When Kyle realized it was Hicks, he took the phone and had a terse conversation with the cop before terminating the call and handing her phone back, his expression grim. "You're not going back until whoever broke in is in custody."
"If they can catch him." She'd reached her limit for the night. She felt cold and shaky and couldn't seem to stop the tremor in her hands.
"Hicks is no slug. He's a member of the Armed Offenders Squad-he knows what he's doing."
She rubbed at her arms, which suddenly felt chilled, and couldn't keep the grumpiness out of her voice. "How do you know this stuff?"
"Quite a few former SAS end up in the AOS." He stopped. "Are you all right?"
She tried for a smile. "Of course."
"You don't look it."
A split second later she was in his arms, his hold loose enough that she could pull free if she wanted. As if sensing her tension, or more probably realizing that she was actually shaking, he wrapped her more tightly against him.
Eva took a deep breath, soaking in the burning heat that seemed to blast from Kyle as the horrible tension that had crept up on her finally began to unravel. "I guess that's what they call delayed shock. Interesting."
"You can be sure that whoever broke in to your house won't do it again," Kyle said coldly. "I'll make sure of it."
The soft, flat statement sent an electrifying shiver down her spine, and she had a moment to feel sorry for whoever it was who had broken into her house. She tilted her head back and met Kyle's gaze, and just like that her decision was made. Kyle was a powerful, in-control kind of guy, and right now that was exactly what she needed. She would probably regret it, but for better or worse she was going to marry him.
Kyle loosened off his hold slightly. "What is it?"
She drew a deep breath. "You were showing me to my room."
"You can have your own room, or you can share mine. Your choice."
She held his gaze unblinkingly. "Your room."
A hot pang went through her as he cupped her chin and bent his head, giving her plenty of time to pull free if she didn't want the kiss, and abruptly that was the final reassurance she needed. Kyle had already proved that he would never push her where she didn't want to go. Her heart slammed against the wall of her chest as his mouth settled on hers.
Eleven years ago, kissing Kyle had been the angst-filled, desperate risk of a teenager. Now it was an adult reaching for something that had been missing for more years than she cared to count, a hunger for warmth and closeness and for the no-holds-barred intimacy of making love.
Another long, drugging kiss later and she found herself being maneuvered through the door to Kyle's room and walked back in the direction of the bed. But when Kyle tried to pull free, she coiled her arms around his neck, lifted up and kissed him again.
With a groan he pulled her close. He kissed her, his mouth firm, the feel of his muscled body pressed against hers, the shape of his arousal, the taste of him making her head spin. Another long, heated kiss and she felt her zipper open and the straps of her dress slide from her shoulders. "I'm still sticky and grainy from the beach."
"We can have a shower. Later." As her bra released, she tugged at the buttons of his shirt, dragging it open, but had to stop when he bent and took one breast into his mouth.
Her breath caught in her throat as a heated, aching tension gathered in the pit of her stomach. Somewhere in the distance she heard the lonely sound of a night bird, almost swamped by the slow sound of rain starting on the roof. She arched restlessly against Kyle's mouth, needing something more, but at that point he lifted his head and she felt the soft brush of the bed at the back of her knees. Sliding her hand down over the hard muscle of his abs, she found the top button of his pants, fumbled it open and dragged the zipper down.
Kyle's breath caught audibly, his hand stayed hers. Gaze locked with his, she lifted up and kissed him again. Attempting to step out of her shoes mid-kiss, she wavered off balance and ended up tumbling back on the bed. Kyle sprawled heavily, half on top of her, but when he would have moved, she wound her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his dark, silky hair and pressed herself against him.
Acting on impulse, she closed her teeth over the lobe of his ear.
Kyle's fingers closed around her wrists, his breath mingled with hers. "Babe, you don't know what you're-"
"Yes. I do." Dizzy with delight at the feminine power she had over Kyle, stunned by the sensations cascading through her and the careful way he held her close as if he truly cared for her, she kissed him again.
She felt his swiftly indrawn breath. "This time we're doing it right."
He disentangled himself and obtained a foil packet from his bedside table. After sheathing himself, he returned to the bed. A split second later, his weight came down on hers.
He cupped her face. "Are you sure you want to do this again?"
She lifted up for his kiss. "Why would there be a problem?"
She felt the scrape of lace as he peeled her panties down her legs, then his thighs parted hers. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's been a while since you've done this."
She hesitated, on the brink of telling him that before tonight she had never "done this," but then a quiet, instinctive caution gripped her. She had already given more of herself, and agreed to more, than she had planned. The urge to protect herself now was knee-jerk. Confessing that until tonight she had been a virgin would lay bare too much.
This time their lovemaking was more leisurely as he took his time kissing her, cupping her breasts and at the same time encouraging her to explore. Just when she thought she couldn't take much more play, she felt the press of him between her legs. Automatically, she shifted to accommodate him.
This time their joining was smoother, easier. She heard his indrawn breath, then his mouth came down on hers and he began to move and the heated tension turned molten.
Long minutes later, Kyle gently disengaged himself and rolled to one side, taking her with him.
There was a small vibrating silence. "The condom slipped the first time, but that's never happened before, so there's no risk of STDs" He propped himself up on one elbow. "But you also should have told me you haven't made love for a while."
She studied the stubbled line of his jaw, and the resolve not to reveal just how vulnerable she was with all things sexual settled in. She ran her palm over the damp skin of his chest, and evaded his gaze. "There wasn't exactly much time for conversation."
He cupped one breast, the intimate touch sending a tingling thrill through her. "It would have been good to know. We could have done things...differently."
She shivered as he dipped down and took her nipple in his mouth, her eyes closing as the heated, coiling tension started all over again. She tried to think, but her brain was fast becoming scrambled. "How, exactly?"
"I would have taken a whole lot more time."
Her eyes flipped open at the way his voice cooled, as if he was remembering the mishap with the condom. She summoned as much confidence as she could. "There won't be a baby."
Although the gravity of what had happened came back to hit her full force. The plain fact was that because she hadn't been sexually active, she didn't know a lot about where in her cycle was the optimum time to get pregnant. She had never before needed to keep track of her ovulation. She knew roughly when her period was, but that was about it. If by some remote chance she did get pregnant... But that wouldn't happen, she thought grimly, she would make sure of it. She would make an appointment to see her doctor tomorrow and get a morning-after pill.
And arrange contraception.
The decision made, she forced herself to relax about the whole issue of pregnancy. There was nothing she could do until the morning. "I'm sorry we didn't have a conversation before we made love, but I thought if we stopped you might...leave." She lifted up, pressing against his chest, and boldly rolled on top. "It's not as if you haven't done that before."
He tangled his hands in her hair, grinned lazily and pulled her mouth down to his. "You must be talking about leaving, since we've never made love before."
He kissed her and she felt him stir against her stomach. He rolled until they were lying comfortably sprawled, side by side.
It occurred to Eva that she had never felt so relaxed or so comfortable with a man, and she went still inside at the stunning thought that since Kyle didn't want kids then maybe, just maybe, he was the perfect man for her?