his head in his hand, all graceful, gorgeous, relaxed alpha male and darn if her pesky libido didn’t perk right up again, her core tightening and warmth spreading out from her middle to her extremities.
“Well,” she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, suddenly shy as she stared down at her hands in her lap. “What if we make it a surprise appearance? No public announcement that I’ll be attending—only the event staff and the GGE crew will know. That way no one can plan an attack ahead of time, right? The rally’s invite only.”
Clint seemed to consider that a second. “Maybe. Let me sleep on it—we can decide in the morning.”
“Cool.” An awkward silence fell and Tara’s skin felt too tight for her body. Searching for something, anything, to fill the heavy quiet blanketing the space between them, she scooted off the sofa and down onto the rug again. “We never finished putting this castle together earlier.”
“No. We didn’t.” Clint joined her and started fitting bricks together again. Their positions put him closer to her than before, close enough that she could feel his warmth through her thin cotton top and jeans. Close enough she could smell the sandalwood of his aftershave and a hint of soap on his skin. Close enough for her to hear the softness of his breath and see the faint shadow of dark stubble on his jaw and wonder what that might feel like against her tongue if she licked him there…
“What would you normally be doing now?” he asked, jarring her attention back to the task at hand.
“You mean work-wise?” She finished putting together a turret and started on another. “I’d probably still be at my office, working away on the legislation or starting a new proposal. What about you?”
“Same.” He connected one wall of the castle to her turret and started on the second wall. “Except I’d be putting together security plans or hustling for new clients for SSoF.”
“It’s kind of nice having a break,” she admitted, handing him a third completed turret to fit into another corner of the castle. “And having company.” At the last admission, her cheeks heated again. “I mean, not that I’m lonely or anything. It’s just been fun having Ashley around today. And you, of course. I mean…”
She was stumbling over her words and didn’t seem to be able to stop talking. Gah!
Clint put together the last corner of the castle and glanced at her over his shoulder, his mouth curved into a small, sexy smile. “I know what you mean.”
“You do?” Her words emerged more breathless than she’d wanted.
He nodded and leaned back on his hands, putting them shoulder to shoulder as they admired the finished castle. “Yeah. It’s good to have another adult around. Makes things easier. Smoother.”
“Smoother,” she repeated, resting her weight against him more than was necessary, but damn. It felt so good to touch him she couldn’t seem to stop. “I like smoother.”
“Me too.” His voice was lower now, his breath stirring the hair near her temple.
As if drawn by an invisible cord, Tara found herself looking up at him, finding Clint’s lips right there, near enough that if she leaned in just a little, she could kiss him again. Electric sparks seemed to fill the tiny space between them and her blood felt on fire with need. Need to touch him and taste him and have him for herself, even if it was for just one night.
His blue gaze darkened, flicking from her eyes to mouth then back again. He waited, hesitating, as if giving her a chance to back away, but in the end, the choice had already been made, at least on Tara’s end. Then he brushed her lips with his and her brain stopped completely as she surrendered to the kiss, turning to slide her fingers into his hair and keep him right where he was, in case he had any ideas about ending things too soon.
11
Clint couldn’t quite believe he’d made a move on Tara, but now that he had, there was no stopping him. Especially since memories of their previous kiss had kept flooding his mind all day.
So yeah. He was tired of fighting it. Tired of battling for control of his world, his emotions. Tired of it all. For now, for tonight, he was giving in. She gasped softly and he took advantage, sliding his tongue between her lips to taste her once more. She was just as sweet as he remembered, with