Page 11 of Arctic Mountain Man
I would have gone down hard if Blake hadn’t moved like lightning, his strong arms wrapping around me and pulling me against his chest. For a moment we just stood there, my hands pressed against the solid wall of his chest, his arms locked around my waist. I could feel every ridge of muscle through his shirt.
“Careful,” he said, but he didn’t let go.
“Thanks.” I looked up but couldn’t read his expression. Did he feel the same overwhelming want that was washing over me? We were so close I could count his eyelashes, could see the way his eyes seemed to darken. Close enough that I could feel the rise and fall of his chest, could smell his clean, masculine scent.
“Sadie.” My name was a warning, a question, a plea all rolled into one.
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to kiss you.”
A rush of air left me. Notcan Iorwould you mind—just a statement of fact.
He moved then, pulling me closer. For a heartbeat, we just stared at each other, and I could see the war playing out in his expression—want battling with restraint, need fighting against caution.
Want won.
His mouth came down on mine, and any coherent thought I might have had scattered like leaves in the wind. His lips were hot, urgent, tasting of mint and coffee. The kiss stole my breath and gave me something else—need, sharp and aching.
This wasn’t the hesitant, careful kiss I’d been expecting. This was claiming, demanding, desperate. His lips were firm and warm, moving against mine with a hunger that matched my own.
I melted into him, my hands fisting in the flannel of his shirt as I tried to get closer. I wanted his shirt gone, wanted skinunder my palms, wanted the weight of him pinning me beneath him.
When his tongue swept across my bottom lip, I opened for him eagerly, and the sound he made raced through me. His hand slid into my hair, tilting my head back so he could deepen the kiss, and I was lost.
Completely, utterly lost.
The world narrowed to the feel of his mouth, the slide of his tongue.
I’d been kissed before, but never like this. Never like I was the only thing that mattered, like he’d die if he couldn’t touch me. Never with this level of raw, desperate need that made every nerve ending in my body come alive. When his thigh pressed between mine, I couldn’t stop the needy sound that tore from my throat. I rocked against him shamelessly, chasing friction, chasing him.
When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard. His forehead rested against mine, and I could feel the tension thrumming through his body.
“Fuck.”
I sighed against his chest. “I think I forgot how to breathe.”
He didn’t let go of me, and I didn’t step away. His breath was hot on my cheek, his hands restless on my back, skimming down to the swell of my hips and then up again like he couldn’t decide where he wanted me most. “I want more, Sadie. But I shouldn’t.”
“Why shouldn’t you?”
“Because you’re leaving. Because this is temporary. Because I’m not—” He stopped, jaw clenching.
“You’re not what?”
“Good for you.”
The words hit me right where I was most vulnerable. My self-doubts. “That’s not your decision to make.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No.” I reached up to touch his face, my thumb tracing the sharp line of his jaw. “You don’t get to decide what’s good for me, Blake. I’m a grown woman. I can make my own choices.”
“And what do you choose?”
The question hung between us, loaded with meaning. I knew what he was really asking. He wasn’t talking about the kiss. “You,” I said simply. “I choose you.”
Something wild and possessive flashed in his eyes. “Sadie—”
