and tight enough to wrap around hers with no space between them. The
fist of want in her belly tightened, and she dashed outside, welcoming
the blast of cold wind and icy snow. The storm had picked up. Two
inches of wet powder covered the parking lot. No cars passed on the
two-lane. The road remained unplowed.
After tossing the detritus into the open maw of the dented blue
Dumpster tucked behind the end of the building, she ran back along the
row of darkened rooms. She stamped her feet to clear the snow from her
boots and jumped inside their room, shutting the cold night outside.
Wes stood in the middle of the room with a towel cinched above
her breasts, leaving her upper chest, sculpted shoulders, and a lot of
thigh exposed. A sliver of light slanted through the partially open
bathroom door behind her, highlighting her strong curves and sinewy
planes. The red-green glow of the motel sign flickered through the
open slats on the blinds hanging on the single window beside the door,
leaving Wes’s face mostly in shadow. Evyn flashed again on the picture
of Wes wrapped around her, nothing between them. Her skin tingled
and heat flooded her core.
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“Better?” Evyn backpedaled until her ass hit the wall. She couldn’t
read much in Wes’s face, but she bet hers was easy to decipher. She’d
had more control when she was fifteen than she did now.
“Yes,” Wes said. “How is it outside?”
“Snowing pretty heavy.” Evyn couldn’t move. Couldn’t take her
eyes from Wes’s face.
“Your hair is wet.” Wes took a step closer, ran her fingers through
the hair at Evyn’s temples. “You should’ve put the hood up.”
Evyn laughed shakily and rubbed her hair with a hand. “I thought
I could outrun the snowflakes.”
Wes laughed. “Why does that not surprise me? Do all federal
agents think they’re capable of superhuman feats?”
“Only the ones who are, like me.” Evyn grinned, watching the
smile reach Wes’s eyes. She loved making her smile. Still, she looked
strained, as if she’d been pulling doubles for a week. “How are you
really feeling?”
Wes shrugged. “Like I had a really long day. Nothing some sleep
won’t cure. I’m not that out of practice working twenty-four on—I still
cover the ER pretty regularly.”
“Yeah, but you aren’t usually physically accosted in the ER.”
“I wasn’t today either,” Wes said gently. “I took a header off the
boat—none too proud of that actually. I should have ducked. I saw it
coming.”
“For how long—a second?” Evyn shook her head. “You never had
a chance.”
“And neither did you.” Wes brushed a loose curl away from the
corner of Evyn’s mouth. “You must have hit the water pretty hard to
bruise your face.”
“You hit a lot harder.” A pulse beat rapidly in Wes’s throat,
matching the crazy rhythm of Evyn’s heart. Evyn started to sweat. Wes
was inches away. She wanted to touch her. “You should get dressed
before you get chilled again.”
“You should get undressed before you end up the same way.”
Wes reached out and unzipped the windbreaker. “I left a little hot
water. You need it?”
“I’m good,” Evyn said, never having made a less true statement in
her life. She didn’t know what she was, but it wasn’t good. Turned on,
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desperate to ease the shadows Wes couldn’t quite hide, aching to hold
her. “Wes, I—”
“I want to get one thing clear,” Wes said.
Evyn drew up short. Here it came. The no-fraternization-at-work
speech. Her own rule, the one she should have been remembering, and
the one she forgot every time Wes was within a mile of her. “You don’t
need to say anything. I agree with you.”
Wes’s eyebrows shot up. The corner of her mouth lifted. “Do you?
I didn’t realize you were psychic as well as superhuman.”
“Another big bad federal agent skill,” Evyn said as nonchalantly
as she could manage. “Always a bad idea to complicate a working
relationship. No need to go there.”
“You’re right, we do agree.” Wes’s tone was soft and serious, but
her eyes were partly amused. “Although I was going to say that what
happened out there this afternoon was an accident. No one could have
predicted it. No matter who set up the exercise, no one was at fault for
that cable snapping and me going overboard.”
A hot surge of embarrassment flooded Evyn’s belly. Hell, she
couldn’t have been more wrong about what Wes had intended to say,
and now she’d tipped her hand and probably made a fool of herself. “I
won’t argue. Obviously I can’t win.”
“It’s not about winning.” Wes stroked the backs of her fingers over
Evyn’s cheek, just beneath the bruise. “How about just believing it?”
Wes’s mouth was so close, all Evyn could do was watch her lips
move and struggle to make sense of what she was saying. Her mind
heard the words but her body translated them into something else.
Want, desire, an unfamiliar need. “Wes. I’m a little off balance here.”
“I know.” Wes’s voice was barely above a whisper. “So am I.”
Evyn went completely still.
