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lips made contact, she felt a fire ignite in her veins, burning her from the inside out. She wanted him to respond.
    Oh, God…
    He groaned somewhere deep in his chest and she felt his hands on her upper arms, as if poised to push her away. Instead, he hauled her closer.
    Megan caught her breath, unprepared to have him crush his mouth down on hers…or for her welcome of the thought-robbing action.
    Urgency welled up in her stomach and then exploded outward as she tangled her tongue with his. It had been so very long, too long since she’d felt this depth of need for a man.
    Then it dawned on her how long—four months.
    She broke free from him, gasping for air and pressing the back of her hand against her mouth.
    “I’m…sorry,” she rasped.
    Jason stepped back. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. I… We… That should never have happened.”
    “I know.”
    They turned away from each other, Megan trying like hell to grasp the situation.
    What was she thinking? She loved Dari. Missed him. Lived for his texts and phone calls.
    So what, then, was she doing practically devouring Jason?
    It didn’t make any sense.
    And yet it made perfect sense.
    “You know, what just happened had nothing to do with either of us,” Jason said.
    Megan’s heart skipped a beat at his words.
    She slowly turned back to face him.
    “Look, what I’m about to say probably won’t excuse my behavior. But maybe it will help explain it.”
    She nodded. “Go ahead.”
    “Well, the best I can figure it, what just happened doesn’t mean there’s really anything between them.”
    “Then what does it mean?”
    “Physical need—plain and simple.”
    She bit her bottom lip, trying, but failing, to quiet the pool of desire in her lower stomach.
    “But the kiss…”
    She stared at him.
    “The kiss was too intimate.”
    She released a breath. “Oh, boy, you’re not lying there.”
    The side of his mouth inched up in a smile. “So let’s not kiss.”
    “Pardon me?”
    He slowly lifted his hand and ran his fingers through his shortly cropped brown hair. The simple gesture emerged both hot and appealing.
    “I’m saying, let’s not kiss.”
    “Good idea…”
    She began to walk toward the bathroom.
    He caught her arm, his grip soft but insistent.
    “Let’s just sleep together…”

6
    JASON WATCHED MEGAN’S face closely, identifying each emotion as it passed. Shock, disbelief, then ultimately intrigue.
    He prided himself on being a man who called ’em as he saw ’em. And now that he understood that his physical need for Megan was returned, well, there was no reason for them to pretend it wasn’t.
    “Jason, I…”
    He could sense her withdrawing. “What, Megan? We’re both adults. Marines, even. We know the difference between real emotion and physical need. Just like a wound that requires attention, there are other…needs that have to be met.”
    Her blue eyes sparkled. “Yes, but unlike a wound, this can go without treatment.”
    He grinned. “Can it?”
    She faltered.
    “Look, I know the kiss bothered you. Hell, it bothered me, too.” He grimaced, thinking her mouth had felt all too good pressed against his. “I’m not that guy. You know, the one that screws around with his best friend’s girl.”
    “Funny, when I first met you, that’s exactly what I figured you for.”
    He squinted at her. “And now?”
    She looked down. “And now that I know you better, I think you’re just as caught off guard by this as I am.”
    That was a good sign, no?
    “So,” she said, “if this is not that, then what is it?”
    “Sex. Pure and simple.”
    The dubious expression returned.
    “Look. We don’t have to kiss,” he said. “Actually, I’d prefer it if we didn’t.”
    “And how do you propose we…have sex without it?”
    He couldn’t help grinning in purely carnal desire. “Simple—you turn around…”

    THE MERE IDEA SENT decadent shivers racing over her skin. She rubbed her arm and his gaze followed the