she’d nearly yanked his head down toward hers for that mind-numbing kiss.
And now her brain cells swam inside her head, unable to regroup and get back to the proper lobes they came from. Until that happened, she didn’t think she could move or speak.
She could feel though. God could she feel. His cock pressed against her stomach. His firm abs against her palms. His breath, minty and fresh as it blew across her face. He heaved for air. And she smiled, knowing she caused that.
“What’s so funny?” His voice was hoarse, a near whisper.
“Nothing. Just this.” She stepped back and let him go. “We met like two minutes ago and here we are mauling each other like bears in the woods.” The chuckle she heard didn’t sound like her at all. Strained. Embarrassed. Very low pitched.
“I thought it was wonderful.” He gripped her chin between his fingers and thumb and tilted her head back up to his. “I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you like this under these circumstances, but I won’t apologize for the attraction I’ve felt since the moment I saw you asleep on that bed of leaves.”
His words flowed over her like honey. Sweet and calm and slow. The urge to pull him back into her embrace and to hell with propriety overwhelmed her.
She sucked in a breath and held it. He smelled so good. Like nature, the woods, spring, a combination with his own personal musk that enticed her like a drug. She could still taste him on her lips. She was hungry for more…and food was the least of her concerns.
“I’m not sorry,” she uttered on an exhale.
“Good. ’Cause I intend to explore that further…after we get you out of the woods.”
“Promises, promises.” What? Who in the world says that? She’d never… ever …come on to a man like this.
She wasn’t a prude, but she’d spent the last six years studying, sometimes squeezing in her love of the outdoors and hiking, but rarely letting men get in the way of her goals. The sum total of three relationships she’d had in six years had amounted to nothing super special. She usually ended up breaking up with a man because she wasn’t that interested. If the earth didn’t shake beneath her, why keep up the ruse? She wanted more than that. If such a thing existed.
Why in the world was she all sweaty palms, damp panties and thumping chest over this guy she’d just met? And what possessed her to slink toward second base with a man she barely knew? She’d never had sex with a man on the first date. Of course, it hadn’t ever turned out to be that steamy in the past either.
What was she thinking? This wasn’t even a date.
If Sergius hadn’t pulled back from her, would she have let him go all the way? Right here in the forest?
If she were perfectly honest with herself, she’d still have sex with him now. It was as though her body was pulled to him of its own accord and she wasn’t controlling anything.
While she gazed into his eyes, nibbling on her lip to keep from jumping him and embarrassing herself, a dark shadow descended over them.
“Oh, great. Just what we need.” Sergius glanced upward and Juliana followed his gaze. “It’s gonna rain.”
Sure enough, the thin overcast had been replaced by a thick layer of clouds. “How did that happen so fast? Were we kissing longer than I thought?”
“I’m not sure.” He chuckled and took her hand.
“What are you doing? We can’t very well outrun it. We have another mile to go.”
“Trust me.”
With a shake of her head, she allowed him to pull her along, climbing over rocks and logs, angling around thorny bushes and plants. What the heck did he have planned?
The first drips fell from the sky, large drops that promised a downpour to follow. Great, now they were going to be soaked and cold on top of lost. Well, not lost exactly. Sergius seemed to know exactly where he was going. But still…
Before she could even finish the thought, her knight in shining armor tugged her around a bend and into
Learning to Kill: Stories