were. You’re the kind of girl a guy is proud to bring home to meet his mama. I’m not messing around here. I hope you’re not, either, because I’m not that kind of boy.” The last was said in a teasing voice that made her smile despite herself.
“I’ll just bet you aren’t. You’ve probably left a string of broken hearts through every bayou in Louisiana.” Was she melting under his concentrated charm offensive? Damn, she thought maybe she was.
“I’ll admit, I did sow my share of wild oats.” He nodded sagely, his tone at odds with the sheer devilry in his eyes. “That’s all over now. I’ve seen the light.” He paused, his expression clearing as he freed one hand so he could cup her cheek. “It was the light in your eyes, Sarah. The moment you woke up and started sassing me, I knew I wanted to get to know you better.”
Son of a gun. She thought he just might be serious after all. No way would a man use a line like that if he was really up to no good. Not when he knew the woman in question carried a gun and knew how to use it. She was beginning to think he was sincere.
“You’re serious?”
“As I’ve ever been.” He moved his other hand, still grasping hers, to cover his heart. She felt the steady beat against her palm. It was reassuring. “We have an opportunity here that I don’t want to waste. I want to see where this attraction leads—to the end of this mission and beyond if that’s what’s in the cards for us. Between you and me, I think it is, Sarah. I think there’s voodoo in the air when we touch like I’ve never felt before. Do you feel it?” His words dipped low, rumbling through her very being. “Tell me you do.”
“Xavier.” She shook her head, trying to clear herself of the spell he’d woven around them. “I don’t know what this is. I’m afraid…” She tried to think how best to end that sentence and realized there were too many things to list. “I’m just afraid.”
“Don’t be, ma petite.” He tugged her into his arms, cradling her close. “I’m a soldier and you’re a cop. Together, there’s nothing we can’t handle. You watch my back and it will be my utmost pleasure to watch yours, sweetheart.”
But who would protect her from the broken heart she was sure was coming? Who would protect her from him?
Sarah extracted herself from his arms after a long moment spent worrying and wondering if she was about to make an even bigger fool out of herself than she already had. In the end, it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered other than the intense attraction she felt for him, and the promise in his eyes.
He seemed sincere. She thought she was a good judge of people. She’d honed her instincts over her years on the force. She wanted to believe Xavier was on the level—that he wasn’t just trying to get into her pants while he was in town, intending even now to leave her high and dry when his mission was over. She was afraid of a wham, bam, thank you ma’am, but after the way he’d just opened up and hinted at a possible future, she was beginning to believe he wouldn’t do that to her.
Would he leave? Indeed he would. He wouldn’t have a choice. Once his mission was over, he’d be reassigned. Would he dump her? She was starting to believe he wouldn’t. If—and this was a very big if—they discovered something lasting, something loving, in their time together, she believed he would try to find a way for them to be together.
He was holding out the hope for a possible future. He wasn’t just trying to con her into being his bedmate for the duration of his mission, as she had feared. No, there was more to it than that. More than just the moment and the mission. There was hope for something more. Something lasting. Something that could even prove to be permanent.
Instead of answering in words, she reached up and pulled him down for a long, slow, lingering kiss. The room spun, time stood still, and two heartbeats stuttered, then began beating in rhythm as Xavier answered her passion with his own.
“Mmm,” he growled when he finally let her up for air long minutes later. “A fellow could get used to that.”
“You think so?” She dared to flirt now that she’d