Operation Date Escape

ankles and moved toward her.
    “No way. Just thinking that you’d better hurry. I’ve got this fire that really needs put out.”
    Flashing her that sexy, make-a-girl’s-legs-go-weak grin , he joined her. “This must be your lucky day,” he said, his voice husky with desire. “It just so happen I’ve had special training in putting out fires.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

    Cole’s hand grazed the inside of her thigh, moving slowly upward to the place she needed his touch the most. “Was that training you had for putting out fires or starting them?” she asked, nearly breathless with want.
    “Both.” His fingers eased slowly into her heat, slowly stroking her.
    She was certain her entire body was about to burst into flames right there in the middle of his bed. Kelsie curled her fingers deep into the plush comforter beneath her. “Oh, God, Cole...”
    “It’s all right, doll. Let it happen.”
    It was more than all right. “Yes!” she cried out as release came in a maddening rush. “Cole, please! I need you. Now!”
    “Bossy little thing aren’t you,” he said as he settled between her quivering thighs.
    Before she could reply, he buried his fingers in her coppery curls and covered her mouth with his as he sank into her welcoming heat.
    She wrapped her legs around him, her nails digging into his back, as she lost herself in his lovemaking.
    Their hot, bare flesh moved together, creating a sweet friction that drove them both to the edge. Release, swift and strong, soon found them both.
    Growling out her name, Cole sank into her with one final thrust. He lowered his brow to hers. “That was─”
    “Incredible,” she finished for him with a sated sigh.
    “More than.” He rolled off her and gathered her up against him, curling his arms around her.
    She sighed contentedly. Being with Cole felt right. Like something she’d waited her whole life for. Even if it were only meant to last for just one night.
    A few minutes later, Cole slipped from the bed and made his way to the bathroom, leaving her alone with all the thoughts that were whirling about in her head. Had she really just let Cole make love to her? Was she really lying there wanting him to do so again?
    She rolled onto her back with a groan just as he stepped back into the bedroom.
    Smiling, he slid back into bed beside her, curling his big, warm body around hers. “Kelsie...”
    She looked over at him, her gaze meeting his.
    He reached up, gently pushing her passion-mussed hair from her face. “There’s something I want you to know.”
    She fell silent. Afraid to ask. Afraid to have this perfect moment ruined by news that he was seeing someone else, or, even worse, was married. That was how things went in her life. The good never lasted.
    “I’ve never done this before.”
    “What?”
    “I’ve never brought a woman home with me,” he admitted. “Other places, yes, but never to my bed.”
    His unexpected admission took her by surprise. “Why not?”
    “It just never felt right,” he said , brushing a light kiss over the tip of her nose. “Until you.”
    Her heart lurched.
    “Stay with me tonight,” he whispered against her ear.
    She closed her eyes. It was the perfect thing to say. Damn him for being so perfect. And damn her for falling for him. Her ‘letting go’ was supposed to be sexual, not emotional. How had her wires gotten so crossed?
    “I...I can’t.” She pushed free of his arm and slipped from the bed.
    He sat up, the sheet sliding down to his bare waist. “Kelsie?”
    Her gaze drifted down his chest to his muscular abs where a tapering trail of dark hair disappeared beneath the bunched up sheet. And beneath that...
    She groaned. Another few seconds of ogling him the way she was and she’d be crawling right back into bed with him. She forced herself to turn away, muttering nervously, “I have to go.”
    “Now?”
    “I appreciate the offer, but I really have to...” her words trailed off as she searched the floor for her clothes, her Victoria’s Secret naughties included. The same ones she’d sworn Cole would never see her in. Maybe it didn’t count if he’d only seen them on her for a moment or two. He probably didn’t even remember what they looked like.
    “You might be needing this.”
    She turned to find Cole standing there, her fire engine red bra dangling from his fingertips. She snatched it from his hand, adding it to the rest of the clothes she held clutched in front of her. “Thank