And—
Screw it. She kissed him. No hesitation on her part, and not just a quick peck either. She went all in, sandwiching his upper lip between hers.
Not her fault. His mouth hovered right there. Attached to his good-looking face. The one sporting the smug puss of a man who thought he had the upper hand. It made her crazy. Yeah. Mental incapacitation due to a pompous grin.
Sounded reasonable to her.
“Eve…” he groaned, giving her an opening.
Taking advantage, she slipped her tongue inside and explored.
Grateful for having borrowed his toothbrush and minty fresh Crest when she’d used the bathroom, she leaned into the kiss. Tasted him. Teased him. Let herself enjoy the tingling warmth spreading in a wave from his lips to hers and beyond.
He didn’t stop her.
He didn’t try to take over the kiss either.
Probably a good thing, considering her assortment of cuts and bruises, but it did make her wonder. What would it be like ifhekissed her? No restraint. No keeping his hands pressed into the mattress so hard she was about to fall into a hole.
Adam unleashed, the thought was thrilling, and a little scary.
She didn’t know him. Hadn’t even been awake or coherent long enough to ask him more than a few questions. An expert in deflection, his answers had been vague. Something about being retired from the military and working for the family security business.
Could be true.
Then again—could be a load of crap.
What she did know. What she believed with every fiber of her being.
He’d do anything to protect her.
And she liked that about him.
A lot.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
The shovel cutthrough the top crust of snow like a hot knife through butter. Slice. Scoop. Toss. No need for any thought behind the action. At it for a while, Adam had cleared the high drift in front of the cabin’s porch, and now he dug out the F-250.
After two days of blizzard conditions, Wednesday morning had dawned cold and crisp, and despite the manual labor, he might have felt the chill, if it weren’t for the constant direction of his heated thoughts.
Eve.
One kiss, a little bit sweet, a whole lot of sassy, and he was addicted. Craved more. Had morphed into a junkie looking for his next hit. And yeah, waking up two days in a row with her warm body snugged tight to his didn’t help the situation.
Eve was a sexy-as-sin cuddle bunny.
No matter where she fell asleep in the bed, she inevitably ended up on Adam’s side by morning. Not that he was complaining. He fucking loved having her and her curves so close. Wanted them both even closer. Under his hands. His body. His lips.
She had morphed into a temptation he found hard to resist. It was a problem.
In addition to the physical harm her captor had inflicted, Eve was a victim of some type of sexual assault. She hadn’t shared much in the way of specifics, only that she hadn’t been raped. As to the details of what did happen? She wasn’t open to talking about it.
Her decision—and one he would respect.
Besides, he wasn’t sure he was mentally prepared to handle the particulars. Not when the thought of anyone hurting her had him wanting to go yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker, like John McClane in aDie HardChristmas movie.
Regardless, she would tell him when she felt ready, or she wouldn’t.
