Final Surrender by Jennifer Kacey Page A

and very short, dark brown hair with a lean body, toned from his time with the Marines. His nerves were on edge and he ached for release. Damned if he wasn’t hoping Angela would be willing to help him out with that.
    His body reacted to hers like it was the last drink of water in the driest desert and he was so thirsty. Clay could see how he affected her as a shiver ran up her back.
    She stood in the arms of her date, who pulled her closer, quite certain a lucky night was in his future. For sure, her trembling body was for him and not for the man glaring at her across the gym.
    Angela swayed slowly to the music and her date turned her around. Her gaze that had been locked with Clay’s, finally broke.
    She blinked repeatedly and Clay slipped into the shadows, leaving it up to her whether she wanted to explore what they could have together.
    Watching her extricate herself from her date was like watching a tennis match. He seemed thrilled, shaken and then thrilled again as he kissed her cheek and then walked away. What the hell?
    Angela straightened her dress and started towards the door at an almost run. His heart actually skipped a beat, when he knew she searched for him. He had faced down the enemy from several different countries. He was as cool as a cucumber. Barely broke a sweat anymore. But one little eighteen-year-old girl…he shook in his boots.
    She almost pushed the door open to leave when he called her name from the dark corner of the gym.
    Her breath caught, stepping closer to the darkness, trying to shield her eyes with one of her hands at the same time.
    “Clay?” she asked, “Is that you?”
    He stepped into the dim light where she could barely see him. He didn’t say a word, but held a hand out to her.
    It took her eons to reach him. She placed her hand in his and he tugged her into the shadows behind the screen he had found when he walked in.
    “It’s been a long time, Angela.” His voice strained to keep level as he drank in her body. He spun her in a slow circle so he could see her up close.
    She was all grown up now and his hands ached to touch her.
    Slowly he pulled her into his arms and swayed her body to the music.
    “It’s been too long, Clay.” She laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck, weaving her fingers through his short hair. Tingles of sensation raced down his spine at her simple touch, and his cock surged to life, knowing he finally had his arms around the one he wanted.
    As the music stopped for a minute, Clay whispered harshly, “How’d you ditch your date? He looked eager to continue the evening?”
    Angela smiled, rolled her eyes and looked up into his hard features. “Wasn’t he the same guy I had to drag you away from last time?” he questioned.
    His eyebrows pulled down into a scowl when she answered. “Yes, it’s the same guy. And I told him that his ex-girlfriend wanted a night to remember. That is how I freed up my dance card so quickly.”
    He could tell there was something she didn’t say, but he drew her close again moving to the music. Angela wound her arms around his waist and ran her hands up his back. Her body moved against his, and he had to grind his teeth together to keep from sighing at the heat of her skin. She was smooth as silk and smelled like a bouquet of wildflowers. His hands ran along the fabric of her dress at her hips, clenching it subconsciously as he rubbed his cock, straining for freedom, back and forth across her abdomen.
    “I’ve missed you,” Angela whispered in the darkness. She sounded out of breath, and he was glad he’d come for her tonight. His heart beat against her cheek when he thought about the possibilities of having her alone.
    He wrapped his arms tighter around her body. “I expected to come back and find you madly in love with some guy. I could walk away, knowing I did the right thing.”
    Angela turned her head, searching his face for something.
    “Disappointed?” Her voice was harsh,