box, then reached in and pulled out a form and a single key.
Lissa rolled down the window, felt the rush of hot air against her cheeks.
“Only one left,” he said, holding up the key. “You want me to keep driving, find another place to stay?”
She had seen that look on his face before, though he’d mostly managed to hide it. It was hot and hungry, disturbing in its intensity. It made her feel things, want things she hadn’t had in far too long.
Her pulse quickened. She wanted exactly what his look said he wanted. It wasn’t her style to sleep with a man she barely knew, but driving farther wasn’t a good idea.
“We can share the room,” she said. “If Julie trusts you, I guess I do, too.”
“Julie was Liam’s wife. She’s a friend, nothing more. I want a lot more than friendship from you.”
There it was, right out in the open. He wanted her. Colt waited for her answer, his hard, hot look never wavering. She took her time. Did she have the nerve to take what she wanted? She could still change her mind.
“You need sleep and so do I. Take the room.”
He pocketed the key while she filled out the form. The motel rooms were all in a row, twelve single-story units facing the parking lot. Colt parked the Mustang in front of number ten, and Lissa climbed out of the car into the moist summer night air.
The room was cleaner than she expected. The mattress sagged a little but the spread was freshly laundered, the dark brown carpets recently vacuumed. There was only one bed, but it was a king.
Just looking at it sent her mind into a hot, dark place filled with longing. She glanced at Colt, saw him watching her with that single blue eye, saw the heat he didn’t bother to hide. She noticed the way his black T-shirt clung to a chest taut with muscle, the way his jeans cupped a round behind and stretched over long, powerful legs.
His face was the image of hard male dominance, the kind of man who took what he wanted. The kind tough enough to handle the fierce need burning inside her.
She hadn’t been with a man in nearly two years. Hadn’t met a man she wanted. Not until now.
Still, she knew there would be consequences. With a man like Colt Wheeler there always were.
She looked at him and long-dead passions stirred to life inside her, along with something that made her feel vulnerable in a way she hadn’t in years. She didn’t like the feeling, and yet she wanted him.
Her mind was made up.
She wondered if she would regret it.
* * *
“WE NEED TO get some sleep,” Lissa said. Colt followed her gaze to the bed, which dominated the worn, dated motel room. There was challenge in her words, and something in her eyes Colt couldn’t read.
For him, sleep was no longer an option. Not with the hunger burning through him, not when he could see she felt it, too.
“Sleep isn’t what I need,” he said. “What I need tonight is you.” He moved toward her, stopped right in front of her. Sliding a hand into shining blond hair as silky as it looked, he cupped the back of her head, hovered over her mouth long enough to give her a chance to say no, then he kissed her.
Full pink lips sank into his, melding so perfectly he groaned. The kiss went from slow and sexy to hot and deep in a heartbeat. Lissa’s arms slid around his neck and she kissed him back with all the fire he’d expected. There was no turning back now. Not for either one of them.
He kissed her long and deep, pressed his mouth against the rapid pulse beating against the side of her neck, and heard her moan. He stripped off her tank top, unhooked her bra and tossed it away, filled his hands with her small, pretty breasts.
Perfect, he thought as his mouth replaced his hands, tasting the tight bud at the crest, sucking until it tightened even more. Exactly right for him.
She toed off her sneakers, and he stripped off her black jeans, ran his hand over those firm, slender hips to cup her sexy ass, felt the lean muscles tighten. The rough brush of lace drew his attention to the scrap of silk between her legs. A pale, delicate pink, not red or black, a glimpse of the woman beneath the tough facade.
In minutes he