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Reno watched as Raven’s eyes flared, the blue darkening, filling with arousal and heat as she stared at him with wild-eyed panic. He wanted to chuckle, but he had a feeling it would push her further into retreat. As though he was going to allow that.
He mentally shook his head, watching her trying to rebuild her defenses to keep him out.
Poor Raven. It didn’t matter.
Nothing was going to diminish the heat and the hunger between them.
“You did not just threaten to spank me,” she suddenly snapped, blinking in amazement as she watched him.
“Yes, I did,” he said, refuting her statement blandly. “Now come here.” He pointed his finger directly in front of his feet.
Anger sizzled in the air. Pure feminine fury heated the room as her arms dropped slowly to her sides and her cheeks flushed with emotion.
“How dare you order me around!” She was seconds from stamping her foot. Damn, she made him hot when she flamed like that. “This is my house, Reno,” she said, pointing at her chest, her own eyes narrowing. “My kitchen, my house, and you’re leaving.”
Reno studied her before quickly coming to a decision. She was trembling with anger … and panic. He didn’t want to push so hard and fast that he lost her. So he’d leave, but he wouldn’t be gone for long. He’d give her a bit of time to miss him, but he would be back. Besides, there wasn’t a chance he could stay away long, not after having had her, feeling the heat of her pussy gripping his cock, the sweet tight muscles rippling around him as she came, holding her satisfied body next to his afterward.
He straightened, watching her closely. She stiffened, her foot moving back as though to retreat before she quickly checked the motion.
“Raven, come here,” he said more gently.
If possible, her eyes widened even more in panic at his softer tone.
He was very well aware of the risk he was taking. Convincing Raven to open her heart was fraught with danger. Not the physical kind, but the emotional kind. She had seen the result of her mother’s life with her Navy SEAL father. The long absences, the fights when he returned home, her mother’s inability to accept the danger her father faced and her father’s refusal to deal with the situation in any way except to take more missions, to stay away longer, until finally he hadn’t returned. He had been killed while on a mission, leaving her mother to deal with her guilt, and Raven to face the world without a father.
Her lips tightened defiantly before she stalked over to him.
“Now what?” she snarled up at him.
“This.”
He lowered his head. He didn’t touch her except with his lips. He gripped the counter behind him with both hands, itching to grip her instead. No force, no demand, nothing but the arousal whipping between them, making him crazy, making her hot enough to sear.
Her lips opened on a strangled gasp, her hands reaching for his waist, her fingers curling against his flesh as his tongue surged deep inside. Slanting his head, he pressed closer, groaning when his erection cushioned against her stomach as she rubbed against him, a whimper of lust escaping her throat as he nipped at her lips, stroked them with his tongue, then delved inside for the sweet nectar of her passion.
When she was soft, pliant, molded to his body as her tongue tangled with his, he slowly drew back.
“Reno…”
Her soft gasp of protest had him gritting his teeth as he fought every instinct inside him screaming to take her to the floor, to convince her, to force her to admit what she was so obviously denying.
Instead, he drew in a hard breath and stepped away from the temptation of her sweet body. God, she had no idea how hard it was to step away from her, to leave her as aching as he ached for her. But he couldn’t, wouldn’t risk losing her. If he carried through now, took her to her bed as he wanted to so desperately, then it would weaken not just his resolve, but the inroads he had made into making her realize what they could be to each other.
“Now I’ll go.” He turned and walked out of the kitchen. “I’ll see you in the morning, Raven. I’ll bring the coffee.”
chapter 5
raven stomped around the house for hours, cleaning what didn’t need cleaning, cursing men, their arrogance, and their damned alpha, dominant, gung-ho, hero complexes. She had cursed both Reno and her brother Clint for years for the very things that made them so special. They were warriors, determined to protect, to make a difference. And they did make a difference. But he was still being arrogant. Relationships weren’t war zones.
“There is no relationship, dammit,” she muttered furiously, stepping out of the shower and drying off quickly before fluffing her hair.
She was not going to sit around tonight and wait for him. She had waited for him too many nights, pacing the floor with Morganna, chewing her fingernails if they knew he was on a mission, shedding tears when he was later returning home than he had told his sister he would be. She and Morganna both waited for that black government car that would bring the horrifying news of a death.
Now, she was supposed to sit around the damned house and torture herself over feelings and emotions she knew she was never going to be rid of.
She loved him.
Dammit, she did love him but that didn’t mean she had to like it.
