Page 6 of Rocky Mountain Devil

“Damn?”

She laughed, but her heart wasn’t in it. “I know. Me too.”

Rafe had known it was coming, but he’d kept hoping it wouldn’t really happen. “Will you be at home at all before you start school?”

“No.”

Such a simple word. Such a damning, horrible, heart-and-soul-killing word.

Impulsively, he pulled into the parking lot at the wilderness center, stopping the engine so they could sit in silence and watch the sunset paint the nearby Rocky Mountains with gold and red as he tried to deal with reality.

His angel was flying away. It had to happen. She’d leave, he’d stay—friends knew the world went on. Friends didn’t expect forever.

Rafe turned to face her. “Going to miss you.”

She nodded as if unable to speak, her pale blue eyes filling with tears.

Damn it. They’d talked about this, but now that it was real, he couldn’t accept it. He caught her in his arms and pulled her close, hugging her as if that could change anything.

She clung back, fingers on his shoulders, the soft scent of her filling him more and more with every breath he took. Warmth and connection growing.

Changing…

As they cuddled together in the growing darkness, he found himself playing with her hair. His fingers teased her fancy up-do until it came apart in his hands, and silky seduction draped over his fingers. A shiver took him as he imagined the long strands sliding over his naked skin.

Rafe went cold, then flaming, wickedly hot.

She lifted her chin and stared at him with wonder in her eyes.

It was wrong. Completely and utterly wrong, but everything right between them until now had led to this moment.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he warned.

She opened her mouth slightly, and the soft sound of longing that escaped ricocheted through his system, hitting all hisonbuttons and shoving them tohigh.

They both leaned in, and their lips met.

Sweet.

Brief.

A brush together, then apart. Yet with one taste, he was lost. He curled his fingers into the hair at the back of her neck and gripped tighter.

He went in for another kiss, this one deeper. Longer. Totally and utterly blown away by the fact that everything they’d ever joked about while watching their friendsfall in love—like seeing stars and feeling the earth shake—all of those hokey clichés were true.

They fumbled in the dark, kissing harder, moving together until she was straddling his lap and he had his hands sliding up her bare legs, under her skirt. He cupped the soft fabric covering her butt and dragged her closer, putting heat and pressure over his fully engaged cock.

She’d untucked his dress shirt and was frantically undoing the buttons, her bare palms bumping his abdomen as she worked, and he was going to die because they couldn’t do this—

And there was nothing he wanted more.

He caught her wrists, trapping them beside their hips. It forced him to stop groping her as well, and they shifted their torsos far enough apart they could catch their breaths. Chests heaving as they struggled for control.

“We shouldn’t,” he whispered, “but I have never wanted anyone the way I want you right now.”

“Me too.” She took a deep breath and blew it out in a long, steady stream. “So, what do we do?”

For some stupid reason his brother Gabe’s words rolled in.“Sometimes what we want to do and what we need to do are two different things.”