Until There Was You (Coming Home, #2) by Jessica Scott Read Free Book Online Page B

gentle kiss. Hesitant and soft and unexpected. Her lips were parted the barest of fractions before his mouth even moved against hers. Her breath huffed against his mouth as he tasted her, an easy, light caress of lips. He nudged her top lip with his and she opened for him. His breath caught in his throat as his tongue flicked out, stroking hers, coaxing past the barrier of her teeth. Shields crumbled as he deepened the kiss, overcome by the honeyed taste of this woman. Of Claire.
    Her body was soft where she brushed against him. He could have crushed her to him, but he didn’t. Conscious of her earlier panic, he skimmed his hands up her arms tocradle her shoulders gently between his palms. When she shifted and sighed against him, when her fingers curled into his chest, only then did Evan dare slide one hand into the soft mass of her hair and angle her mouth so he could take all of her.
    Need, raw and powerful, slammed into him, overpowering the cold control he’d maintained from years of practice. Nothing, not even the first time he’d kissed her, had ever struck him with such naked force. Need made him want to wrap her in his arms and drag her into the crisp, cool darkness.
    Her gasp collided with his a moment before he traced the seam of her mouth with his tongue. Her skin was slick and hot beneath his touch, her mouth offering a warm, wet feast of texture and taste. He drank from her, taking everything she had to give. It was a gentle, unending battle for supremacy that neither of them could hope to win.
    * * *
    Claire was not prepared for the strength of her reaction to Evan’s sensual assault. She raised her hands to block him, but instead her palms collided with the soft, warm cotton beneath his steel-grey jacket. She almost smiled, but that would have required that she do something other than hold on for dear life.
    She didn’t want this. Not with him. Not with anyone. Sooner or later, everyone let her down. Years at war had only reinforced the lessons she’d learned far too young. But with Evan, every stolen look dragged her closer to the edge of the abyss. And kissing him was a dangerous gamble, threatening far more than casual, mindless sex.
    Because what Evan offered was the promise of something so rare, so fleeting, she was certain that the moment she allowed herself to crave it, he would vanish. Or worse, let her down.
    Right now, none of those things mattered as she lost herself in Evan’s taste. Her palms ached to touch his bare skin, to feel the raw power of his body beneath her touch.
    This was a bad idea. A disaster.
    And Claire no longer cared.
    * * *
    Evan was lost in her. Her tongue danced with his, smooth strokes that mimicked the movement he craved with her body. His hunger built until he was aching and hard, desire lashing inside him like a war drum. Touching her, molding her feminine strength with his palms, was by far the stupidest thing he’d done in a long, long time. The temptation to strip bare her defenses along with her body demanded relief. He had no ability to resist this woman. She was a rare, fierce creature, one that yielded beneath the onslaught of his mouth even as she held her own against his desire.
    What had begun as a reaction to something powerful was now sweet torment, a relentless downpour of ragged desire that branded them both. Arousal ripped through him, a pure, unadulterated lust. Where this woman was concerned, there was no restraint. No half measures.
    For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what it was about this woman that drove him to distraction. But as he pressed against her, he wished with everything he was that they were alone and naked where he could do this right.
    He cradled her cheek in his palm as he eased back, nibbling on her bottom lip. He didn’t want to give up the taste of her but he wasn’t an idiot. Even if he managed to get her to bed tonight, they had to work together for the next few weeks. Kissing her might be the sweetest mistake, but