“You saved my life today and I’m grateful. I know you were doing
your job, and I would’ve done the same.” Wes watched the muscles
along Evyn’s jaw tighten. Evyn didn’t like being thanked for doing what
came naturally—and for what she saw as her responsibility. Wes got
that—she felt the same. But she was grateful—not for being saved from
drowning, but for a warm sure hand in the cold dark night, anchoring
her when she’d thought she might lose her way. For the silent assurance
that she would conquer her demons and come out the other side of the
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tunnel whole. Evyn had faith in her—and had offered her a shoulder
when she’d needed to lean without once making her feel weak. She
was much more than grateful—she was soothed in a place she’d never
known she was hurt. “And just so you know, this isn’t about that.”
“What?” Evyn’s eyes were huge blue lakes filled with questions.
Wes had only one answer. She leaned forward and kissed her.
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chapter twenty-One
Evyn didn’t know what to do with her hands. Wes had just
kissed her, and now Wes was inches away, covered in nothing
but a towel. She could easily pluck the cotton aside and pull Wes’s hot
naked body in tight against her. With a little subtle dip and turn, she’d
have Wes against the door and she’d be back in control again. She’d
made that move a time or two—Seduction 101.
She didn’t do anything, not even breathe. She just stood there
with their lips softly touching, her head whirling, her heart threatening
to explode inside her rib cage. Whatever this was, she didn’t want to
chang
e a thing. She’d been kissed before, but this wasn’t like any kiss
she’d ever experienced. She knew about kisses—she was usually the
one doing the kissing. Sometimes kisses were an exploration, feelers
sent out to judge the wind direction, the water temperature, the chances
for more than just a kiss. Sometimes they were a warm-up for the real
contest—a stretch of muscles, a quick glance around the field, a mental
review of the game plan. A kiss was never just a kiss but always a
step toward something more. A brief stop on the way to the ultimate
goal. Everything in her life was a goal to be achieved, a game to be
won—even sex. Always, she needed to be the best. She took the lead
whenever she could; she was a front-runner. The fastest way to come
out on top was to always be on top—metaphorically or otherwise.
Tonight, she was totally without game. She couldn’t see the
playing field through a fog of desire more heady than any she’d ever
experienced. She’d given up the lead without even knowing she had
entered the race. Wes was in total control, something she’d never
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allowed since she was old enough to get around on her own two feet. In
her home, in her world, competition was king. Everything from dinner-
table conversation to backyard catch was a challenge. She’d been team
captain on just about every sport she’d ever played, was at the top of
every class, and only took orders on the job because she knew it was the
quickest way to achieve a position to give the orders herself. Whatever
game she played, she played to win. And here she was, following,
without a plan, with no freaking idea what she was doing.
Wes’s mouth moved away and she wanted to whimper. Hell, she
did whimper.
“Now would be a good time to breathe,” Wes murmured, her lips
skimming Evyn’s as she spoke.
“I don’t think I need to,” Evyn whispered. “I think your kiss might
be all that’s required.”
Wes laughed and kissed her again. A little bit firmer this time.
More certain. Wes’s confidence grew and Evyn lost her grip. Still
their bodies remained separated. The few inches of air between them
vibrated through Evyn’s clothes and into the heart of her. Wes’s lips
were smooth and hot, lush and full. Evyn eased the tip of her tongue
forward, seeking just a tiny taste. When she did, Wes moaned deep in
her throat and Evyn’s muscles turned to jelly. She sagged against the
wall, a groan unlike any she’d ever made escaping her throat. Then
Wes’s hands were on her shoulders, pinning her in place.
“Is this all right?” Wes asked, her mouth on Evyn’s throat.
“Oh yeah,” Evyn said. “Really, really all right.” She grasped
Wes’s waist, holding her lightly, careful not to disrupt the cotton-towel
barrier between them. Wes would take it off if she wanted, and if she
didn’t… I’ll probably die. Beneath her fingers, Wes’s body was firm and
strong, like her. Evyn ached to touch more. “But what exactly is this
we’re doing?”
“Had to do it,” Wes muttered, kissing her way down Evyn’s throat.
She’d reached for Evyn thinking she knew what she would find—
strength and understanding. She’d been right, but there was so much
more. So much more than she’d ever dreamed. Evyn tasted like winter—
sharp and tangy—and underneath the wild rush, a sweetness like the
promise of spring. Evyn’s pulse raced beneath Wes’s mouth, vibrating
with power, drawing her deeper into the mystery that was Evyn. She’d
never in her life taken a step she hadn’t planned, and rarely, even in the
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midst of an emergency, made a decision when she hadn’t anticipated
the outcome. Now she was flying blind. Evyn felt too good, sounded
too beautiful to turn from while she analyzed, deduced, outlined, and
planned. “Don’t know what’s happening, but I can’t stop.”
Evyn tilted her head back against the wall, giving herself to Wes’s
mouth. “Then don’t. Please, don’t.”
