His To Protect. Karen Rock

how many more are there?” A throaty growl had entered his voice, an impatient sound, a hunger he couldn’t hide behind some teasing word game.

      “Just one.”

      He kept his eyes on the bouncers setting up a row of chairs on the emptying dance floor. Forced his focus off her tongue as she swiped at the salt on the rim of her glass.

      “You’ve got me on the edge of my seat here,” he admitted, thinking more time with Cassie could make the hours between now and the next mission disappear.

      Better yet, she might make those hours better than just bearable. He hadn’t allowed himself that kind of pleasure since...

      A stab of pain behind his eyes reminded him exactly how long it had been. To the day. The hour.

      She reached out a hand and covered his wrist.

      “You okay?” The flirtatious look had vanished, making him realize he’d be an ass to walk away from this chance to exorcise a few demons tonight.

      “I could be better,” he started, ready to detail exactly how.

      But just then the damn DJ stepped forward and the crowd hushed. “Ladies, it’s time to grab a partner for our lap dance contest. The longer you keep from touching your male dancer, the longer the couple stays in. The woman with the most—er—control, takes home this magnum of champagne...and your man.”

      The guy hefted a bottle larger than his head.

      Cassie lifted her eyebrows in question. Almost as if to ask him if that kind of game was a possibility. Something about her expression made his lower abs contract with swift, fierce need. Was she teasing him? He had a sudden urge to discover where she drew the line with this flirtation.

      While the crowd responded to the DJ’s provocation, he flipped his hand so he was holding Cassie’s.

      “So what’s that last category?” he pressed.

      He squinted at her until her cheeks pinked and she squirmed. He wanted to haul her out of the bar and back to his room, where he could lose himself in that incredible body and mind-numbing sex.

      But even if he was the type for casual hookups, something about her didn’t speak of one-night stands...despite her flirting. Maybe it was the pain tucked in the corners of her laughing eyes, the way her smiles slid off her face too fast, as if they rarely stuck. He was having a tough time reading her.

      “It’s one I’m not prepared to judge just yet.” Her words were breathless.

      He could feel the thrum of her pulse where he held her hand, the pace a rapid tattoo of nerves or excitement. Or something more.

      “Now I’m even more curious.” He slid a thumb along the heart of her palm and imagined himself touching other parts of her that same way. With slow, lazy circles. “You can at least tell me what you would be critiquing.”

      Her blues met and held his. No innocence there now. Only heat and daring.

      “Sexual prowess.” She drew out the words like a long caress.

      His whole body hardened like new-forged steel and just as hot.

      They stared at each other across the table, the noisy world of the bar full of lap dancers not even a blip on his radar. He breathed in when Cassie exhaled, their shared air as hot as any kiss he’d ever tasted.

      “You ready to cut out of here?” he asked, his voice low and his restraint disappearing.

      He wanted nothing more than to drive her wild and fill her head with enough sexy dreams to satisfy her for the rest of the night. He tossed bills on the table, never taking his eyes off her.

      She squeezed his hand. “I thought you’d never ask.”

2

      LIVE A LITTLE?

      Cassie cursed herself as she followed the tall, gorgeous stranger through the bar and out a side door that led onto the beach. Surely this was going too far, playing teasing games with a man she hardly knew after inviting herself to share his table. “Live a little” didn’t mean she should allow some alien consciousness to inhabit her body and make her say crazy, sexually charged things. Where the hell was her sense? Her reliable Midwestern restraint? The second-guessing?

      But as she gripped Mark’s hand and allowed the warmth of his touch to seep into her skin, she couldn’t deny that he inspired something hot and raw inside her. An edgy, hungry feeling she’d never experienced before. What was it about him that made her take risks? Flirt wildly? Follow him out onto the beach...alone.

      The funny part was, she trusted him more than she trusted herself. He hadn’t consumed any alcohol, for one thing, so she was certain he had his head screwed on straight. For another, she knew he had to be a military guy and that inspired a certain level of confidence. Especially here, in a town full of his peers. Plus, he hadn’t dragged her out onto the dance floor for the obvious bump and grind that some couples engaged in. All they’d done was talk, even when she’d been thinking wickedly explicit things about him back in that bar...

      “It’s beautiful here,” Mark observed suddenly, face turned up to stargaze. They passed sweat-slicked men engrossed in a volleyball game under a flickering fluorescent lamp.

      “And so warm.” She shivered as she said it, savoring the kiss of the Gulf breeze on her skin.

      “You want to go for a walk?” He dropped his gaze back to her and she appreciated that he hadn’t simply shuttled her off to a hotel room after their suggestive game.

      She needed to catch her breath.

      “I’d like that.” Her heart beat a strange tempo when he slid his fingers from her chin and along her cheek, tracing the sensitive skin there, his gaze never leaving hers.

      There was a brief silence, interrupted by the cry of gulls hovering over them. Mark looked at her for a few drawn-out seconds, the heat in his eyes making her shiver. Then he reached out a hand. “Let’s go this way.”

      His fingers twined with hers and goose bumps rose on her arms as they strolled to the water.

      Ahead of them the surf pulsed, rushing and foaming on the sand. Beach roses lined their path down to the shore, the smell faint and sweet in the salty air. She looked up at the sky. So many stars, it seemed like a celebration, a fireworks display just for them.

      She slid a sideways glance at him, taking in his chiseled profile. Noted the firm set of his jaw, his straight nose and strong brow. Features that exuded authority. Confidence. Security. The kind of face you’d want to see if you needed rescuing.

      Her grief for Jeff fell away under the solid presence of Mark walking beside her. And she needed that tonight. Something about him made her feel different. Stronger. Sexier.

      If she scurried back to her hotel room, she knew exactly what to expect. Nothing. Yet out here, with the wind gusting off the water, seabirds calling, salt water misting her face, a deep hunger stirred inside her. A wild thirst for the unknown.

      Crazy or not, this was what her brother had wanted for her. To experience life on a large scale, well beyond the neat world she’d organized for herself back in Idaho.

      Suddenly, warm water rushed across her feet and over her ankles. She gasped and stepped closer to shore then stopped when Mark’s arm came around her. He turned her toward him. Her hands landed on his lean waist, her fingers grazing his contracting stomach muscles beneath the crisp cotton of his T-shirt.

      “I didn’t think the water came up this far.”

      “The tide’s rising.” His voice was thick, distracted, as heat flared in his eyes.

      “Oh,” she mumbled, her mouth dry, her body warm.

      He reached out and stroked her hair, his gaze full of promise and something more. “Are you