Addy blew out a breath and arranged her features in a semblance of calm. “Kieran’s our friend, Snoot.”
Head tilted, the dog looked from her face to Kieran’s, trying to decode this new behavior. And that’s when it hit her—in the year plus that Snoot had been her companion, he’d never seen her kissing a man. Not until yesterday.
She ruffled his furry head. “All good, love. Now, bed.” She pointed to the cushion near the hearth.
With a canine grumble, Snoot slunk to his bed, circled, and lay down.
Kieran grasped Addy’s hand and dropped soft kisses over her knuckles. “Perhaps we should take this to another room?” His eyebrows flicked up, and oh—those dancing hazel eyes, sparkling with mischief. He scanned her body, and…
Oh God, I’m going to get naked with this man!
She braced herself for an icy wash of insecurity, her usual reaction to undressing with a new partner, but the feeling never came, dispelled by the hunger in Kieran’s gaze. He wanted this as much as she did.
A wicked grin stretched her lips. Liv prescribed self-care this week, and Addy had a hunch that Kieran was going to care for her needs until her bones melted.
Chapter Nine
Kieranfoughtforcontrol,but kissing Addy shut down his rational mind, leaving a ravening animal inside the skin that once housed a careful, sensible man—before he met the beautiful doctor and remembered what it was to crave not just a woman’s touch, but her tenderness, her companionship, her...
Love?
That inner whisper echoed, revving his pulse even higher than Addy’s kiss did.
He’d heard stories about love at first sight and all that malarkey. Blame it on the hormones, or loneliness, or too much time away from his therapy group, but right now, Kieran wanted a hell of a lot more than sex with Addy. There was something magical about her, a rare honesty and openness he hadn’t known he needed until she arrived on his doorstep.
Searching his eyes, Addy threaded her fingers into his hair. Her smile dazzled like sunlight on the water as she took his hand and backed toward the hallway. “Shall we?”
Heat curled up his spine. Too bewitched to speak, he followed.
When they reached the closed bedroom door, she leaned against it, her breasts rising on a deep inhalation.
Kieran held his breath.Please, Addy, don’t change your mind. We both need this.
The sexy way she bit her lip had him hard as iron. He needed to drink in every inch of her, to touch and taste and claim.
But she wasn’t his. A week from tonight, he’d watch her taillights disappear from Trappers Cove.
Still, the military base was only three hours away, and although they’d only shared a few kisses, he was dead certain one night with Addy Connor would never be enough.
“Come on, slowpoke.” She interrupted his strategizing with a kiss hot enough to burn his clothes right off his body. She pulled back and gazed up at him, her brow rumpled in worry. “Or are you having second thoughts?”
He pressed his palms to the door, caging her in. “No, darlin’. Just pondering how to make this so good, you’ll come back for more.”
A flicker of darkness passed over her face, quickly replaced by a devilish smile. “That’s a tall order. Think you’re up for the challenge?”
Beautiful, kind, and snarky too? This woman absolutely slayed him.
“Listen, Addy.” He pressed his body to hers from chest to hips, letting her feel the hard ridge of his arousal. “Up is an insufficient word for the state you’ve got me in.” He traced the shell of her ear with the tip of his tongue, then kissed the silky skin beneath. “And I love a challenge.”
She shivered, and damn if her response didn’t flood his veins with fire. This woman would be his undoing. Fisting her hair at her nape, he took her mouth in a kiss so frantic their teeth clashed.
Her soft whimper set his heart thrashing behind his ribs. He clutched her luscious ass and lifted her off her feet. Just as starved for pleasure as he was, she clasped her thighs around his hips, gasping when her center lined up with his aching erection, andGods above!—she rocked her pelvis, nearly bringing him off in his trousers like a lust-mad kid.
“Kieran, I need—” She cut off her plea with another searing kiss, her pie-sweet tongue delving into his mouth.
Still holding her aloft, he flung the door open and lurched toward the bed. Everything in him demanded he strip off both their clothes, sink into her softness, and race to the climax they both craved, but if he had a hope of earning more than one unforgettable night with Addy, he had to show her what she’d be missing when she left.
When they collided with the mattress, he dipped his knees and gently set her down. Holy angels, the look she gave him as she reclined on her back, arms above her head, her hair spread out on the pillow, her glistening lips parted—pure desire and sweet promise.
