"Five minutes, Jessie. I'm only staying with you for five minutes. "
He grimaced over the sound of his voice.
She obviously wasn't upset by his gruff manner. She scooted against
him, until her back was pressed against his chest and her bottom
cuddled his groin.
A cold sweat broke out on his brow. This was hell, he decided, to be
so near the woman he craved and not be able to touch her. His only
saving grace was the thought that it couldn't possibly get any worse.
He was wrong about that. She wiggled against him and a bolt of white
hot longing shot through him.
"Don't move, " he ordered. "Just go to sleep." Evidently unaffected
by his harshness, she reached up to grab hold of his hand and pull his
arm around her waist. He couldn't stop himself from tightening his
hold and snuggling closer. His hand rested beneath the swell of her
breasts, and all he had to do was spread his fingers and touch her soft
. . .
The erotic picture was interrupted when she tried to turn in his
arms.
He had promised her five minutes. He must have been out of his mind,
but he had given his word, and so he began to count off the seconds.
Heaven help him, if he lasted one full minute without kissing her, he
figured he could last a lifetime.
He wanted a lifetime with her.
The admission stunned him. He realized he'd been ignoring the truth
for a long time, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he'd known, and
accepted. He could even name the moment he knew he loved her. It was
when that bastard, Johnson, was on the roof with his rifle trying to
kill her. Cole had never felt such rage before. As he raced toward
her, thinking he wouldn't be able to get to her in time, the
possibility of losing her had scared the hell out of him. In the
aftermath, he'd been so shaken with fear, he'd reacted with anger, not
love.
If this was true love, he wanted no part of it. Yet he didn't want to
ever let go of her.
It seemed the most natural thing in the world for him to kiss her
shoulder, the side of her neck, her ear. He kept telling himself to
stop this torment, but his senses were already responding. She smelled
so good and felt so soft.
Had five minutes gone by? Maybe she'd gone to sleep, he thought
desperately, and he clung to that hope like a man hanging from a rope
on the side of a cliff.
She tried to turn in his arms again. "Don't move, " he whispered.
"I want to kiss you good night." His heart soared at her shyly
whispered request. "No, " he snapped.
"Please? " He sighed into her hair. "If you kiss me, I swear I won't
stop. Now leave me alone and go to sleep." He made a mockery of his
own ultimatum by nuzzling her neck again. He loved the feel of her
skin against his mouth. He loved the little sound she made in the back
of her throat, like a gasp but not quite.