Page 45

Kate

Kate had kissed Wes because she wanted to.

That was the only thought she managed before his arms closed around her and everything she had learned in the last hour was pushed aside by the simple fact of his mouth on hers. She had watched him disappear and a bear take his place. She had buried her hands in thick brown fur, rested her forehead against his and felt the deep vibration of a pleased rumble when she kissed him. Then Wes had sat beside her and calmly told her that he had known what she was to him before they had even met.

Any one of those things should have been enough to send her home to think.

Instead she wanted him.

Wes kissed her slowly at first, as though he was still giving her time to change her mind. Kate slid both arms around his neck and moved closer, answering the question without words. The kiss deepened. His hand spread across her back beneath her jacket, holding her against him while her fingers slipped into his hair.

The cool night air brushed her cheeks, but everywhere Wes touched her was warm. When his mouth left hers, he stayed close enough that his breath moved across her lips.

“Kate?”

She knew what he was asking. “Yes.”

His gaze searched hers for another moment before he kissed her again. This time, it felt different. Not rougher, just more certain. Kate felt it in the hand that moved to her waist and in the way he drew her against him until she could feel the hard length of his body through their clothes.

Heat swept through her. She pressed closer, and Wes made a low sound against her mouth. The sound went straight through her.

Kate slid her hands beneath the hem of his sweater, finding warm skin and the firm muscles of his back. She had seen the strength in him every day since she arrived: lifting bins, climbing ladders, carrying things without seeming to notice their weight. Touching him was different.

Wes broke the kiss long enough to look toward the house. “Inside?”

Kate nodded. They walked back along the track hand in hand, although neither of them seemed capable of keeping much distance between them. At the back door Wes unlocked the house, and Kate had barely stepped inside before she turned and kissed him again.

He laughed softly against her mouth, one hand pushing the door closed behind them.

The kitchen was dim except for the light above the stove. Kate had been here before for coffee, had sat at the table and looked around this room while trying not to think too much about the man who lived in it. Tonight she barely noticed anything beyond Wes.

He eased her jacket from her shoulders and dropped it over the back of a chair. Kate tugged his sweater upward, and he caught the hem, pulling it over his head before tossing it aside.

She stopped. Wes was broad through the shoulders and chest, his body shaped by years of physical work rather than a gym. Kate let her palms travel over him, enjoying the warmth of his skin and the way the muscles tightened beneath her touch.

His eyes stayed on her face. She moved closer and kissed the center of his chest.

Wes drew in a breath. Kate smiled against his skin and kissed him there again, then let her mouth move higher until his hand slid into her hair and brought her back to his lips.

His fingers found the hem of her sweater. He paused there, and Kate lifted her arms without waiting for him to ask. The sweater disappeared, followed by the shirt beneath it, and Wes looked at her with a hunger that made heat gather low in her belly.

He touched her as if he had wanted to for far longer than the few days they had known each other. One hand rested at her waist while the other moved upward, cupping her breast through her bra. His thumb brushed over her nipple, and Kate gasped softly.

Wes watched her reaction. Then he did it again.

Kate gripped his shoulders as his mouth moved down her neck. He kissed the sensitive place below her ear, then lower, tracing a slow path toward her collarbone while his hand continued to stroke her. She tilted her head, giving him better access.

For several moments there was nothing but the warmth of his mouth and the slow pressure of his fingers.

Then Wes reached behind her and unfastened her bra. Kate let the straps slide from her shoulders.

His gaze moved over her, and the open appreciation there sent another wave of heat through her before he lowered his head and took one nipple into his mouth. Kate inhaled sharply.

His tongue moved slowly over the sensitive tip, then he sucked gently before turning his attention to the other breast. Kate threaded her fingers into his hair and held him close, her body responding to every change in pressure.

By the time his hand moved down to the button of her jeans, she was already aching for more. She toed off her shoes and helped him push her jeans over her hips, stepping free of them and kicking them aside. Wes’s hands came to rest on her bare thighs, moving slowly upward until his thumbs brushed the edges of her underwear.

Kate pulled him back to her and kissed him.