“Okay, then,sir-yes-sir.” She saluted. “Let’s go.”
He chuckled as he followed her out, and Emily exited the building the same way she’d entered—with a smile on her face.
The sun had just about set, making way for a sky full of stars she knew were twinkling above but were obscured by the glow of the streetlights dotting the lot. The air was warm, with a soft breeze that seemed to keep the humidity in check.
Her favorite type of night. No rain, no jacket, no worries.
“I parked over there,” she said, feeling the need to break the silence even though they could hear the muffled music and thudof a base as they walked through two rows of cars to get to her Subaru.
She dug her keys out of her purse and hit the button on the key fob to unlock her doors. The accompanying beep sounded, and lights flashed.
Once there, Holden walked around her vehicle, looking for what, she had no idea, but apparently, he was satisfied because he joined her by the driver’s side and nodded. “Looks good.”
She opened her door and dropped her purse and keys on her seat, fighting the smile that threatened to return. “I’m glad you approve.” She snickered, turning to face him.
“Oh, I do, Emily,” he said, amusement and heat swirling deliciously in his eyes. “I definitely approve.”
His blatant interest was a little surprising and a whole lot exciting, and Emily felt that crazy, charged fog rolling in again. That was dangerous. It was time to retreat. Escape.
Leave.
So, it made zero sense for her to just stand there, allowing her insides to melt as he smiled warmly at her.
God, she could get lost in those mesmerizing depths. They were like a green apple covered in caramel. Delicious. Both made her feel warm.
A light breeze blew off the gulf, sending several strands of curls into Emily’s face. Before she could push them aside, Holden reached out and used a finger to brush the errant curls off her cheek and hooked them behind her ear.
His gentle, unexpected touch sent a shockwave of awareness through her body. “So, Emily, do you approve of me kissing you right now?” he asked, lightly brushing her lower lip with his thumb.
She inhaled at the feel of his touch and nodded to test the friction. “Oh, I do, Holden,” she replied, using his earlier words. “I definitely approve.”
He nodded too, and smiled, but didn’t talk or move. He studied her, his gorgeous eyes pulling her in, making her want things in a desperate manner she wasn’t used to feeling. Emily wanted him to kiss her. She craved it, and that tingling awareness suddenly turned to sparks, and there was no way she couldn’t stop her tongue from boldly brushing his thumb.
He growled.
Or was that her?
She wasn’t sure and didn’t care as he stepped closer, cupped her face in both hands, and slowly lowered his mouth to hers.
At first contact, Emily inhaled and reached out to set her hands on his chest, needing the anchor. And when his lips brushed hers again and again, she melted against him, running her hands up his solid chest and over his broad shoulders, more than a little turned on by the heat she could feel coming off his hard body.
A car honked and someone whistled, but for the first time in Emily’s life, she didn’t worry about others. She worried about herself. Worried about her needs, and what she needed was for this man to keep kissing her.
And he did.
His mouth was hungry and firm, his kiss slow and thorough, and damn, she’d almost forgotten what it was like to be kissed this way…like there was nothing and no one in the world more important to him right now than her.
No car horns or people whistling. Just her.
It was amazing and addicting, and an unfamiliar thrill of feeling soft and feminine rushed over Emily. She kissed him back, responding to his honest, primal intensity with a matching fervor of her own.
When they broke apart, she set her forehead on his chin and panted while he sucked air into his lungs. The feel of the crazycrescendo of his heart pounding under her palm made her smile. It matched the wild, out-of-control beat of her own.
After a few seconds, she drew back and smiled up at him. “They train you to kiss like that in the military?”
He huffed out a breath. “No. That was pure reaction to you, Emily.”
“Funny, I was responding to your energy,” she said.
