that. While I lie here drowning in utter embarrassment.”
Throwing her head back in laughter, “That is hysterical. You are so lame.”
“I agree with you there. I am seriously lame.” And what I don’t say is, you scare me more than having a gun pointed at my head, close range, although you both hold the power to stop my heart.
Rolling off me to my side, Sierra stays within my arms, burrowing her head into my shoulder. Absentmindedly, I comb my fingers through her loose waves.
“So what are we going to do, mermaid? Tell me what you want. Do you want me to take you home and I’ll see you in the office tomorrow? Do you want me to ask you out in three weeks? Do you want me to totally back off?”
She’s shaking her head against my chest.
“What are you saying no to?”
“All three.”
“So, you don’t want me to take you home. You don’t want me to ask you out in three weeks and you don’t want me to back off.”
Now, she’s nodding, yes.
Rolling over, I cover her with my body, balancing my weight on my forearms. The rush is physical as I feel her under me, but it’s the emotional onslaught that feels like a blow to the back of my head. “I’m a guy. You need you to spell this out for me or I will get it wrong and you’ll be pissed. Tell me what you want.” I know what I want. The bottom halves of our bodies are molded and it’s taking every bit of willpower not to start grinding into where her thighs meet, especially when she moves her legs apart slightly and my body falls into hers, perfectly aligned for pleasure. My nose is just inches from hers as I await her answer.
“I don’t want to lose you.”
“Waiting three weeks is not going to make you lose me, Sierra. These next three weeks are going to be insane. I’ll start sharing some of the particulars with you tomorrow and you’ll have a better understanding of what we’re tackling and how focused we’ll be until the event is over.”
Snaking her arms around my back, her hands end up in the back pockets of my jeans. She’s pressing me into her. Laying my head face down between her breasts, I warn, “That’s going to get you in trouble, little girl.”
“You’re so not safe.”
Laughing, “No, Sierra, I am not safe. But I will keep you safe. So, what is it you want?” I ask again.
“You said after today things change.”
I nod.
“You said that you’re going to change.”
Again, I nod, “I don’t want you to think it’s anything between us gone wrong, if I go into a very different mode than you’ve seen me. I’m coming back to you. I promise.”
“Then I don’t want to lose one minute of now, Hale, while I still have you.” She presses her hands into my ass.
“Sierra…” The word is part warning, part question.
“Either I have to trust you, Hale, or walk away. You’re going to be my leap of faith.”
“Are you sure?” My hips press down into her as I ask that.
“I’m sure.”
Pressing my face into her cleavage, “Girls, I hope you’re ready to meet me,” I address the luscious nipples that have intrigued me since the King Cole Salon.
Sierra laughs, “Be careful doing that or you’ll poke your eye out.”
Hale groans as he dips his body into the seat of the Lotus. “Oh man, my shoulder is really feeling that fall.”
“That’s because you’re old,” I tease.
“I’m only thirty-seven, Miss Spring Chicken.” He gives my thigh a squeeze.
“You’re only four years older than me and I think you’ve probably experienced twenty more years of stuff than I have.”
Looking straight forward, he nods. “You’re probably right.”
And I wonder what would make a guy on the path that he was on, as MIT is one of the top technological schools in the United States, exclusive to the brightest minds, veer so far off that course.
“How long were you in the military?” I need to unravel the mystery that is Hale Lundström.
“A little under eleven years.”
“Wow, I didn’t realize you were in for that long. Did you just enlist or did they recruit you?”
I can tell he’s thinking about how to answer this. I love watching him; he gets very still, and I would kill to see the thought process that goes on within his mind. So dark and masculine, with those loose curls and stubble, I try and think if I’ve ever been so