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Not a pleasant prospect, by any means.
“You know,” he said, “when you’re quiet, it’s a little scary.”
She chuckled. “A Marine? Scared? I don’t believe it.”
“Worried more than scared. What are you thinking about?”
Since the image of her older self alone with cats sounded a little too “pity-party,” she said, “Just wondering what it was like to grow up with brothers and sisters.”
“Loud,” he said.
“And fun?”
There was a long pause while he thought about it. Then he said, “Sometimes. Most times, it was work. I’m the oldest, so I was usually left in charge and—”
“So giving orders really comes naturally to you.”
“All right…”
“Sorry,” she said. “Go on.”
“Not much more to tell.” She felt him shrug. “I have one younger sister and three brothers. Triplets.”
“Triplets. Wow. Identical?”
“Oh, yeah. Almost no one can tell them apart.”
“But you can,” she said, enjoying that hum of pride in his tone again.
“Sure. They’re my brothers.”
“And your niece?”
“Ah,” he said, his voice warming, “Emily’s a heartbreaker. And since she’s walking now, she’s driving Kelly, my sister, nuts.”
Lilah enjoyed hearing about his family. Love filled his voice when he spoke about them and as he painted word pictures, she drew their images in her mind. The brothers looked like Kevin, she guessed, although she was willing to bet they weren’t as handsome. After all, what were the odds of having four gorgeous men in one family?
She imagined Kelly and her baby and—
“What’s Kelly’s husband like?” she asked, assuming the woman was married. She couldn’t imagine Kevin Rogan, master of all he surveyed, allowing his sister to be a single mother.
Beneath her hand, the muscles of his arm tensed slightly before relaxing again. Hmm. Not too fond of the brother-in-law, was he?
“Jeff’s a Marine. He’s on duty now. Somewhere.”
“Somewhere?”
“He’s Recon. Kelly doesn’t even know where the hell he is.”
“And you’re not happy about that,” she said.
He shrugged again and Lilah wished she could see his expression, but the fog was still too thick, sliding past them like phantom fingers.
“Marines make lousy husbands, that’s all.”
“Kind of a generality, don’t you think?”
“Personal experience.”
Ah. She remembered what her father had had to say about Kevin’s ex-wife leaving him a mess, so Lilah trod carefully. She didn’t want him to know she’d heard anything about his past. He didn’t seem the kind of man to enjoy knowing that his private life was still being talked about.
“So you were a lousy husband?”
His footsteps faltered slightly, then he went on and if she hadn’t been paying such close attention, she might not have noticed the hesitation at all.
“My ex-wife must have thought so,” was all he said.
“Was she a good wife?” She probably shouldn’t have asked that, but Lilah’s nature was something she couldn’t fight. She didn’t mean to be nosey, exactly. It was simply that she couldn’t keep herself from trying to help. Whether that help was wanted or not.
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“It might help,” she said. “Sometimes telling a stranger your problems makes them easier to solve.”
“There’s nothing to help,” he said, his voice low and sharp as a knife. “It’s over. My marriage ended a couple of years ago.”
Maybe, she thought. But there seemed to be a part of him that hadn’t let go. Though she doubted he’d admit that under threat of torture. And, since she’d been enjoying herself up until this minute, she let the conversation end. No point in starting a fight.
She stumbled over something in the dark and would have pitched face forward into the dirt if he hadn’t caught her.
His hands at her waist, he held on to her while she steadied herself and Lilah tried not to feel the heat from his hands pouring into her body.
This was ridiculous. She was twenty-six years old. The last living virgin in California. She had a pretend fiancé and absolutely no business being swept away by a good-looking Marine with a bad attitude and a glorious smile.
And yet…
She stared up at him and the mist enveloping them parted, drifting away on the sea air and leaving them in a patch of moonlight. He hadn’t let her go and Lilah felt every imprint of his fingers, right through her sweater and the shirt she wore beneath it. His pulse beat seemed to hammer into her, accelerating her own heartbeat and twisting her stomach into knots.
“This is a bad idea,” he said, his gaze moving over her face as if seeing her for the first time.
“Terrible,” she agreed.
“We have nothing in common.”
“Absolutely zip.” She ran her tongue across her bottom lip and watched his gaze follow the action. Her stomach pitched again as though she were on some high-flying roller coaster and taking the long dip in a rush of speed.
“You’re only here for a month.”
She nodded. “Maybe less.”
“You’re engaged.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“And,” he whispered as he lowered his head toward hers, “if I don’t kiss you right now, I just might lose what’s left of my mind.”
She went up on her toes, rising to meet him. “Can’t have that,” she said on a sigh.
Lilah kept her eyes open and watched him come closer. But when his lips came down on hers, her eyes closed and breath left her body. If he hadn’t been holding on to her, she would have dropped, because her knees gave out the instant his tongue touched hers.
She groaned and leaned into him. His arms came around her like an iron vise, pressing her to him, holding her length along his. His hands swept up and down her back, stroking, caressing.