“There’s something you should know,” Wes murmured, pushing
the jacket down Evyn’s arms. She got distracted by the warm, soft skin
at the base of Evyn’s throat and left the jacket tethering Evyn’s wrists
behind her. “I love the way you taste.”
“Your mouth is so hot.” Evyn rolled her head restlessly from side
to side. “You make me burn.”
Wes pulled at the jacket, got it off somehow, and pushed Evyn’s
T-shirt up her torso—searching for flesh. She slid her palm over Evyn’s
belly and gasped at the quick contraction of muscles beneath her
fingers. She loved feeling Evyn’s body respond to her touch. She traced
the edge of Evyn’s abdominals with her fingertips, over and over. Evyn
bowed under her hand. So beautiful. “You might have to help me out.”
“Doing fine so far,” Evyn said thickly.
“I’m getting into unknown territory here.” Wes lowered to her
knees and kissed the strip of skin above Evyn’s jeans. Hot, silky skin.
She sucked lightly and eased both hands higher, grazing the undersides
of Evyn’s breasts. She’d touched thousands of bodies, but never like
this. Never like this.
“God, Wes,” Evyn gasped. “You make me feel so good.”
“I want to touch you everywhere.”
“Yes, yes.”
Wes looked up. Evyn was watching her, her lids hooded, her eyes
hazy. Her lips were slightly parted, a little swollen. Her breasts rose and
fell rapidly. She had done this to her—she had stirred Evyn’s body with
her touch. A wave of awe and power rushed through her and her head
Evyn smiled crookedly. “Neither have I.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Evyn’s hands came into her hair. “Just keep doing it.”
Wes rose and pulled the towel from her body. She dropped it on
the floor and pressed full-length against Evyn. She kissed her again,
deeper, seeking the heat she knew would warm her beyond the icy
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reach of the water and the terror of the dark and the years of solitude.
She pulled back. “You make me warm.”
Evyn laughed. “I want to make you hot.”
“That too.”
“I’d have a better chance if we were in bed.”
“I’ve never done this before.”
The blood rushed from Evyn’s head and her stomach tightened.
“Okay. Well. That’s really scary, because you’re really, really good.
If it’s all right with you, I’d like you to just keep doing exactly what
you’re doing.”
“So would I.”
Evyn took Wes’s hand and tugged her toward the bed. “I want to
touch you all over too. With my hands. With my mouth. Can I?”
“Yes. Please. Anything.”
Evyn finally let herself look at Wes. At all of her. She’d been wrong,
in her fantasy. Wes was far more beautiful than she’d imagined—her
skin a tawny gold, her nipples small tan disk
s, every muscle sensuous
and smooth. “You’re gorgeous.”
“Can we take your clothes off?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot that.” Evyn met Wes’s eyes. Now was the time
for her to take back control, to lead as she always had. To pleasure from
a safe distance. “Why don’t you undress me.” She held her breath and
willed her legs to keep her upright.
“This isn’t me,” Wes murmured, opening the top button of Evyn’s
jeans. Her fingers trembled. Her hands never shook, not even when she
was sliding an intravenous needle into the only remaining vein on some
trauma victim, knowing if she missed, she’d lose him.
Evyn’s fingers curled around Wes’s wrists, gently stilling her.
“Then maybe you should take a minute.”
Wes looked up so Evyn could see what she knew must be in her
eyes—wonder, desire, need. “I’m sorry, I said that wrong. This is more
me than anything I’ve ever experienced—I’ve just never done anything
without knowing what would happen next. I feel like I’m walking off
a cliff.”
“Let’s fall together, then.” Evyn threaded her fingers into Wes’s
hair and tugged her mouth close. The kiss was hot, urgent, hungry. “Oh
yeah.”
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The need kindling in Wes’s stomach burst into flame and she
grabbed Evyn’s shirt and pulled it up and off. “I want you under my
hands.”
Evyn moaned. She was as tremulous as a virgin, and her first
time was so long ago she didn’t remember—but she knew it’d never
been like this. She’d never wanted so much to be taken, needed to give
herself so completely. “Hurry.”
“I don’t want to,” Wes muttered, her mouth against Evyn’s chest.
She kissed the slope of Evyn’s breast, brushed her cheek over the tight
peak of her nipple. Evyn moaned again and Wes shook inside. She took
a nipple into her mouth and pushed down on Evyn’s jeans.
Evyn’s hands clenched in her hair. “That’s so good. God, Wes, I
need you to make me come.”
Wes’s heart leaped into her throat. She couldn’t breathe around the
swell of desire, and she didn’t care. She’d live without air as long as she
could taste Evyn. She shoved Evyn’s jeans lower. “Off. Get these off.”
Evyn braced her hands on Wes’s shoulders and kicked her boots
and pants aside. She pushed Wes back onto the bed. “More. I want