“I ran into an old friend,” he said after several bites form his plate. “Justin Carpenter. I’ve known him for years. I asked him to be best man.”
“I wondered who you would ask,” she responded, pleased.
“I would have asked Neal but he’s going on a mission.” Regret seemed to flash in his eyes but disappeared so fast Laurie thought she imagined it.
She smiled. “What did you do while you were gone?”
“Discharge only took a couple of days,” he said. “But there were other things to take care of. I arranged to have my stuff shipped to your place. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Why would I mind? It’ll save you a trip to pick it up some place else.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”
“Presumptuous?” she echoed, puzzled. “Why would you hesitate to send your stuff to the place you’re going to live?”
“Well…” He stopped and grinned. “I guess it was stupid to worry about it. Do you have room in your office for another computer?”
Her lips twitched. “I think we can figure something out.”
ALWAYS A WARRIOR Patricia Bruening
109
They finished dinner and the wine amid light-hearted conversation, lingering glances and touches, and then drove home in pleasant silence. Despite the awkwardness of bucket seats, she leaned close to him, her hand resting on his thigh. Once the car reached highway speed, Damien took his hand off the gearshift, slid his arm across her shoulders, and held her as close as possible. As her lashes lowered, she let her mind drift languorously during the smooth ride home.
When Damien parked in her driveway and shut off the engine, she opened her eyes and peered drowsily at him. He turned his head, leaned over, and dropped a light kiss on her mouth.
After a pleasant, intimate evening, just that simple caress of his lips on hers ignited a fire in her.
She tangled her fingers in his hair and held him, her lips moving seductively under his.
He froze. Squirming closer, she boldly traced her tongue over his lips until he fisted a hand in her hair and kissed her with that familiar drugging intensity. He parted her lips with the conquering thrust of his tongue and she let out an utterly feminine groan of need. His eyes gleamed hot and hungry when he finally pulled back and looked down at her.
“Inside,” he suggested huskily.
Her lips curved in a wickedly enticing smile. She slid her hand over his chest, flicking buttons in a teasing gesture. He clamped his hand over hers and stopped her strokes.
“Keep that up and I’ll forget where we are,” he growled, his mouth hovering just above hers.
“Never had sex in a car before?” she teased, flexing her fingers under his hand.
“Not since I was a teenager,” he muttered thickly and tightened his grip on her hand.
She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and jerked him closer.
“I want you,” she whispered. Her lips grazed his with every word. He swallowed hard but gently removed her hand from his shirt and stared steadily into her eyes.
“I’m not a kid anymore,” he stated, tender but firm as his eyes stayed on hers. “I’m not making love to you in this car like a guilty horny teenager hiding from my girl’s parents.” He gave her an unrepentant grin. “Race you to the house.”
Thus challenged, Laurie fumbled with the door handle until she shoved the door open. On a burst of playful excitement, she jumped out of the car and kicked the door shut. The sharp thud barely penetrated the roar of blood in her ears. Damien beat her to the front door, opened it, and pulled her in with him. He turned but she darted past him and up the stairs. Chuckling, he followed but let her beat him to the bedroom. He closed that door behind him then leaned negligently against it, watching her.
Heart thudding rapidly, she looked back at him and wondered what he was waiting for.
But he only watched her, his gaze stormy and unrelenting.
Abruptly and inexplicably nervous, she shot a haphazard glance around the brightly lit bedroom. He straightened slowly off the door and moved, slow and steady, toward her. As she read his intentions in those dark stormy eyes, dark thrills spiraled through her. He plowed his fingers into her hair and tugged gently so she remained caught in his gaze.
“Now,” he said softly.
Dangerous hunger glittered in his eyes. She swallowed hard but shivered in the fierce grip of anticipation. His fingers combed through her hair, his palms sliding over her shoulders as he smoothed the straps of her dress aside. She tugged her arms free of her dress. His hands worked thrilling magic on her flushed skin. The lower edge of his palms pushed emerald silk further down. In a scant second, only her strapless bra, thin enough to see through, covered her breasts. He swept his thumb over her rigid nipples as if the thin swatch of silk didn’t exist.