Crossing the Line

By the time they’d landed and filed their reports, Beau could barely function for wanting her. When she left the meeting room, he followed.
It was already beginning to get dark. He ran to catch up. He caught her just as she walked behind a water station, the side sheltered from view of any passers-by.

“Carrie.” Beau may have been an idiot for walking away the other night, but he wasn’t going to repeat the mistake.

Carrie stopped and turned to face him. “Yeah?”

In the dim light he watched the emotions cross her face. Judging by her expression—hope mingled with what he prayed was a desire to equal his own—she felt the same way he did.

That was all the encouragement Beau needed. He grabbed both of her arms and slammed his lips against hers. After barely a moment of surprised hesitation, she kissed him back. Her mouth opened to his, welcoming his tongue.

Beau dropped his hold on her arms in favor of tangling his hands in her hair, pulling the silky strands out of the bun so they tumbled down to touch the top of her shoulders. He groaned at the soft tantalizing feel of it against his skin. He imagined what her hair would feel like against his naked, sweat-soaked body after he had tumbled her into his bed and made long, sweet love to her.

Her hands came up to grasp his head, as if to make sure this time he wouldn’t pull away. She needn’t have worried. He couldn’t have stopped kissing her at that moment even if he wanted to.

She pressed closer, like she couldn’t get enough of their bodies to touch. This close, there was no way she could miss his arousal. He didn’t care. He wanted her to feel what she did to him. What she had been doing to him for weeks.

He pulled away from the warmth of her mouth just long and far enough to say, “This is how I wanted to kiss you the other night.”

“Then why didn’t you? Why did you run away?” Her voice sounded husky, from desire or hurt he couldn’t tell.

“Because I want you so badly it scares the hell out of me.”

The sound she made was half laugh, half sob. “Me too.”