Page 15 of Mountain Challenge

“You don’t have an alarm?” He didn’t look impressed.

“I don’t have anything worth stealing.”

“May I look around?”

He waited until she nodded before closing the door, his large frame making her small living area feel even smaller than it was. He walked by her dining table, and she had a brief flashback to her dream from the previous night, when he’d lifted her onto that very same table, pulled her legs apart and?—

Isla shook her head. There was nothing sexy about the way he was looking around her apartment. He was all business, much as he’d been ever since they’d discovered the slashed tires.

“You’re scaring me.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to. Let me just check that everything’s okay, and I’ll get out of your way.” He disappeared inside her bedroom. She heard him open the bathroom door, then another door that must have been her closet.

Suddenly, she felt overly warm. She took Ry’s jacket off and placed it on the back of one of her three dining chairs.

He was back a few moments later. “Everything looks okay. Get some rest, Isla. I’ll ask around when I get into the office tomorrow and call you if there’s any news.”

Isla’s feet moved of their own accord, propelling her towards the door until her slight body blocked his way. Ry arched an eyebrow. “Isla?”

“Don’t leave.”

Those deep green eyes seemed to read right into her soul. “I can sleep on the couch if you like. You don’t have to be scared.”

“Or you can stay with me. In my bedroom,” she retorted.

His eyes narrowed in surprise. Not her sexiest comeback, perhaps, but she certainly had his attention.

“You’re exhausted,” he said. To her, or to himself, she wasn’t sure.

“I am.” Isla placed her hand on his shirt, pushing him back until his butt touched the door. And though she knew she wouldn’t have been able to move him if he hadn’t let her, she loved the way his eyes flared with surprise. It was a hot, heady feeling, and Isla drank it in, spreading her fingers against his chest, feeling his warmth through the shirt. “I also happen to know what I want.”

Ry’s eyes went down to her mouth, and his head came down. He was going to kiss her, and she wanted it. She wanted to feel her lips against his, more than she wanted her next breath. Time stopped for an instant, and he was so close, so close?—

“No.”

“No?”

“Not happening. Not like this. You’re tired and stressed, and that’s not how?—“

“I still want you. And I can see you want me too,” she said, lowering her eyes to the very obvious bulge in the front of his pants. A bulge that made her think maybe her dream from the night before hadn’t been too far off.Oblivion. Release. An amazing orgasm. The things they could gift each other, if only he would get on with the program.

Something new flashed in his eyes, something that looked a lot like regret. “Sure I want you. You know I do. The answer is still no, Isla. Not like this. I’ll stay the night, though. I’ll stay out here and make sure?—“

“No.” She finally found her voice. Her hands went to her hips. “I’m not saying you’re not right. Maybe I am tired and stressed. But don’t be an ass. This isn’t the nineteenth century, and I’m not a virgin who needs to be protected from herself. I said no to dinner earlier, and now I’m saying yes to sex. So … what do you say, big guy? Are you interested?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “I’m interested. I just think you should sleep on it. I don’t want you regretting?—“

“Let’s sleep together, instead.” She reached up onto her tiptoes, glad now that she hadn’t taken off her boots yet, pulled his head down and brought their lips together.

Ry

Her lips tasted of strawberries. Fucking strawberries. And he knew for a fact she hadn’t been eating any strawberries. Not in the last hours, while they’d been freezing their asses outsidewaiting for the police to finish with her car. Which meant he might be losing his mind. But fuck, he loved strawberries.

His lips sought more of her, and she sought him right back.

A part of him warned him this might be a mistake. Because as sure as she seemed—and right now she was sucking on his tongue in a way that made him feel she was very sure indeed—he didn’t want her to regret this. To regret them. She’d just been through an unexpected stress, and Ry was familiar with stress. He knew people reacted to stress in very different ways.Maybe this is her way.

“Stop it,” she said, her voice a soft whisper.

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