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Hero worship with a hefty dose of raw desire might be a good start, but she managed not to volunteer that assessment. “My mind is leaping all over the place,” she said. “I apologize for whatever nonsense my face is doing.”
That was the best she could offer with her mouth suddenly dry. He held her gaze until she couldn’t take it anymore, closing her eyes and massaging her temples.
But behind her closed lids all she saw was more Dale, Mr. FBI. Good grief she had it bad.
The man might not wrestle alligators, but whatever he did on a daily basis to maintain his physique worked wonders. Especially from her perspective. Her eyes traveled over biceps testing the limits of his thin black t-shirt. Feeling feverish, she pushed to her feet and swayed, lightheaded. Whether from the toll of the long, violent day or the tempting view, she couldn’t tell. Didn’t much care. “I call dibs on the shower.” She had to get some distance.
Ignoring the strange expression on his face, a mixture of concern and skepticism, she bolted for the bathroom.
“Heather, wait.”
She stopped, refusing to turn around, but felt him come up behind her. “Let me take a look first.”
No one was hiding in their bathroom, but she mumbled an agreement and stepped aside. He completely overwhelmed her with his presence, his heat, and his scent that was more than intriguing under the layer of forest clinging to his hair and clothing as he moved past her.
She leaned back against the wall, listening as he walked around the large space, opening and closing the shower door.
It was all too easy to picture her next to him inside that space, water and need racing over both of them.
“All clear,” he said.
She jumped, startled out of her little fantasy. Where was her self-control? She smiled up at him, forcing her thoughts back to their real purpose here. “There’s a cord in my camera bag if you want to start uploading the pictures.”
“I can do that.” His gaze fell to her mouth and her pulse stuttered.
“We, um…” She licked her lips and his tongue mirrored the movement. Her palms tingled. “We need to confirm who was out there, right?”
“First order of business,” he said, his eyes still on her mouth. “As soon as you’ve had a shower.”
This close, she could see the various colors in the day’s growth of his beard along his jawline. Why was that sexy? Because she found everything about Dale sexy. “Right.” She leaned closer, rested her fingertips lightly on his chest. “The shower.”
“Heather?”
His voice rasped against her senses, an echo of the stiff scrape of his beard under her fingertips when she reached up, holding him in place for her kiss.
This time wasn’t a performance for her brother. This wasn’t a display of affection to comfort. No, this time was just for her and, assuming she wouldn’t have another chance, she tossed aside caution and common sense and made the most of it.
For a terrifying moment, with her lips pressed to his, she thought it would be a one-sided embarrassment. And just as she decided to break it off, to laugh it away with some lame excuse about exhaustion, his hands fisted at her back and he pulled her closer.
She sighed, pressed tightly against him from breast to thigh, welcoming the hot, bold caress of his tongue sweeping across hers. It was the ultimate contact high, she thought. He tasted of heat and a desire. Or maybe that’s what she brought to the party.
Her hands curled around his shoulders, clinging, wanting only to be closer, praying he wouldn’t push her away.
He slanted his mouth over hers, changing the angle of the kiss. Her body melted a little more as one of his big hands splayed across her back, stroking and shaping her hip, then sliding up under her shirt.
He unhooked her bra and lifted his mouth from hers to tug away her clothing and leave her bare from the waist up. She gulped in air as her heart thundered in her chest. Surely he could hear it. Her nipples puckered and she shivered under his hot, unrelenting gaze.
Her body longed to feel his hands on her body, but he seemed locked in place. She’d started this but if he didn’t want to finish it she could… could…
“Dale?” Self-conscious, she covered her bare breasts.
His hazel eyes snapped to hers, held her captive. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” she whispered, needing clarification.
He caught her hands and laced his fingers with hers, pulling them down and away. “Don’t block my view.”
His mouth brushed hers, fleetingly, as his lips explored her jaw and the long column of her throat. His beard scraped across her sensitive flesh and she trembled. His hands squeezed hers.
