expecting from this?
He pulled back from his kiss to smile down at her. His eyes were blazing and hot.
âSay the word, Marianne, and Iâm out of here.â
She answered him with a demanding kiss of her own.
Kyle closed his eyes as he inhaled the scent of her hair combined with the sweet scent of some kind of womanly perfume. But it was the earthy smell of woman that made his heart race even faster. Made his mouth water for more.
Heâd never been with a woman like her before, and for the first time in his life he was nervous.
As a teenager, heâd run with the worst sort of New York gang. At fifteen heâd lost his virginity in the back room of a run-down slum in the Bronx to a woman in her mid-twenties who was on the make and looking to nail any handy dick she could find.
Heâd fought his way out of the streets to enlist in the navy. At age eighteen he had done his best to turn his life around and not become another statistic of urban poverty and bad parenting. Even so, heâd never dared dream a woman like this would want to be with him.
Someone soft and gentle. A teacher. Not a woman on the make. Not an operative out to blow his cover or a criminal wanting a fast lay before she blew his brains out.
Marianne was just a nice, average lady from a small town in the Midwest.
She was safe. That word alone was so alien to him that it made him ache even to think of it.
Heâd never known safety. Never known unconditional acceptance.
He could vaguely remember his mother once telling him that sometimes the best dreams were simple ones. Heâd never understood that.
Not until this moment.
He didnât crave the excitement that was his life. He craved the slice of normality Marianne offered. The simple taste of wholesome woman.
The simple taste of Marianne Webernec.
Marianne was breathless as Kyle moved down her body to unlace her shoes and pull them from her feet. She couldnât believe she was doing this with a complete stranger.
It was so out of character for her.
And yet she couldnât stop herself.
âTell me something about you, Kyle.â She needed to know something so that she wouldnât feel so self-conscious.
He pulled her other shoe off and massaged her sensitive arch with his thumb. Oh, but it felt sinfully wonderful as it made her stomach tight. She felt a rush of moisture between her legs.
âWhat do you want to know?â he asked, his deep voice intoxicating.
Everything. There was nothing about him she didnât want to know.
âWhat do you do for a living?â
He tossed her socks by her shoes and gave her an impish stare as he nibbled the arch of her foot.
She moaned in ecstasy.
He blew a stream of warm air over her skin before he spoke again. âHonestly?â
She nodded, breathless from the pleasure that rippled through her.
âIâm a federal agent.â
For a second she couldnât move as his words sank in. Then she laughed at the absurdity. âCan you break out of character for one minute and be serious?â
âI am serious,â he said earnestly.
But she didnât believe it. It was too perfect to be real, and what were the chances of a federal agent being here with her right now, when that was her fantasy?
He was just one of the men playing on the island. She didnât want that. She wanted to know about him. The truth. âWho do you work for?â she asked skeptically. âThe CIA?â
âThe Certified Idiots Association?â he asked, as if offended by her question. âHardly. We eat those wannabes for breakfast. Iâm with BAD, the Bureau of American Defense.â
She scoffed. âThereâs no such agency.â
âYes, there is.â
Part of her wanted to believe him, but the rational part of her knew better. Sheâd never even heard of such a thing. âAnd what part of D.C. are you located in? The White House?â
âWeâre not. Our offices