His mouth tantalized her, his breath dusted across her cheek and she felt the pounding of his heart slamming against her chest. He explored her mouth, tracing the tip of his tongue along her teeth, her cheeks, drawing the last of her breath from her. She gave as good as she got, returning his caresses while she clung to his shoulders in an effort to keep from puddling on the ground at his feet.
Never, she thought wildly, as sensation after sensation coursed through her body. Never had she felt anything like this. It was as if sparklers had been set off inside her. Her blood dazzled and bubbled in her veins as a low down, deep-seated throbbing pulsed to life within her.
He growled. Actually growled. And tightened his hold on her. His kiss deepened until she was sure he was trying to devour her and Lilah was so afraid he wouldn’t.
She wanted more. Wanted to feel his hands on her. Wanted to slide, skin to skin and relish the experience of having Kevin Rogan be the man to finally broach her body’s last defenses.
She felt as though she’d been waiting all her life for this one moment. Here in the moonlight, with the patchy fog drifting like gossamer threads around them, she’d found the skyrockets that all the romance novels she’d ever read had promised.
The question was, what was she going to do about it?
Chapter Five
Reason pushed its way into his brain and instantly, Kevin released her and took a step back. His arms felt empty without her. He still had the taste of her in his mouth and he knew that had been a big mistake. And even knowing that, it was all he could do to keep from grabbing her again and having another taste.
He slapped one hand across the back of his neck and rubbed hard enough to scrape skin off. It didn’t help.
“Wow,” she said softly, her voice reaching out for him as surely as her scent did. “That was some kiss.”
“Yeah,” he muttered thickly and was more than grateful for the sporadic moonlight. In the darkness she wasn’t likely to see exactly how much he’d enjoyed that kiss. But he could for damn sure feel it. And the discomfort was enough to make his tone a little harsher than he would have liked. “I apologize,” he said formally. “That was out of line and—Look Lilah, it’d probably be best for both of us if we just forget that ever happened.”
Silence.
Oh man, she was probably ready to cuss him out, or punch him or best yet, he thought grimly, report this to her father. Great. Just what he needed. What had he been thinking? His Commanding Officer’s daughter. An engaged woman.
A nut.
In an instant, he saw the end of his career, or being transferred to some far-flung, ice-covered base, or being busted down to Private. There was no telling what she’d do once the shock wore off.
“I think my toes curled.”
He blinked. “What?”
“Seriously,” she said. “That was an amazing kiss, Gunnery Sergeant Rogan.”
“Thanks.” What else could he say? Hell, he should have known she wouldn’t react as he’d expected her to. Any sane woman would be either furious or—well, just furious. But then, he told himself, Lilah Forrest didn’t even dress sane.
“I mean to tell you,” she said, admiration clear in her voice, “you could give lessons.”
He didn’t speak. Didn’t trust himself to.
“Forget the Marines,” she added, “you could probably make a bundle being an escort.”
“What?”
“Just checking,” she said with a short laugh that sounded nearly as musical as the bells she wore on her wrist. “You were so quiet there for a minute, I thought maybe you were the first person to ever slip into a coma while standing up.”
“You’re out of your mind, you know that?” Big surprise there, he thought.
“Why?” she asked. “Because I didn’t kick you or run off to daddy to complain? Would you be happier if I was angry?”
“Well,” he said, “yeah. At least that I’d understand.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” she said and started walking toward home again.
He fell into step beside her.
Even without the fog, the air was damp and carried the scent of the ocean. Shadowy clouds scuttled across a black sky, covering and then displaying the stars as if some giant hand were playing hide-and-seek with diamonds.
“Not disappointed,” he said, weighing the words mentally before speaking them, “just…confused.”
“I don’t know why,” she said, drawing the edges of her sweater closer around her. “You kissed me, I kissed you and it was terrific.”
More than terrific, he thought, but didn’t say.
“And that’s it,” he said. “No big deal.”
She glanced up at him and in a snatch of moonlight, he saw the smile curving her delectable mouth. “If you want to run get a sword, I’ll fall on it for you.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he said tightly and wondered why in the hell it bothered him so much that she wasn’t bothered.
“Just what did you mean then?” she asked as they came up on the low, three-foot-high brick wall that surrounded the backyard of the Colonel’s house.
He grabbed the regulation cover off his head and ran the flat of one hand across the top of his high and tight haircut. For the first time in too many years to think about, he almost wished his hair was longer. At least then, he’d have something to grab hold of and yank.
“I don’t know what I meant. All I’m sure of is, I don’t get you at all.”
“Ah,” she said and he heard the smile in her voice. “The mystery that is Lilah Forrest.”
“You are that.”
“Because I didn’t swoon or run off screaming into the fog because of one kiss?” Lilah shook her head and stared up at him. Her knees had quit shaking and she was pretty sure her heart wasn’t going to climb out of her throat. But her stomach was still pitching and quivering with excitement and it felt as though every one of her nerve endings was standing up and shouting, “Ooh-rah!”
She shook her head. “If that’s the case, then you think either very highly of yourself or very little of me.”
“Neither,” he said. “You’re just…surprising, is all.”
