Read Before the Mission Begins (When The Mission Ends) for Free Online Page B

okay. I understand and I’m fine with that. Remember, we’re taking it slow today and if things don’t happen, then that’s okay. There’s no pressure here.”
    She nodded against his chest and tried to curtail the sudden tightness in her throat that came from his beautiful understanding. He smelled like soap and male, and she could stay in the comfort of his arms forever. The hard ridge of his erection pressed against her and she felt a flood of arousal soak her panties.
    He kissed the top of her head. “I like the fire. Why don’t we lay back and enjoy it for a while?”
    “Okay. Would you like me to open a bottle of wine or would you prefer beer?”
    “Wine sounds g ood.”
    As she went to raid Cassie’s wine cabinet, Chris added another log onto the fire. Julie took her time opening the bottle, working to compose herself. Rubbing her hands together, she tried to control their trembling. This was Chris. She could trust him. He wouldn’t hurt her. She took a deep breath in and then out. In fact, if she would just relax, she was pretty sure that he could make this the best night of her life. She poured the wine into the glasses and enjoyed the way his back flexed under his t-shirt as he tended the fire. A fluttering settled into the pit of her stomach and she took a long sip from her wine glass.
    He turned around and grinned at her. “Are you going to stand in there and drink all the wine or are you going to come back and join me?”
    She tilted her head as if to debate the idea. “Well, I don’t know. The view is awfully nice from here.” She took her time leisurely eyeing him from his bare feet to his firm lips, wondering if he still tasted as good as earlier.
    While she watched , those eyes darkened. “I promise I will make it worth your while if you come back in here. It’s much more fun to touch than just look.”
    His obvious arousal bolstered her courage. She nodded as she scooped up the wine glasses. “Hmm, you do make a convincing argument.” She strolled casually toward him, swaying her hips. When she got to him, she handed him the glass in her right hand and then slid her hand up under his t-shirt. He hissed in his breath at her sudden touch and the muscles flexed under her hand. She liked having that effect on him. It was empowering and pushed her to take it further.
    She pushed up onto her tiptoes so that she could reach his neck with her mouth. There she slowly licked and nibbled, at the same time her hand travelled further up under his shirt. She found the hard apex of a nipple and flicked it with her fingernail. He groaned and reached around her waist with his free hand and pulled her up taut against him.
    He whispered into her ear, “This is very nice, but let’s sit down, enjoy the fire, enjoy our wine, and talk.”
    Talk? What was she doing wrong that he wanted to talk rather than make out or do even more interesting other things? Finally, she was turned on enough that she thought she’d enjoy things and he wanted to talk. She cocked an eyebrow at him, trying to quell the frisson of alarm. “What do you want to talk about?”
    He sat and pulled her down beside him. “You said they were re-doing your kitchen and you obviously cook quite a bit. So what are you doing? Upgrading?”
    She gave a self-deprecating laugh as she said, “Um, not quite. A couple of months ago, I accidentally torched my kitchen. It’s taken this long to get the insurance sorted and contractors in to fix it.”
    His eyes widened. “You set your kitchen on fire and Cassie left you here unsupervised?”
    “What? I’m not twelve. It was a freak accident. Besides,” she mumbled, “I brought a fire extinguisher with me.”
    He laughed. “You can use your body like a lethal weapon and you come armed with a fire extinguisher. You’re definitely a surprise, Butterfly. How did I not realize that before?” He tugged her across the couch, leaning back into the corner and pulling her so that she leaned up against