Light up the Night (Firehouse Three #2)(8)

He sniffed the knuckles that she offered him, rubbing his face against them after just a moment.

“She’s a nice cat,” Drake said, moving close to Everly to reach into the box and allow the cat to sniff his hand. Everly had to fight the desire to press close to his side. The man was a sexy magnet, and she was apparently stuffed with needy metal bits.

“He,” she corrected. She reached into the box to pick the kitty up, her hand brushing Drake’s as she did. Her gasp was completely involuntary, but the frisson of electricity that had shot up her arm at their contact was so startling she couldn’t help it.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said, breathless, as she cuddled the cat close to her chest. “Just static. You shocked me.”

“Weird, that didn’t feel like static.”

A large, warm hand was suddenly on her upper arm, and she didn’t pull away as he turned her to face him. Tilting her chin up to look into his eyes, she wondered if his parents were both as tall as he was. It didn’t seem fair. She was five-foot-two on a good day, but this guy was every bit of six feet and then some.

She thought about making a crack about how he must have never missed a bowl of Wheaties, but staring into his beautiful brown eyes snatched every last bit of oxygen from her lungs. The cat against her chest was purring, the light vibration easing Everly into a sort of trance. There, trapped in Drake’s gaze, his hand sliding to her back, bringing her close to him, she couldn’t fight the magnetism between them.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked the question mere inches from her mouth. The sweet breeze of his breath caressed her cheek, and she had to fight to keep her eyes from fluttering closed.

She swayed, but his arms around her steadied her.

“I won’t unless you say I can.”

God, why was that so sexy? She had to speak, to tell him yes, but she couldn’t find the air. It was okay. She nodded.

He leaned down and captured her lips with his. Softly, gently, he moved his mouth across hers. It was so sweet, at first, all hesitant and learning. But just when she wanted more, his tongue traced the seam of her lips, asking, questing, and she opened her mouth in answer.

He groaned then, the sound snaking its way down her body to pool in the pit of her belly, a warm, deep throb beginning as his hands wandered down her back to rest on her hips. She wanted to press against him, but the cat was still between them. She was glad, in a way, because if her hands had been free, she’d have been sorely tempted to let them wander wherever they would.

Drake’s kiss deepened, his tongue so clever in discovering all the hidden places of her mouth, and Everly matched him stroke for stroke. He tasted as good as he smelled.

One of his hands moved up her back to tangle in her ponytail, and he tore his mouth from hers only far enough to trail hot, demanding kisses down the column of her throat.

Everly’s head tilted back in ecstasy. This was too much, but she needed more.

He ran a hot, broad palm up the curve of her side, his fingers bumping along her ribs, his thumb brushing the underside of her breast. Her breath caught in her throat as the thin cotton of her bra proved no barrier to his touch. Higher and higher his thumb brushed, until he swept across the bottom edge of her areola. Her nipple was so hard it ached, begging for his grasp to come higher.

“Hey, Everly, you in here?”

Shit.

Everly’s eyes flew open in alarm, but it was too late. Charlie flung the door wide, and her fell as Drake moved back much too quickly to avoid suspicion. He rounded the table, clearing his throat, and looked at the counter in the corner of the room as if he was incredibly interested in the jars of cotton balls and medical supplies there.

“Yeah,” Everly said, sure her cheeks were nuclear. Her body was still throbbing, aching in need. How was she supposed to act normal now? “Yeah. Got a new cat. Just checking him out and putting him in a holding crate until we can get him vet checked.”

“Um, want me to take over?” Charlie let the door close behind her and reached for the cat. The casual tone she affected was in complete odds with the evil twinkle in her eye. Apparently, she’d caught a good look at what was going on before Everly and Drake managed to spring apart.

Great. Just great.

“Sure,” Everly said, and handed the cat over. “I’ve got a cut on my hand I need to take care of.”

As Charlie held the cat, Everly made for the door without looking to see if Drake was following. Her skin was positively on fire with shame and denied passion.

What the crap had she been thinking?



Drake followed Everly, who looked an awful lot like a feline who’d just realized its ass was aflame. He tried like hell to calm himself down.

For some reason, that short, gentle kiss they’d shared had started a passionate fire deep in his belly and it just wouldn’t stop. He’d meant to stop at the kiss, but he couldn’t.

That wasn’t like him at all. He didn’t normally kiss women he’d only known for the span of a sitcom episode. But for some reason? He didn’t regret this in the slightest, and if he got half a chance, he would do it all over again.

She’d been so sweet and responsive, her body leaning into his. God. It hadn’t been that long since he’d had sex, had it? He was thicker than the damn fire hose, and he hoped like hell she wouldn’t notice it.

Back in the lobby, she scooted behind the counter and pretended to look really interested in whatever was on the computer screen in front of her. He knew she was faking, because she was staring straight ahead out the window while her fingers typed randomly on the keyboard.