Page 91 of Into the Storm

“Me. I was a late bloomer.”

She kissed his neck. “But you did bloom.”

He smiled. This was a bizarre but wonderful moment to be having with her.

“So what happened?”

“Well, we were arrested for stealing—grand theft auto—but it turns out, the car was already stolen by super jock, whose dad worked for the dealership. The guy’s fingerprints were everywhere inside the vehicle, and once the cops knew what to look for, they had video of Mr. Football swiping the keys from his dad’s desk, who had them after a test drive. Jae was a fast thinker—he’d noticed the dealer key chain and of course, the car had dealer plates—so he told the cop we were just trying to return the car to its rightful owners. They didn’t believe us, but also knew it wasn’t like we were going far or on a joyride and it was obvious who had really stolen the car. Jock boy was eighteen, so it would have been a much bigger problem for him, plus what he’d done could get his dad fired. So basically, it all went away, but Jae and I spent a terrifying night in jail and were told very sternly to never do stupid shit like that again.”

“Whew. And did you follow that advice?”

“For the most part. Never got arrested again, anyway.”

“And now Jae is a cop.”

“Yeah. He made me swear I’d never tell anyone that story.”

“Oops.”

He brushed his mouth over hers. When he would have raised his head, she opened her mouth and slipped her tongue between his lips.

What followed was a slow, languorous kiss as she tasted and explored him and he did the same.

He could get lost in this moment. Forget everything except her. Even the ache in his shoulder seemed to dim with the endorphins of having this woman in his arms.

Her fingers went to the buttons of his shirt, while his went to the hem of hers. They broke apart long enough for him to pull the sweatshirt over her head.

In the dim light, he could see the outline of her breasts in the sports bra she’d borrowed. The reality of the moment came back to him.

They might be on the same bed where they’d first made love, but this wasn’t the time for this. They were in the middle of an op.

Chris, who was the de facto leader now that it had become an actual op and the lieutenant commander of the team was one of the missing SEALs, had made it clear he didn’t give a damn if Xavier got it on with Audrey tonight, but that didn’t mean his conscience could bear it. “You need sleep, Audrey.”

“I’ll sleep better after you’ve made love to me.”

That was solid logic right there.

Still, he resisted. “We don’t have—” He stopped short.

She snorted out a laugh. “Were you about to say condoms?”

He cleared his throat. “Maybe.”

She cupped his face and kissed him softly. “You’re adorable.” She wiggled on his lap, causing his already heavy erection to thicken further. “You want me, that much is clear.”

“Dr. Kendrick, I’ve wanted you from the moment I stopped being inside you last time. I’m pretty sure I’ll never get enough of you.”

“I’ve wanted you since then too. That night felt…momentous. Even then, I was sure it was more than just a one-night stand.”

“I’m sorry I—”

She put her fingers to his lips. “Shh. Let’s set that aside for tonight. This is you and me, coming together in the way we were meant to.” She let out a soft chuckle. “And I didn’t mean ‘coming together’ in that way, but it fits too. Let’s try it and see.”

And with that, he no longer had even weak resistance. He was enthralled by her. Had been from the start. They had a few hours and an uncertain future. He would show her with his body what she meant to him.

She climbed from his lap and pulled off the bra as she said, “Get naked.”

As a Naval warrant officer, he knew how to respond to a direct order and rose from the bed to doff his clothing.