“Just like that? You’ll deal with them?” He didn’t miss the twinge of sarcasm in her voice. “That doesn’t seem like much of a plan.”
His mouth quirked. “Coming from a woman who’s made her living walking into dangerous situations when most rational people wouldn’t, you should appreciate when someone doesn’t overthink things. If they show up, I’ll let my instincts and training dictate how I react. Thinking too much about things like that ahead of time would just slow my reaction time.”
She picked up the plates and carried them over to the sink. “I usually don’t have much of a plan when I walk into those situations because I’m lousy at thinking too far ahead.”
“Maybe I don’t like to think too far ahead myself. Perhaps there are times I prefer to just be in the moment.”
She came over and leaned her hip against the edge of the table. She was so close they were nearly touching. “And is right now one of those times?”
He moved one hand over until his forefinger was able to gently caress her hand where it rested on the table. “Yeah, I think now might be one of those times.”
Her lips curved. “Then maybe you’d like to be in the moment over on the couch?”
“The couch would be nice.”
He followed her over to the sectional piled high with a crazy amount of pillows. Mackenzie shoved a bunch of them aside, making room for them both. When he sat down next to her, she immediately turned to face him, pulling her knees up so she was sitting cross-legged. The move was so casual it was hard to understand why he found it so sexual. Maybe because it was such a confident and relaxed pose.
Or maybe it was because the position provided a view of a tantalizing expanse of inner thigh.
“What should we talk about, now that we’re in the moment?” she breathed.
There was some tiny part of him—the part that agreed with Mike and Xander about his needing to be on guard around her—that warned him he was on dangerous ground. But he ignored that part and instead listened to the one that’d known this moment was coming from the second Mackenzie Stone had stepped into the operations vehicle.
“I’m fine with not talking at all.”
She smiled. “Works for me.”
Gage leaned forward at the exact moment Mackenzie did. He absently wondered how that could be comfortable with her legs crossed like that, but she was clearly very flexible. He was still pondering the potential benefits of being that flexible when their lips met. There weren’t any fireworks or sparks, or any of that silly stuff young werewolves insisted happened when you kissed The One.
But that didn’t mean kissing her wasn’t amazing.
Gage slipped his tongue into her mouth, teasing hers to come out and play. Mackenzie was more than willing, even moaning a little as their tongues tangled. He slid his hand into her hair, growling as he pulled her closer. She tasted so damn good. Like strawberries on a hot summer day, only sweeter.
Mackenzie pulled away with a husky laugh. “Never had a man growl while he kissed me before. I think I like it.”
Reminding himself to keep his inner wolf in check, Gage tugged her close, trailing kisses from her mouth all the way down her neck and back up again. Mackenzie’s heart was beating out of control, thudding in his ears. Her pheromones filled his nose, evidence of her arousal.
Mackenzie slowly and sensually uncoiled from her cross-legged position and straddled his lap. His hands slid down her back to rest on her hips. He could barely think, much less maintain control. And it only got worse when she started grinding against his hard-on. He swore he could feel the warmth of her pussy through his uniform pants. He couldn’t believe how badly he wanted to let his claws slip out so he could rip off her tank top and shorts and eat her up.
Gage didn’t know how he managed to keep it together. But he had to—he had to protect his pack. He wanted to think Mackenzie was focused more on him than the story she was chasing, but he couldn’t be sure. Until he knew for certain his pack wasn’t in danger of being exposed, he couldn’t afford to let himself be distracted by her searing-hot kisses, soft skin, or enticing curves.
That was easier said than done. Resisting her would have been hard as hell if he’d been a normal man, but he was a werewolf, which meant he had to battle the added temptation of her arousal, too. The scent engulfed him, making it hard to remember the reason he couldn’t lose himself in her.
It took everything he had to stop her when she reached down to grab the hem of her tank top. He couldn’t go that far and still stay in control.
She blinked liked she was confused. He knew the feeling. “Don’t you want to?”