Page 46 of Mountain Rescue
He let the kiss go on for another minute, then forced himself to pull away. Her eyes were dilated and dreamy, and he almost dove back in. “Hey.” He smiled as he trailed his thumb over her bottom lip, damp from his kiss.
“Hey,” she whispered back.
“Before we take this any further, we should talk.”
“Talk about kissing and other stuff?”
He laughed. “Yeah, that.”
“Well, I thought about it all day, and I want the kisses and maybe the other stuff.”
“Maybe, huh?”
She trailed her finger down the front of his shirt. “If you’re lucky.”
“So you know, I intend to get real lucky.”
“Pretty sure of yourself there.”
“No, just hopeful. You good, or do we need to talk some more about kisses and stuff?” He ached for this girl, and that in itself was a miracle. After his rescue, he hadn’t been interested in anything, and he’d worried that would be a permanent condition. Yet, from the moment he’d had his arms wrapped around a belligerent wildcat, life had gotten interesting again.
“I’m good.”
She sure was. Bella tried to climb on his lap and join them, and Rachel laughed. “What’s the matter, Bella Boo? You feeling left out?”
He held out his hand, palm up, and Bella laid her chin on it and stared at him with her soulful eyes. “How much longer does your pot roast need to cook?”
“Another hour.”
“We need to get started on your workout regimen.” He grinned when she turned up her nose. “Get up, lazy bones. We’ll take Bella for a run up the mountain.” Maybe the exercise would settle down his urge to carry her to the bed for some of thatstuffshe said might happen.
He stood, bringing her up with him, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Hmm, I like you there.”
“In that case, I’ll just hang on to you while you run up the mountain.” She squeezed the muscles in his upper arms. “You being a manly SEAL cowboy and all, it would be a piece of cake for you.”
He snorted. “Nice try.” He carried her inside and dropped her legs, letting her slide down his body. Pure torture. “Go put on your running shoes.” He watched her walk down the hallway, chuckling when she exaggerated the sway of her hips. “Killing me, sugar.”
She glanced over her shoulder and gave him a sultry smile. Yep, killing him. After exchanging his Henley for a long-sleeve T-shirt and his jeans for lightweight sweats, he returned to the living room to find Rachel waiting. She’d changed into running shorts that clung to her skin and a sports bra, no T-shirt over it. He swallowed hard.
“Ready?”
“Beat you up the mountain.” She took off, letting the door slam behind her.
He grabbed Bella’s leash and clipped it to her collar. “Silly girl thinks she can beat us.”
When he caught up with her, he raced past her, then turned and ran backward. He ran that way for five minutes or so, amused when she tried to pass him. He just moved faster. She was getting annoyed, which was his objective.
He’d learned in BUD/S that the way to get through the exercises was to get mad. Anger gave you energy, one reason the instructors yelled things at you that would piss you off. Getting pissed off also made you stubborn—at least, it had him.
When his back leg muscles began to protest, he turned but stayed ahead of her. He glanced over his shoulder. “Need a break yet?” He laughed when she glared at him.
She really was in good shape for a civilian. Most people, men and women, would have legs like rubber by now and would be begging to stop. Not only was she in good shape, but she was stubborn, and he liked that. He liked a lot of things about her.
They ran for another fifteen or so minutes, and he could see that she was tiring. He slowed to a fast walk to let her cool down.
“I hate you.” She sucked in air. “You’re not even breathing hard.”
“Training. Lots and lots of it.” Although he wasn’t back to his best. Two weeks of being starved and tortured tended to take a toll on one’s body, but it was good getting back to physical activity. He slowed to match her pace.
