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She let out a low, nervous laugh. Her pulse pounded so hard it was a wonder he couldn’t hear it. “I love it when you get all technical like that. It makes me want to do bad things to you.”

His eyes got all hot and molten, while his hands flexed and released against the fabric of his jeans. “What kinds of bad things?”

This was foolish, reckless. Not like her at all. She’d probably live to regret this, but at the moment she just didn’t care. For at least a little while, she wanted to forget about her troubles. But more important, she wanted him so much it hurt. With her eyes on his, she undid the knot holding the towel in place and let it drop to the floor.

Chapter 15

AT THE SIGHT OF DORCASin all her glory, Nate almost swallowed his tongue. He grazed one hand along the bottom of his chin in what he hoped was a subtle check for drool.

He’d be lying if he said he never pictured her naked. But holy shit, the reality smoked his imagination. She was simply stunning, a bronze goddess with lush curves that inspired a host of inappropriate thoughts that grew longer with each passing second. A primal need coursed through his veins and pulsed with every beat of his heart. He wanted her every which way he could imagine: on the bed, on the floor. Against the wall. On her knees. He wanted to see how she looked when she climaxed, when she lost all sense of control.

Unfortunately, he was cursed with a conscience and a sense of responsibility. It didn’t matter that they were safe at the moment. He was in charge of her protection, and sex had a way of muddying the mind and making a cautious man sloppy.

“Well,” he said as he scrambled for a way to say no that wouldn’t result in her hating him, “if you liked that, you should see what I can do with a PowerPoint presentation.” He moved toward her, close but not touching, because once he started it would damn near kill him to stop. Summoning every last ounce of his discipline, he tore his gaze from her gorgeous breasts and looked her in the eyes. “You know I want this, but I thought we agreed not to start anything until after we find your sister.”

“Yeah, we did, but I’m tired of fighting my feelings.” She tipped her chin up. “Besides, you said this place was safer than a bank, and the guys are watching over things. I can’t think of a better time to explore this thing between us.”

Nate cursed under his breath. All his life, he’d never met anyone who got to him the way she had. What was it about her? He had no idea. His fingers itched with the need to touch her. He craved the taste of her kiss. But it was the fire in her beautiful brown eyes that grabbed his heart and wouldn’t let go. Here she was, baring herself to him, literally and figuratively, and he was scrambling to think up excuses instead of going after what he wanted. Christ, he was an idiot.

Struggling to keep his eyes off her chest, he coughed to clear his throat. “Listen, Dorcas, I—”

“You know what? Forget it. Forget I said anything.” Hurt—or was it embarrassment?—narrowed her eyes. She bent to snatch the towel off the floor. “I should probably thank you for saving us both from—”

“Don’t.” The word came out a lot harsher than he’d intended, but it had the desired effect.

She stopped what she was doing, and then tilted her head to peer up at him. “Don’t what?”

He wanted to say that her body was too incredible to cover. That he wanted to spend the whole night worshiping her. He gritted his teeth and chose his words carefully. “I’m really trying hard to do the right thing with you.”

“Your version of the right thing doesn’t jibe with mine.” She closed the short distance between them. “You’re a good man, Nate. I’m attracted to you. Call me crazy, but I got the distinct impression you’re attracted to me as well.”

He let out a low huff. “Well, yeah. That goes without saying. But—”

Before he realized what she meant to do, she went up on her toes, slipped one hand around the back of his neck, and dragged his mouth down to hers.

It felt as though he’d just been hit with a hundred thousand volts. The taste of her, the feel of her, slammed into his system, and just like that, his good intentions flew right out the window.