After the Storm (KGI #8)(67)

“Donovan?”

He loosened his hold on her hair, letting his hand fall away. He tugged her away, but only the barest of inches so he could look down into her eyes. Their bodies were still pressed tightly together and she could feel the evidence of his arousal, rigid and straining against her belly.

She shivered again, chill bumps racing across her skin, every tiny hair standing on its end in the wake of the intense sensations he evoked.

He stroked a hand lovingly over her cheek, pushing back her tousled hair. “What is it, honey?”

“What are we doing here?” she whispered. “What’s happening?”

He smiled tenderly at her, his eyes warm and flush with . . . arousal. “What I’m doing is kissing you and what’s happening is that I’m enjoying it a hell of a lot and I hope you are too.”

She flushed, her cheeks growing warm at the blunt statement. “This is insane,” she protested. “We can’t be doing . . . this. The very last thing I should even be contemplating is a . . . relationship.”

She nearly choked as she said the word because it was presumptuous of her to assume he wanted anything more than sex. But he didn’t act like someone who wanted a quick lay. As she’d already noted, he acted like he cared. And if he was so anxious for sex, wouldn’t he have put the moves on her already? Before the tornado, because of course it would have made him an ass to come on to her when she had a head injury and was scared out of her mind.

Her head was spinning, much like she had suffered a serious head injury. There wasn’t even anything overtly sexual or . . . desperate . . . to his kiss. It had been . . . romantic. Tender. Exquisite even. Could a kiss be considered exquisite? Obviously so, because his definitely qualified.

“I mean, I’m a job to you, right? Shouldn’t you remain objective? Surely you don’t go around kissing all your female clients.”

And worse was the jealousy that gripped her over the thought of him kissing another woman in distress. Did he have a white knight complex? Was his Kryptonite a woman in need?

He chuckled at that, his eyes growing even warmer as he gazed down at her. “Honey, if it weren’t for mixing business with pleasure, none of my brothers would be married.”

She cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean by that?”

“It means that every one of my brothers met their wives while on a mission. Bullets flying, explosions, car chases, wrecks, bad guys. You name it, they experienced it. I’d say our situation is tame in comparison.”

There was laughter in his voice, and she found herself smiling despite the utter seriousness of the situation he spoke lightly of.

“None of my brothers met a nice small-town girl, dated, became engaged and got married. Well, except Ethan, and he and Rachel more than made up for their somewhat boring courtship with plenty of drama after the fact,” he said in a grim voice.

Her brow furrowed at his sudden change in demeanor. “What happened?”

“Long story,” Donovan said. “Rachel is a schoolteacher, and she went on a mercy mission to South America in June after school let out. Her plane crashed on the way home, and it was thought she died. There were no survivors. We thought her dead for an entire year when in fact she was being held captive by a drug cartel and they hooked her on drugs to control her.”

Eve’s eyes rounded in shock. “Oh my God. Are you serious? How on earth did you find out? And how did you get her back?”

“We went in and kicked some cartel ass,” Donovan said bluntly. “We brought her back home, but her recovery wasn’t quick. They had some rough times. She lost most of her memory from the drugs that were forced on her. She still doesn’t have everything back, but enough to remember a lot of bad things that happened before she left on that trip. She and Ethan have had a rough road back together, but they’re strong—she’s strong. She’s one hell of a survivor. She just had twins a year ago.”

“Wow,” Eve murmured. “You weren’t kidding when you said you and your brothers kick some serious ass. Taking on a drug cartel? It sounds like something out of a movie.”

Donovan’s lips quirked. “That’s just the icing on the cake, honey. The rest of my brothers all met their wives under less-than-ideal circumstances. So maybe now you can see that the way you and I met doesn’t bother me in the least.”

Eve’s breath caught and she stared up at him, uncertain of what to say. What could she say? She blurted the first thing that came to her mind.

“But you don’t know me. I mean, we just met. How can you possibly think you want . . . anything . . . from me? What do I possibly have to offer you except one giant headache? It seems to me that you’re doing all the giving and I’m doing all the taking and giving nothing in return.”

He nudged her chin upward with gentle fingers. “That’s not true. You’ve given me something very precious indeed. Your trust, Eve. And I know what that cost you. So believe me when I say that I know what a gift you’ve given me. A woman’s trust is the most priceless gift she can give to a man. Her belief in his ability to keep her safe and protect her from all harm.”

He lowered his head again, not as hesitant or as slow as he’d been just moments earlier. He brushed his lips across hers but quickly fused his mouth to hers, stroking hot and wet with his tongue. This time she didn’t hesitate either. She met his advance, tasting him this time instead of allowing him to do all the exploring.