Page 3 of Dina's Favorite Mistake

He pressed his forehead into her hair and kept giving her what she wanted, thrusting and rubbing that spot until she thought she was about to have a heart attack. She climaxed with a shocked gasp and felt her entire world tilt as wave after wave of honeyed ecstasy crashed over and through her.

Steve made a choked sound behind her before shuddering as his own orgasm finally hit. She barely registered him finishing and carefully pulling out and away from her. Boneless and limp,she fought to catch her breath while her body vibrated and throbbed.

He came back to bed a short while later with a hand towel. He kissed her back and shoulders while tidying up the mess they’d made together. When he was done, he pulled the covers out from under her and slipped into the bed. He started to reach for her but hesitated. “You okay with cuddling after?”

“Please?” she asked, her eyelids heavy and her heart beating at a slightly normal pace now.

“Didn’t want to assume,” he explained before dragging her into his warm embrace. He was like a cozy furnace, and she couldn’t get close enough to him, wrapping her leg around his and burrowing her face against his chest.

“You may have to wake me up and kick me out of here,” she warned sleepily.

“Wouldn’t be very gentlemanly of me.”

“The things you did to me weren’t exactly gentlemanly,” she teased lightly.

He snorted. “I didn’t hear you complaining.

“Five stars,” she said and yawned. “Would do again.”

He laughed. “I like your sense of humor.”

She smiled against his chest and relaxed further as he played with her hair. It was the sort of tender intimacy she’d been missing. If only this wasn’t a one-night stand in a foreign city, and she didn’t have a whole life back home waiting for her.

“What’s with the tattoo?” she asked, trying to keep the conversation light.

“My grandparents,” he explained softly. “There was a fishing hole by their cabin. We used to spend hours there together, picnicking in the wildflowers.”

“It sounds beautiful.”

“It was.” He drew loopy shapes on her shoulder. “You sure you have to fly home in the morning?” Steve asked guardedly.

“Yes.” She ignored the little voice that urged her to stay another day. “I have responsibilities.”

“I understand.” He didn’t push or ask what they might be. They’d kept things light during their shared drink at the hotel bar. Occupations. Where they lived. Nothing too heavy. “Maybe we could—.”

“Steve, I can’t,” she said, hating the tension that followed. More than anything, she wanted to see him again. Yes, the sex was incredible, but there was something about him, something special. Almost as if their meeting had been kismet. “I’m a single mom. My priority is my daughter, and after her, everything else I have is focused on my family and our business.”

“I get it,” he assured her. “Still, I had to ask.”

She worked up the courage to lift her gaze to his. He had the most honest eyes she’d ever seen. This was a good man, a real man, and she wished she could be the sort of woman he deserved. “If my circumstances were different...”

“Yeah.” He tenderly kissed her forehead. “I know.”

Nothing else was said, and eventually, he fell asleep, still holding her tight. She allowed herself a short nap with him, but only a short one. Carefully, she extricated herself from his embrace. His bigger, heavier frame was soothingly warm, and she would have happily stayed tucked up beside him all night.

As quietly as possible, she got dressed. She left off her shoes, worried the heels would click against the floor and wake him. She wanted to avoid any awkwardness as she slipped out of his life.

When she reached the door, she found his wallet on the floor and the keycard next to it. She picked them both up and carried them to the table next to the bed. As she placed them down, his wallet flipped open—and revealed a badge.

He wasn’t a Texas Ranger baseball player as she had stupidly assumed.

He was arealTexas Ranger.

A police officer.

And she was the ex-wife of a cartel hitman.

Heart racing, she backed away from the handsome man who had given her a night she would never forget and fled the hotel room.

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