Covert Agent's Virgin Affair. Linda Conrad

Oh, yeah. She was going to try kissing a man again. Now. Right now.

      He bent his head, came within a whisper of her mouth and hesitated. It seemed as if he was giving her a chance to back out. Not a prayer of that happening.

      Mary closed the gap between them and fell into heaven. Instead of his mouth being mashed to hers as had happened in her previous experiences, Jake toyed with her lips. He nipped at them, then licked his tongue across her bottom lip to soothe any small pain. The tip of his tongue touched the middle of her closed mouth tentatively as if he wanted her to open up for him.

      She parted her lips, let his tongue enter and experienced pure bliss. He dug his fingers through her thick hair and pulled her closer. All of a sudden, the languorousness that had begun in her chest and tummy widened to encompass her limbs. Her fingers grew warm and limp. Her legs became weak and shaky.

      As he tightened his hold she felt every inch of his hard body pressed against her softness. His erection pushed into her belly. A jolt zapped through her when she came to the amazing realization that she was the one making him hot. Outstanding.

      Their tongues tangled again and the sensual awareness inside her grew to impossible heights. Her whole body began tingling. This was how a kiss was supposed to be. She’d read all about kisses and knew that at least some people liked the feelings that went along with a really good kiss. But she’d never imagined it could be like this.

      Letting herself revel in the sensations, she noted the changes in her body’s temperature. From somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that sweat was starting to form at her temples. Her palms were becoming damp. Her panties were getting wet between her thighs.

      The key card slipped from her fingers and hit the carpet.

      “Oh.” She pulled her head back and then bent to pick up the key, but her knees refused to hold her up. “Oh.”

      Crumbling to the floor, she felt flushed with embarrassment and regret. Surely no other woman had ever collapsed after their very best kiss ever and before they’d even made it to the bed. How ridiculous that she could be this much of a newbie at her age.

      “You okay?” He reached out his hand to help her up.

      “Um. I guess so.” If okay meant having the most amazing kiss of her whole life.

      She tried to stand, but found her legs wouldn’t hold her up. “I can’t… I can’t…” Down she went again, landing on her backside.

      When she began to laugh and cry at the same time, Jake took pity on her and reached down to haul her up in his arms. After all, it was his fault that she’d had too much to drink. He’d wanted her talking and in a good mood—not too drunk to stand up.

      But he would never in a million years regret that kiss.

      “The key card,” she said through giggles and tears.

      His knees were almost too old for this kind of move, but he managed to hang on to her and at the same time bend to pick up the card.

      “I’ve got it.” He opened the door and brushed them both inside.

      Once inside he was at a loss for what to do with her. He didn’t figure she was in any shape to stand on her own two feet again. Her room was small. One queen-size bed. One nightstand and one dresser with a TV sitting on top. The lone chair in the room was shoved into a far corner under a minuscule desk. Straight-backed with no cushions, he couldn’t figure a way to place her upright in that chair without her sliding back to the floor.

      Sighing, Jake walked to the bed and lowered her gently to a sitting position on the mattress. Steadying her, he stepped back and watched, making sure she didn’t hit the floor again.

      She popped straight up like a Whac-A-Mole. He pushed at her shoulders until she went down on the bed again. She came right back up.

      “Hey, aren’t you going to kiss me again?” She took a shaky step in his direction.

      He took another step backward toward the door. “I think I’d better be going.”

      “Not just yet.” She grinned at him and his whole body went rock-hard. “Um…um… Stay long enough to help me.”

      He would be a lot better off simply making a run for the door; instead, Jake made the fatal mistake of asking, “Help you with what?”

      Rocking uneasily on her feet, she reached for the hem of her sparkly orange, long-sleeved top and pulled it up and over her head in one move. Pitching the top into a corner, she turned back to him wearing nothing above the waist but a silky lace bra and a big smile. She tilted her head and stared at him as if to say, Help me and yourself, big boy.

      “Do you know what you’re doing?” His voice was too steely and harsh for the situation. But he was at a loss as to how to change things.

      She shook her head. “What am I doing?”

      “Making it hotter than hell in here.” His mind was on a dangerous edge as he fought with dueling impulses.

      He needed an out. Fast. Or an excuse to change the subject.

      Fortunately, he’d spotted something to talk about while she’d had her back turned. It gave him a momentary reprieve and would be something to occupy her mind, he hoped.

      “You have a tattoo on your shoulder.” He slid a little farther away and pointed. “What is that? A mermaid?”

      “That’s Disney’s Ariel. I had her done last week. I think she’s kinda sexy. Do you like her?”

      The mermaid tattoo did look like a kid’s cartoon character. It was sweet, but not the least bit sexy.

      “She looks like you,” he managed. “With the red hair and all. But why her?”

      “The tattoo was an effort to change. To become a new person.”

      That sounded like just so much psycho babble to him. “And did you? Become a new person?”

      Mary’s face flushed bright red. “Not yet. But Ariel is helping me on my journey to find the real me. I was hoping.” Her words stopped as her face paled.

      Reaching a shaking hand toward him, she clutched her stomach with the other hand. “I was hoping you would help me, too.”

      With that, whatever she’d eaten for the past twenty-four hours came back up her throat and spewed from her mouth. If he’d been a step closer, it would’ve gone all over him. As it was, the goo covered her pants and got on her shoes.

      She started to cry in earnest. “I’m sooo sorry. Look at me. I’m a mess.”

      “Don’t worry. I’ll help.” He couldn’t stop himself. He could no more leave her like this than he could play the violin. It wasn’t in him.

      He took great care in carrying Mary into the bathroom and cleaning her up. After using a washcloth on her face, he splashed water into her mouth and let her swish toothpaste to rinse. When he was done, he helped her out of her shoes and pants and pitched them into the tub. He found a couple of aspirin in her bag on the back of the toilet and got them down her with a big glass of water. Then he carted her to the bed, threw the covers back and slid her between the sheets.

      “Thank you. I’m grateful. But my head is still spinning.” She beamed up at him. “Are you going to join me? “

      He shook his head and saw the shadow of disappointment cross her face. “Uh, I’d better clean up some more before I do anything else.”

      “Don’t leave me, Jake. Please.”

      “I won’t go far,” he promised. “You’re going to be fine. Don’t worry. Rest is what you need most.”

      It took him ten minutes to wet a couple of towels and clean up the carpeting. He threw the towels into the tub and filled it up with hot water to let everything soak.

      When he arrived back beside the bed,