A SEAL's Salvation

It was as if she’d reached in and flipped the last switch.

Brain, off.

Dick, on.

When she leaned closer, he realized she was the perfect height.

She fit perfectly against his body, her slender curves hitting all his favorite spots.

Her mouth was right there. Waiting.

He dropped his gaze, noting the slight quiver in the full, red cushion of her lower lip. He met her eyes again. No nerves there. Just heat. Pure, hot, intense.

Insistent.

“Kiss me.”

“It’s a bad idea.”

“Sure it is,” she agreed, her gaze not leaving his as she leaned in, closing those last few infinitesimal inches between them. Her breath warmed his mouth just before she brushed the slightest whisper of a kiss against his lips.

“So be bad.”

2

GENNA’S ENTIRE BODY was quivering. Nerves. Excitement. Desire. She couldn’t tell which was which. Just knew they were all there.

She stared up at Brody, her entire being engulfed by his presence. Everything was brighter. Stronger. Bigger.

The overhead light glinted blue in the vivid black of his hair as it fell over his forehead, stick-straight strands hanging in his golden-brown eyes.

Her heart beat so hard against her chest she was surprised it didn’t jump right out and glom on to him. She wanted him so much. Breathing deeply, she filled her lungs with his scent. Clean like soap, but earthy. All male. All man.

Her lips trembled so much, she wanted to bite down to keep them still. But she was afraid that might discourage him from taking her be bad suggestion.

She really wanted him to be bad.

She needed him to take over. Because that kiss, that tiny little brush of her lips, that was about the extent of her experience.

“Please,” she whispered.

Ah, there it was. The magic word. Brody closed his eyes as if in prayer. When he opened them, the caution was gone. Instead, he was looking at her as though he was starving. As though he was the big bad wolf, and she was a delicious treat.

His gaze locked on hers, demanding that she watch him kiss her.

His lips were so soft. Tension she hadn’t allowed herself to acknowledge seeped away as they rubbed over hers. Angling this way, shaping her mouth that way. So wonderful.

Then his tongue slid over the seam of her lips. Wet heat.

Oops, there came that tension again. And it’d brought a whole slew of wickedly enticing feelings with it. They whipped through her body, making her knees weak. Her heart race. And her panties damp.

His lips were just a whisper against hers. Still soft as he seemed to be memorizing the shape of her mouth with his tongue. He was touching only her shoulders, his hands so light she could barely feel them.

But the look in his eyes was so intense, so demanding, that she shivered. It was as if he were promising that she’d have to strip naked and share her every naughty secret. That she do all sorts of things she’d only heard in whispers, read in her favorite romance novels and sneaked peeks at on the internet.

She’d never realized that fear had a sexy edge. That the aching physical lure of it could beckon, even as her mind cautioned her that this kiss, this man, and whatever was coming next, were way, way out of her league.

Then, as if he couldn’t stand the teasing any longer, his tongue swept into her mouth and, thankfully, his eyes closed. Releasing her.

He tasted so good. His tongue was pure power as it slid along hers, teaching her how he wanted her to respond.

Genna moaned, her stomach feeling as if she’d just taken a dive on a roller coaster.

Relieved, she closed her own eyes, concentrating instead on the clamoring of sensations spinning through her body. It was easier this way. It felt safer. As though she could just let go and not worry about what might happen next.

Her hands trailed, whisper-soft, over his chest. He was so hard, muscled but not bulky. Her fingers found a scar, long and rigid. As she wrapped her arms low around his back, she discovered a few more. She wanted to kiss them, every single one. To wish away the hurts she knew he’d suffered. She wanted to make him happy. To make him feel so good, he’d forget about all the bad he’d ever felt.

As if hearing her wish, her fingers—and she swore it was of their own volition—skimmed the waistband of his jeans. The fabric was soft. Worn. And so easy to slip her hand beneath.

His breath caught, the action pressing his hard chest against her aching nipples. He groaned, a low rumble against her mouth, before pulling away.

She wasn’t sure, since her blood was pounding too hard for her to hear, but she thought she whimpered.

“No.”

“Yes,” she whispered back. She wanted to smile, to marshal together a clever argument that’d convince him that this was a good idea. But deep inside, beneath the crush that was driving her past reason, she knew it really wasn’t. Just as she knew he wasn’t going to listen to a thing she said.

Which left only one option for getting her way.

And that was physical.

More nervous than before her driving test, her SATs and opening her letter from Stanford combined, Genna took a deep breath to calm the dragons dancing in her stomach and leaned back a little. Not enough to put any real distance between her and Brody. Definitely not enough to give him the silly idea that they might be done here. But enough for her to reach up, sliding her hands under the heavy curtain of her hair. Her fingers quickly picked apart the bow tying her halter behind her neck.

His eyes wide and worried, Brody shook his head as if he could deny what she was about to do. But he didn’t stop her. Instead, his gaze dropped, watching first her hands, and then the fabric of her blouse, drop to her waist.

Genna bit her lip to stop their trembling.

And waited.

His eyes weren’t worried now. They were hot. Hot and intense and greedy.

His lids lowered, but didn’t hide the sensual gleam. She could see the pulse beating, fast and furious, in his throat. He looked as if he could eat her up in one big, juicy bite.

So why didn’t he?

She’d heard that sexual frustration was a bad thing, but she didn’t think it was supposed to come with a big fat dose of anger.

Wasn’t he supposed to do something? Be so overcome by lust that he grabbed her and took all the choices and moves and decisions out of her hands? That’s how it happened in all the books. Clearly, he needed to read more.