Page 83 of Cowboy SEAL Homecoming

Her heart hammered at the thought of the condoms, but…but life was short and who knew what would happen tomorrow? Did she really want to put this off and maybe put off the chance of it ever happening?

In an easy, fluid move, Alex maneuvered next to her, laying his head close on her makeshift pillow. He pulled a blanket over them, and it smelled like horses and hay, but it was warm.

Hewas warm. Even through the layers of their clothes, she could feel it seep into her. She wriggled her way closer, until their sides were pressed together.

The dark enveloped them, cool but something of a comforting presence. The sky stretched out like their very own cinematic masterpiece. Stars winked, planets gleamed, the Milky Way swirled across a section of the great canvas above them.

She’d done this before—laid out under the stars, breathed in the vast beauty, wondered at the amazingness of it all, but she’d never had company. Not human company anyway.

“This is nice.” Which, to Becca, was a million shades too muted for what this all was. The culmination of every fantasy, but real and something she’d hold close to her heart always.

He turned his head, brushing his lips across the hair at her temple. Nice. A sad, paltry little word in comparison to what that did to her insides—melted them, lit her up, made her feel like the world was too big and beautiful to bear.

So she tilted her head up, trying to see his face in the dark. Moonlight outlined his features, hard and sharp, sculpted with ruthless slashes.

Except for his mouth, which was a curve, warm and inviting. She knew it could go sharp, hard, but not now. It wasn’t that now. It was irresistible and she pressed her own to it, stretched herself against him as much as she could.

He rolled onto his side, his arms coming around her, everything about that hard, strong body enveloping her into himself. The kiss was slow, poignant, his arm pulling her closer, his other hand brushing against her cheek and through her hair.

It was magic and hope, something indefinable in all her limited experience. Or maybe experience had nothing to do with it. Maybe kissing Alex would always be this warm, sparkling thing that itched along her nerve endings and soothed her heart all at the same time.

This wasn’t like those first two kisses, all hard and demanding, fierce and desperate. This was as soft as the night sky. Shimmery as starlight. Magic like the moon. Everything about it was gentle and sweet, and she made a little protesting sound when he pulled his mouth away from hers.

But he pressed it to her cheek, and then her temple, featherlight brushes that made her shiver.

“There,” he said, his voice a whisper against the quiet night. “Finally, a nice kiss.”

“You should probably do another grabby one so I can immediately compare and contrast.”

He chuckled into her hair, his fingers still tracing all the curves and angles of her exposed skin. “You don’t need to compare and contrast.”

“How will I decide which one I like better?”

“You could just like them both. Like them all.”

She grinned, because that sounded about perfect. She nuzzled closer, experimenting with how her head fit against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart. Steady. Strong. So Alex.

Though she knew the air around them had to be cool, the little burrow they’d created was nothing but warm and comfortable. So she traced her finger up his coat zipper, grasping it and tugging it down far enough that she could get her hand in underneath.

“Are you cold?” he asked, rubbing his hand up and down her back, though with two coats and a sweater on she could barely feel it.

“Nope,” she replied cheerfully. She nudged the zipper down farther and farther until she could get her hands under his shirt as well. His skin was hot and she could feel hard muscle and coarse hair.

She wanted to feel all of him. She wanted to see all of him. But mostly she just wanted…him. To experience it all and to give in to it. She didn’t want to think or worry or feel nervous. She wanted to open herself up to all of the possibility. All of the feeling, regardless of what the ramifications might be.

“Though I do have a confession to make,” she said, pressing the flat of her palm to the hard plane of his abdomen.

He cleared his throat. “What’s that?”

Alex, of course, hadn’t returned the favor of unzipping her coat, because he was probably too worried about her temperature. Too overly worried about a million things, and she wanted to be the opposite of that. For herself, but more for him. He deserved a little letting go and opening up too, and she’d probably have to pry that out of him. But she could. Maybe she could.

“When I went in the drugstore, I might have bought something that’s pertinent to our current situation.”

“What’s our current situation?”

“Alone. With only the stars and possibly coyotes around us.”

“You talk in the strangest riddles, Bec.”

“Okay, no riddles. Condoms. When I went into the drugstore, I bought a box of condoms.”

He was completely still and he didn’t say a word and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Because it was ridiculous. What she’d done. Telling him. It was just all so…silly.

Except it wasn’t, because she was going after what she wanted. She wanted to have sex with Alex Maguire.

“And I was thinking we could use one. Now.”

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