“Yes. In front of their place outside Homer.” She smiled. “It doesn’t get as cold there as it does other parts of Alaska, but they built their home to stand up to the fiercest winters just in case. They loved that place with all their hearts. That’s why I’ll never get rid of it.”
She pointed out the other members of her family as well as her friends in the surrounding photos before leading Trey back to the living room. “When I’m not at work, I’m usually hanging out with either Loralei or Crystal, or both of them. No doubt, they’ll call me later asking for details of our date.”
He chuckled. “I hope you’ll be able to tell them you had a good time.”
She stepped closer until there were only a few inches between them, her pulse kicking up a notch at the proximity. “I think the odds are definitely in your favor,” she murmured even as Trey’s mouth came down to capture hers.
The kiss started slowly but didn’t stay that way for long. First there was a slip of tongue, just enough to tease her with that masculine taste of his, then two strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. She let out a moan as Trey kissed her more passionately, his tongue delving deeper into her mouth, those sharp teeth nibbling on her lips in a way that had a knee-weakening throb already building up between her legs.
Samantha wasn’t sure how they ended up on the couch, but the next thing she knew, Trey was leaning back against one arm of it, her knees on either side of his hips. She had his shirt half unbuttoned and was grinding down on his growing hard-on with enough force to make herself come if she kept it up. He must have somehow realized how close she was because he chose that moment to slide his hands down to her butt, rocking her against him even harder until she was practically riding him, her breath coming faster and faster.
Aroused beyond belief, Samantha didn’t recognize how carried away she was getting until she found her mouth on Trey’s neck, her teeth scraping harshly against his skin, the inviting throb of his pulse under her tongue. It was hard not thinking about how easy it would be to bite him right then.
Wait. What?!
“I’ll be right back. I have to use the restroom!” she yelped, pushing up off Trey’s chest and springing to her feet.
He immediately sat up, alarm on his face, mouth open to say something, but she waved him off, unsteady for a second before darting down the hallway to the bathroom. Slipping inside, she forced herself to stay calm and not slam the door.
Spinning around, she faced the mirror over the vanity, taking slow, cleansing breaths. “Get it together, girl,” she whispered to her reflection. “You didn’t actually bite him. That’s the important thing.”
Turning on the faucet, she splashed some cold water on her face, wondering when she’d actually gone so mental. Then again, maybe it was at the exact moment when she’d considered getting a new blood sample from Trey by biting him.
Admittedly, alcohol might have had something to do with that particular harebrained scheme. She’d come up with it after having a few glasses of wine with Crystal following that horrible episode with the contaminated blood sample she’d gotten from Trey’s teammate. She’d been bemoaning the possibility of ever obtaining a clean sample from the SWAT guys when her friend had jokingly said something about getting it while sleeping with one of them. Samantha immediately envisioned her straddling Trey’s powerful naked body, riding him like a hobbyhorse. Then, when she was right in the middle of driving him to orgasm, she’d lean forward to nip his neck hard enough to draw blood—blood she would use to finally gain a DNA profile of one of the SWAT cops. While she didn’t know what she might find, the scientist in her insisted their blood was the key to figuring out what made him and his teammates different. Maybe it was something as simple as being on performance-enhancing drugs, but she wouldn’t know for sure until she did an analysis.
Doing something as extreme as biting Trey to get a sample of his blood had been a stupid idea and she’d quickly dismissed it. There was no way she could bite Trey hard enough to make him bleed. He’d think she was a psycho. And he’d be right! But just now, as she’d been lying on top of Trey, kissing him like there was no tomorrow, the thought of biting him had popped into her head completely unbidden, like a bolt of stupid from the great beyond.
And now here she was, standing in her bathroom, doing her best not to freak out while the most amazing man she’d ever met was likely running out the door at that very moment. This obsession with finding out what made him different was not only taking over her life, but also jeopardizing any chance at a relationship with him. She needed to let this go before she completely ruined everything.
She took one more deep, calming breath before throwing another couple handfuls of water on her face, finally getting herself back under control. Then she turned and pulled a fresh towel out of the linen closet, ignoring the big first-aid kit sitting on the shelf mocking her. The kit held the sterile pads and resealable vials she would have used for those blood samples. If she’d actually been stupid enough to bite the man like a freaking vampire.
“Stupid first-aid kit,” she muttered.
Samantha stood at the door for a moment with her hand on the knob, psyching herself up. Then she jerked it open and headed for the living room, sure Trey had left.
The sound of rattling and thumping from the kitchen caught her attention and she felt relief flood her. Apparently, she hadn’t chased him off after all. Or maybe he was looking for a knife, so he could defend himself from the crazy woman who’d tried to attack him.
She walked into the kitchen to see him pulling two mugs out of the cabinet near the microwave, smiling over his shoulder at her as if she hadn’t just tried to rip open his throat a few moments ago.
“Hope you don’t mind me rifling through your cabinets, but I was really looking forward to that coffee.”
Samantha had been so resigned to the fact that Trey had left that she hadn’t thought of what she’d say if he hadn’t. So she nodded, hoping she didn’t come off as even more insane.
Silence filled the kitchen for a few moments as Trey moved over to the coffeepot, quietly pouring the rich, dark roast into the mugs. Samantha took coconut milk out of the fridge and held up the carton to him, giving it a questioning shake. Trey smiled but shook his head.
Samantha was adding sweetener and milk to her own coffee when Trey thankfully broke the silence.
“Sorry about that,” he said softly, leaning a hip against the granite counter and looking over the edge of his mug as he took a small sip. “I didn’t mean to scare you off by going too fast.”
It was a good thing she had a mug in front of her face. At least that way, Trey couldn’t see her jaw drop. It definitely wouldn’t have been a good look for her.
“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” she murmured, sipping her coffee and enjoying the way the warmth of the beverage calmed her. “You weren’t going too fast and you didn’t scare me off.”