re not too warm now.”
She followed his gaze down and nearly groaned when she saw her nipples, very present and accounted for, pressing against the thin fabric of her sundress. Determined not to give him the satisfaction of showing how uncomfortable she was, she lifted her chin…and was instantly caught in his sea-green eyes.
Chapter Eight
Luke was about to demand that Alexis put her damn jacket back on when she kissed him. He should hustle her back to the hotel and get her properly clothed before she ended up sick, but all he did was pull her closer and kiss her back. It was even better than last time, her tongue stroking along his and tasting like peppermint. Alexis dropped her pack and leaned fully against him, her breasts pressing against his chest. He gave in to the need to reach down and cup her ass under her dress, and he nearly went to his knees when he found her wearing another thong. “If I’d hiked up here behind you, we never would have made it.”
She laughed against his mouth. “Hmm? Maybe that’s why those guys never passed me on the trail.”
Jealousy hit him, even more potent than their first night together. He wound his hand through her hair,