“It’s huge. Like, there’s room for two people in here.” On impulse, he grabbed her around the waist and sprang the footrest.
Rowan tumbled onto him with a yelp, her legs tangling with his, her face ending up millimeters from his. To test his luck, Nash settled a hand against her lower back, letting one thumb stroke against the skin exposed where her t-shirt rode up.
“See, plenty of room,” he murmured.
She planted a hand against his chest but didn’t move away. “Are you flirting with me, Nash?”
“If you have to ask, I’m doing a terrible job of it.”
The mouth that hovered so tantalizingly close to his quirked a little. “I’m flattered.”
“But?”
“There are probably a hundred reasons why pursuing that would be a bad idea.”
“Probably,” he agreed. When she still didn’t push him away, he risked sliding his palm more fully under her shirt to span the warm expanse of her back. “Do you actually care about any of them?”
“Having a hard time thinking about why I should just now.” It was her slightly breathless tone that did him in.
“Me too.” Nash slid his free hand into her hair and brought her mouth to his.
Chapter 3
The very last thing Rowan had expected to be doing tonight was making out with Nash Brewer in the monster recliner. It was ridiculous. Juvenile, even. She didn’t let men get close—a consequence of being a woman in a male-dominated profession, even before everything went to shit. But the moment Nash settled his mouth over hers, all she wanted was to get closer. It was impossible to think like this, with his lips exploring hers. It had been so long since she’d been able to turn off her brain and escape.
On a sigh, she opened for him, angling her head to take the kiss deeper, committing to oblivion for just a little while. She let go of everything else but the feel and flavor of him, unfamiliar and exciting. He tasted of coffee and something darker that didn’t quite match the easygoing flyboy persona he usually wore. The combination lit a spark in her blood.
She tunneled her hand under his shirt, over the hard ridges of his abs, feeling them contract beneath her touch. It made her smile against his mouth. A groan rumbled through him, wringing an answering moan from her. His hands slid down her back and over her butt, hooking under her thighs and dragging her until she straddled his hips. As the bulge in his jeans pressed against her center, the whole thing stopped feeling juvenile.
Rowan hissed in a breath as he rocked against her. God, God that felt amazing, even through two layers of jeans. She couldn’t stop the hum of pleasure in her throat, couldn’t keep from shifting against him, searching for a rhythm that would turn that spark to a full-on sizzle. His arms tightened around her, pulling her closer. Oh yes, there.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this turned on. Couldn’t remember the last time anyone had touched her. There wasn’t room for thought, wasn’t room for anything but the feeling of giddy heat.
Nash’s work-roughened hands slid beneath her shirt, playing over her back. What would those hands feel like on the rest of her? Obviously he wanted to find out for himself, as he slid the shirt up to her shoulders, breaking the kiss so he could tug it over her head.
And just like that, her brain clicked back on.
Rowan froze, her shirt up around her ears. Beneath her, Nash went still, his hands fisted in the soft cotton.
“What the hell are we doing?” she whispered.
“By the look on your face right now, I’m gonna go with not getting naked.” Gently, he smoothed the shirt back down.
Caught somewhere between relief and regret, Rowan couldn’t seem to move.
When she said nothing, Nash turned to press a kiss to the forearm she’d braced by his head, keeping his eyes on hers. “Talk to me, Rowan.”
Talk? What was she supposed to say? They’d been dry humping each other like a couple of teenagers. She’d been minutes away from doing a helluva lot more than that. The heat of her arousal now felt more like utter mortification.
“I—we—” How was she supposed to think while she still straddled his lap? “Let me up.”
He reached for the lever to retract the footrest and suddenly they were upright again. His arm around her waist was the only thing that kept her from flying backward into the floor. She unfolded her legs, barely managing not to trip and fall in her haste to put some space between them.
“I need a minute.”
Without waiting for an acknowledgment, she retreated to the kitchen. Because she still felt flushed and unsatisfied, she yanked open the fridge door and stuck her head inside, hoping the chill would help. It didn’t. So she grabbed one of the long-neck beers and ran the cold bottle along her heated skin, before twisting off the cap to take a long pull. As a rule, she didn’t believe in alcohol for taking the edge off—she’d seen too many cops begin to use it as a crutch to handle the stress of the job. But tonight, she’d make an exception.
“Got another one of those?”
Rowan grabbed another bottle and handed it to him without quite meeting his eyes. He didn’t press or invade her space, and she was grateful.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to push. I just got carried away. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I’m not upset.” At the lift of his brow she amended, “Or not exactly. I’m embarrassed.”
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? We’re two consenting adults, who are apparently hot for each other.”
The cheerfully factual way he stated it made her laugh despite herself. “Yes, apparently we are.”
If he wasn’t going to be embarrassed, she could find it in herself to look him in the eye. “Nash, I don’t do stuff like this.”
“Make out like a horny teenager?” His grin said he definitely included himself in the horny teenager category.
He was incorrigible. Why was that so damned appealing?
“That. And I don’t sleep with men I barely know.”
Nodding, he took a pull on his beer. “Neither do I. And I just got very clear evidence that you’re not a man, so I think we’re safe.”
She tried to give him a stern look. “I’m serious.”
“So am I. Look, Rowan, I like you. I liked you when I met you back in September. You just weren’t here long enough for me to do anything about it. For better or worse, you’re here for a few weeks, and I’d like to get to know you better. Plus, I figure you could use a friend through all of this.”
“Just a friend?”
He shrugged. “A friend. Somebody to get naked with and blow off steam. Whatever works for you. I’m not going to pressure you for more than you want to give. If you don’t want me to touch you again, I won’t. No harm, no foul. If you want to strip down and have hot monkey sex, I’m absolutely up for that, too.”
Rowan stared at him. “Well, that’s blunt.”
“It’s honest. My mama swears I have no tact, but I find that life usually runs smoother if you say what you mean.”
“That’s…”
His lips quirked in a wry smile. “Annoying?”