Maybe that wasn’t bad. It sure didn’t feel bad.
It felt incredibly good.
“But our first time together isn’t going to be in some shack.” That Mississippi drawl slipped in and around his words. “And we won’t be covered in blood and grime.” He sucked in a deep breath. “I know you deserve better than that.” He backed away from her. “But, Doc, to be safe, you better keep that sexy-as-sin mouth away from me, ’cause when I get your lips beneath mine, I lose control.”
He’d moved to the edge of the bed. She sat up next to him. Their linked hands were so close. We might as well be holding hands. Tina swallowed and tried to steady her breathing. “I didn’t think control was a problem for you.” Wasn’t he supposed to be the cold-blooded agent?
His fingers caught her chin, tilted her head back so that he stared into her eyes. “Don’t believe everything you hear.” A warning.
“I don’t.” Tina forced a smile. The tension was thick, and she ached. “If I did, I’d think I was Bruce Mercer’s daughter.”
His lips twitched again. His fingers fell away from her chin and he glanced toward the cuff on their wrists. His tentative smile faded. “Hell, you’re bruising.”
She looked down. The skin around the cuff was starting to turn dark. “It’s okay.” She’d always bruised easily.
He slid from the bed, pulling her with him. “The hell it is. Now that I’m not delirious from pain, I bet I can find something here to get that thing off you.”
Tina followed him. Actually bumped into him when he spun back around to face her.
“Don’t think it’s over,” he said, eyes sharp.
What?
His gaze searched hers. “A promise is a promise,” he murmured. Then he was heading toward the small table. She followed right beside him, wondering just what he was talking about.
“Making love, Doc. I’m talking about me and you, being naked on clean sheets and enjoying pleasure that lasts all night long.”
Oh, man, had she asked her question out loud?
Tina realized that her mouth was hanging open.
“Got it,” he said with a satisfied nod.
He had what looked like an old, thin, twisted piece of metal in his hand. It wasn’t any bigger than a bobby pin, and when he shoved it into the handcuff lock, Tina knew he hadn’t “got” anything.
“That’s not going to work,” she told him, clearing her throat because she was still thinking about...being naked on clean sheets and enjoying pleasure that lasts all night long.
So that was the promise he intended to keep.
“Sure it will work. Trust me. I learned to pick locks early on.”
“You did?” Stop focusing on being naked. She glanced up at his face. Drew wasn’t looking at her. He was concentrating on the lock. “Back before your Delta Force days?”
“Back in my screwed-up-kid days.” Said without any emotion. “My dad cut out on my mom and me. She had to work two jobs to cover me and my sisters.”
Sisters? Any family information was kept strictly confidential at the EOD.
“Guess you could say that I had a lot of anger about what was going on around me. Growing up dirt poor in Mississippi isn’t exactly an easy path. I was a mad kid, in the wrong part of town.”
The lock snicked. The cuff opened, freeing her wrist. He took care of the cuffs still on him then he lightly stroked the skin of her wrist. “I ran wild back then. Picked up some habits that I shouldn’t have.”
His touch felt so good on her skin. “I thought you were the one who always played by the rules.”
“These days, I try.” His gaze dropped to her mouth once more. “But sometimes there are some rules that I have to break.”
He was going to kiss her again. She wanted him to—
Drew’s head jerked to the left. Toward the broken window. “Hell. Company.”