“Instinctively, I want to kiss you.”
She smiled.
“But I’ve had that particular instinct for a long time now, and I’m not sure I should trust it.”
“You should trust it.”
His hands moved to her face, cradling it gently in his palms. “What about my other instincts?”
“You have other instincts?”
“To toss you down on the grass and ravish you in the moonlight.”
Want and need instantly cascaded through her, weakening her knees and robbing her of her breath. She wished it didn’t sound so tempting. There were a million complicated reasons to keep her distance from Travis, even if her own desires were screaming at her to ignore them.
She came up on her toes to meet him. “Let’s take it one instinct at a time.”
“Yes, ma’am.” His lips came down on hers, warm and firm, fueled with purpose and expectation.
One arm went around her waist, the other bracing the back of her head. She dropped her sandals and clung to his shoulders. Then she ran her hands through his hair, pressing her body against his, parting her lips and inviting the sweep of his tongue.
His kiss deepened, and she clung tighter, letting the sweep of arousal and desire flood through her. Leaves clattered above them. A blue glow surrounded them. The grass was cool on her feet, while Travis’s hot palm moved its way down her cheek, to her neck, to the bare shoulder revealed by her dress.
He stopped there, fingertips caressing against her skin.
He broke the kiss and pulled back, breathing deeply.
She had to blink the world back into focus.
“We have to stop now.” His tone was slightly ragged.
“I know.” She understood that they were playing with fire.
He stepped determinedly back, letting his hold drop away from her, putting space between them.
When he spoke again, his deep voice rumbled through her. “I guess that was inevitable.”
“Kissing me?”
He held her gaze in the dim light. “Well, that, too. But I was thinking it was inevitable that kissing you would be fantastic.”
Fantastic? She loved that word. Her skin glowed. Her lips tingled. Every inch of her body felt the sensual impact of Travis.
Still, fantastic didn’t quite do it justice.
Four
“T hat was fantastic,” Travis shouted to Corey as he clambered out of the dusty dune buggy in the parking lot of Desert High Rentals. He peeled off his crash helmet, calling again. “I think we’ve found a winner.”
Corey gave him the thumbs-up as he stepped away from his own tube-style, open-air vehicle. It had once been red, but now was plastered with dirt and debris from their twenty-mile race across the desert.
“It’s a toss-up between this and paintball,” said Corey.
The two men started toward the compact, white-painted building and the chain-link compound that held neat rows of rental dune buggies.
“I was trying to figure out if we’d have time to do both,” Travis added.
When Travis had called Corey this morning, Corey had quickly agreed to help out. So, they’d spent the day testing activities for the upcoming bachelor party.
Hot air ballooning had been a bust—too sedentary. Sky diving was another option, but they couldn’t count on everyone buying into that. They’d looked into bus and boat tours, and even gambling, but Travis was pretty sure thrills and adrenaline was the way to go.
A keg of beer, spicy, fried junk food and the Colorado Rockies game on the big screen at the Emperor Plaza’s Ace High Lounge was a given. Travis had booked it for the private party Friday night.
“How early will these guys be willing to get up?” Corey asked.
“They’re mostly cowboys. But I guess it depends on how it goes Thursday night—whether things stay down to a dull roar. Caleb’s pilot is flying everybody in around four.”
Thursday would be informal. They’d stop by a bar or two along the Strip, maybe play a little poker.
“Book paintball for the morning,” said Corey. “If they get blasted the night before, they can
She smiled.
“But I’ve had that particular instinct for a long time now, and I’m not sure I should trust it.”
“You should trust it.”
His hands moved to her face, cradling it gently in his palms. “What about my other instincts?”
“You have other instincts?”
“To toss you down on the grass and ravish you in the moonlight.”
Want and need instantly cascaded through her, weakening her knees and robbing her of her breath. She wished it didn’t sound so tempting. There were a million complicated reasons to keep her distance from Travis, even if her own desires were screaming at her to ignore them.
She came up on her toes to meet him. “Let’s take it one instinct at a time.”
“Yes, ma’am.” His lips came down on hers, warm and firm, fueled with purpose and expectation.
One arm went around her waist, the other bracing the back of her head. She dropped her sandals and clung to his shoulders. Then she ran her hands through his hair, pressing her body against his, parting her lips and inviting the sweep of his tongue.
His kiss deepened, and she clung tighter, letting the sweep of arousal and desire flood through her. Leaves clattered above them. A blue glow surrounded them. The grass was cool on her feet, while Travis’s hot palm moved its way down her cheek, to her neck, to the bare shoulder revealed by her dress.
He stopped there, fingertips caressing against her skin.
He broke the kiss and pulled back, breathing deeply.
She had to blink the world back into focus.
“We have to stop now.” His tone was slightly ragged.
“I know.” She understood that they were playing with fire.
He stepped determinedly back, letting his hold drop away from her, putting space between them.
When he spoke again, his deep voice rumbled through her. “I guess that was inevitable.”
“Kissing me?”
He held her gaze in the dim light. “Well, that, too. But I was thinking it was inevitable that kissing you would be fantastic.”
Fantastic? She loved that word. Her skin glowed. Her lips tingled. Every inch of her body felt the sensual impact of Travis.
Still, fantastic didn’t quite do it justice.
Four
“T hat was fantastic,” Travis shouted to Corey as he clambered out of the dusty dune buggy in the parking lot of Desert High Rentals. He peeled off his crash helmet, calling again. “I think we’ve found a winner.”
Corey gave him the thumbs-up as he stepped away from his own tube-style, open-air vehicle. It had once been red, but now was plastered with dirt and debris from their twenty-mile race across the desert.
“It’s a toss-up between this and paintball,” said Corey.
The two men started toward the compact, white-painted building and the chain-link compound that held neat rows of rental dune buggies.
“I was trying to figure out if we’d have time to do both,” Travis added.
When Travis had called Corey this morning, Corey had quickly agreed to help out. So, they’d spent the day testing activities for the upcoming bachelor party.
Hot air ballooning had been a bust—too sedentary. Sky diving was another option, but they couldn’t count on everyone buying into that. They’d looked into bus and boat tours, and even gambling, but Travis was pretty sure thrills and adrenaline was the way to go.
A keg of beer, spicy, fried junk food and the Colorado Rockies game on the big screen at the Emperor Plaza’s Ace High Lounge was a given. Travis had booked it for the private party Friday night.
“How early will these guys be willing to get up?” Corey asked.
“They’re mostly cowboys. But I guess it depends on how it goes Thursday night—whether things stay down to a dull roar. Caleb’s pilot is flying everybody in around four.”
Thursday would be informal. They’d stop by a bar or two along the Strip, maybe play a little poker.
“Book paintball for the morning,” said Corey. “If they get blasted the night before, they can
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