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CHAPTER NINE
HE TASTED SALTY from the chips, and his mouth was warm and inviting. His lips crushed down on hers. This was no hesitant, tenuous kiss. He wanted her. And, surprisingly, she wanted him. Her cheeks were hot beneath the gentle touch of his thumb. And her own hands came up, her fingers burying themselves in his dark hair. It really was as thick and lush as it looked.
It’d been a long time since Sierra had kissed a man. Since she’d even wanted to kiss a man. But her body hadn’t forgotten how to do it, as she feared. Instead, it was like she was making up for lost time. She was burning up inside, as if Reed had set a fire in her mouth and the volcanic heat was flowing down her throat and into her veins. It was almost embarrassing, the way she responded to him, but now that they’d started, she couldn’t stop.
His tongue explored her mouth, and she wanted to melt with the pleasure of his lips on hers. One hand drifted down from the nape of his neck, over the sharp edge of his shoulder blades and followed the ridged muscles of his back. He was just as powerful and hardened beneath his shirt as she’d imagined. A shiver of anticipation rolled through her. What would he look like without his shirt on? She had a sudden, crazy urge to rip the buttons open and tear the shirt from his body, like some wanton woman from one of those bad historical romances she sometimes read. Instead, her fingers found the waistband of his pants and she began to tug at the shirt, untucking it until she found the skin she was craving, letting her fingers absorb the heat of him.
She had to see what was under his shirt. She fumbled with the buttons of his uniform, finally undoing the last one. Then she slowly spread the garment apart, pushing it down over each of his shoulders. The broad planes of his chest were revealed, and the corded muscles of his neck and shoulders tensed as he shrugged the shirt all the way off. And then his glorious pecs and abs were revealed, his biceps bulged as he strained and moved to rise above her. She swiveled so she lay along the couch, with him stretched out beside her. He was one of the most drop-dead gorgeous men she’d ever seen. All that honey-colored skin, soft like velvet over the hardened muscles of his torso. To top it all off, a large tattoo spiraled over his left shoulder and down onto his pec. It looked to be a tribal design, something to do with his Maori heritage, perhaps. It made him look dangerous. She had to touch him. Her hand was on his neck, running over his collar bone, tracing the lines of the tattoo. Down his chest, then hovered over one hardened nipple.
Reed groaned at her touch and her throat tightened at the sound. Closing her eyes, she tipped backwards so her head rested on the arm of the couch. Now she could feel the weight of his chest pushing down on her and her nipples peaked as she savored the sensation. He ran a hand up the side of her chest, his palm grazing the edge of her breast and she wanted to arch into him. Wanted him to do it again. His mouth left her lips and trailed hot kisses down her neck, so searing it felt like he was branding her. Was this what it used to be like with Jake? She couldn’t remember. And at the moment she didn’t really care.
Reed’s phone rang loudly, and they both jumped at the unexpected sound. Silently, selfishly, she hoped he wouldn’t answer it.
“Damn,” he whispered, his mouth moving against hers.
She didn’t want this to end, and her hand clasped the back of his neck tightly as he hovered over her.
“I’m sorry.” He lifted his head and caught her gaze, regret showing in every line on his face.
“Me too.” Sierra put a hand to his naked chest and pushed gently.
He untangled himself from her legs and walked over to the kitchen to answer his phone, picking up his discarded shirt on the way. Sierra sat up and rearranged her clothing, drawing in a quiet breath as she did so. Reed had his back to her as he answered the call, and she watched the muscles of his deltoids ripple beneath the tattoo as he shrugged into his shirt. She could watch that view all day. What was it about a topless man that was so bloody sexy? Perhaps the phone call had been precipitous after all. The saying, saved by the bell echoed through her head. This had been getting out of control. She’d kissed a few men since she’d divorced Jake, been on a few dates, but her heart had never been in it.
Of course, then there’d been Blake. She’d met him because she was heavily involved in the Friends of the Glossies, a volunteer group that wanted to help preserve the large, beautiful, endangered birds. She’d been chosen to show him the protected nesting sites. It’d been a brief but intense encounter and she was almost glad when it ended. If only Blake had kept it that way, instead of becoming demanding and just a little bit creepy when he’d moved back to the island. For the hundredth time, she wished he hadn’t taken that job as an island ranger. Which reminded her, she still hadn’t returned his phone calls.
But her fling with Blake didn’t even begin to compare with these few minutes she spent kissing Reed. Her lips still tingled from where his mouth had crushed down onto hers, and she had to stop her fingers reaching up to touch them. To make sure it’d all been real.
Reed’s voice became louder, and she finally returned to reality and began to listen to what he was saying. He was striding over to the TV, turning up the volume. The late-night news was on. An image of KI flashed up on the screen, and then an image of the missing girl, Jessica, was overlaid onto it. Looked like the news had already broken on the mainland. Reed covered the phone with one hand as they both listened intently to the program. The news anchor gave the facts about when Jessica had last been seen and then showed footage of the SES volunteers in their orange uniforms searching and calling through the bush. Just as Sierra thought that might be the end of the report they flashed back to the anchor, who said, “Police are still treating this as a case of a child who wandered away from her family. But some people are already asking the question, is there more to it? Could this be another abduction case in the making?”
“Damn,” Reed said for the second time.
“Yes, but I’m not surprised,” Sierra said quietly. The mood in the room became somber as they were both reminded why they were really here.
“I should go,” she said. Reed needed to get some rest. And so did she.
“You could stay here.” His eyes were hopeful, but they both knew what her answer was going to be.
“Thanks, but I’ve got a friend in Kingscote, I was going to ring her and see if she could put me up for the night.” And that reminded her, she needed to phone Sam and ask him to feed her cats and put her chickens back in their pen before it got too late. Sierra stood up and grabbed her hoodie from the floor, pulling it on over her head.
“Are you sure?” He came and stood next to her, close. She liked the fact she had to tilt her head a little to look up into his face. Her gaze traced the outline of his jaw and up his strong cheekbones, then settled on his slightly crooked nose. She wanted to reach out and run her finger down that nose, to feel the bumps and ridges. Ask him how he’d come to break it.
Instead she nodded and picked up her coat from the back of the couch and forced herself to walk toward the door.
“See you tomorrow. I’ll meet you early, at the fire station? To help you prep for the press meeting?”
“That would be great,” he replied. But he wasn’t a coward, like her. As she turned to walk out the door, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in. He stared down into her face for many unreadable seconds, then kissed her, a comfortable, familiar kiss. Letting her know he wasn’t going to apologize for what’d happened between them. Then he let her go.
