"I should..." I started, but lost my train of thought when he sucked gently on my bottom lip.
"You should stay right here," he finished for me, pulling back just enough to look into my eyes. "Let me kiss you until you forget all the reasons this might be too fast. Let me show you how good this could be."
"The documents," I managed weakly, grasping for any lifeline of sanity.
"Will still be there in an hour." His grin was pure masculine satisfaction as he felt me shiver in response. "Or two. Or three."
"Neil..."
"Say yes, Kim. Say you want this too."
Looking into his eyes, feeling surrounded by his strength and heat, smelling the cedar and wilderness scent of him, I could only whisper one word:
"Yes."
His mouth claimed mine again with devastating thoroughness, and any thought of resistance melted away. This kiss was different from the first—deeper, hungrier, full of promise and possession. Neil's hands roamed my back, each touch leaving trails of fire through my thin shirt.
"I’ve been thinking about this," he murmured against my lips, voice rough as gravel. "About how you'd feel in my arms. How you'd taste. It drove me crazy last night, knowing you were in my bed wearing nothing but my shirt."
"Neil..." His name came out as a whimper when his lips found that sensitive spot below my ear again.
"I love how you say my name." His teeth grazed my earlobe, making me gasp. "I want to hear you scream it."
The crude promise should have shocked me. Instead, it made me wet. This wasn't the careful, polite academic world I knew. This was raw, primal, and everything I'd never known I needed.
His large hands spanned my waist, thumbs stroking the sensitive skin just above my jeans. "Gorgeous," he growled, and the size difference that had intimidated me yesterday now made me feel desired. “I want to fuck you silly.”
The hot promise in those words drove me insane. I grabbed his flannel and pulled him back down, initiating the kiss thistime. He made a sound of pure masculine approval that vibrated through his chest.
"There's my brave girl," he praised when we broke apart for air. "Knew you had fire under all that sweetness."
His hands slid under my shirt, callused palms against soft skin, and I arched into his touch with a moan that would have embarrassed me if I could think clearly. But thinking was impossible with Neil's hands on me, his mouth trailing hot kisses down my throat, his solid body pressed between my thighs.
"I want you," he said simply, honestly, his forehead resting against mine. "Want you in my bed, in my life, in every way a man can want a woman. And I know it's fast, know it's crazy, but I don't give a fuck. When you know, you know."
"I don't do this," I whispered, even as my hands tangled in his auburn hair. "I don't kiss strangers, don't fall into bed with men I just met, don't—"
"Good." The satisfaction in his voice was unmistakable. "It means this matters."
“It’s a little more than that.” I looked into his eyes. “I’m ... I’ve never ...” I took a deep breath. “I’m a virgin.”
His hands tightened on my waist. "When I make you mine completely, I'll be the only one who's ever had you like that." His thumb stroked my cheek with unexpected tenderness. "You've been saving yourself, haven't you? My perfect, untouched librarian."
I should have been mortified. Instead, the possession in his voice made me shiver with anticipation.
"Yes," I admitted quietly.
"Fuck." He crushed me against his chest, his arms banding around me like steel. "You're going to be the death of me, you know that? Every protective instinct I have is screaming at me to slow down, be careful with you. But every other part of me wantsto carry you to my bed right now and show you everything you've been missing."
"What if..." I swallowed hard, gathering courage. "What if I don't want you to be careful?"
He pulled back to stare at me, his breathing harsh. "Kim. You can't say things like that when I'm trying to be a gentleman."
"Maybe I don't want a gentleman." The words tumbled out before I could stop them. "Maybe I want the mountain man who picked me up like I weighed nothing. Who looks at me like he wants to devour me. Who says I'm his even though we just met."
"Careful what you wish for.” His voice had dropped to a dangerous rumble that made my toes curl. "Because once I make you mine, there's no going back. I don't share, I don't do casual, and I sure as fuck don't let go of what belongs to me."
"Make my wishes come true.”
