Suzanne Brockmann - Alpha Squad

“Thank you,” Veronica murmured.

She was blushing, and the tip of her nose was pink from crying. She looked exhausted and fragile. Joe wanted to wrap her back in his arms and hold her close. He wanted to hold her as she closed her eyes and fell asleep. He wanted to keep her warm and safe from harm, and to convince her that everything was going to be all right.

She glanced at him, embarrassment lighting her crystal blue eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to—”

“You’re tired.” He gave her an easy excuse and a gentle smile.

They were alone. They were alone in the room. As Joe held her gaze, he knew she was aware of that, too.

Her hair was starting to come free from its restraints, and strands curled around her face.

He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and lightly brushing the last of her tears from her cheek. Her skin was so soft and warm. She didn’t flinch, didn’t pull away, didn’t even move. She just gazed at him, her eyes blue and wide and so damned innocent.

Joe couldn’t remember ever wanting to kiss a woman more in his entire life. Slowly, so slowly, he leaned forward, searching her eyes for any protest, alert for any sign that he was taking this moment of truce too far.

Her eyes flickered and he saw her desire. She wanted him to kiss her, too. But he also saw doubt and a flash of fear. She was afraid.

Afraid of what? Of him? Of herself? Or maybe she was afraid that the overwhelming attraction they both felt would ignite in a violent, nearly unstoppable explosion of need.

Joe almost pulled back.

But then her lips parted slightly, and he couldn’t resist. He wanted a taste—just a taste—of her sweetness.

So he kissed her. Slowly, gently pressing his lips to hers.

A rush of desire hit him low in the gut and it took every ounce of control to keep from giving in to his need and pulling her hard into his arms, kissing her savagely, and running his hands along the curves of her body. Instead, he made himself slow down.

Gently, so gently, he ran his tongue across her lips, slowly gaining passage to the softness of her mouth. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to move still more slowly, even slower now. She tasted of strawberries and coffee—an enticing combination of flavors. He caressed her tongue with his own and when she responded, when she opened her mouth to him, granting him access and deepening their kiss, he felt dizzy with pleasure.

This was, absolutely, the sweetest kiss he’d ever shared.

Slowly, still slowly, he explored the warmth of her mouth, the softness of her lips. He touched only her mouth with his, and the side of her face with the tips of his fingers. She wasn’t locked in his arms, their bodies weren’t pressed tightly together. Still, with this gentle, purest of kisses, she had the power to make his blood surge through his veins, to make his heart pound in a wild, frantic rhythm.

He wanted her desperately. His body was straining to become joined with hers. And yet…

This kiss was enough. It was exhilarating, and it made him feel incredibly happy. Happy in a way he’d never been even while making love to the other women he’d had relationships with—women he’d been attracted to and slept with, but hadn’t particularly cared for.

He felt a tightness in his chest, a weight of emotion he’d never felt before as, beneath his fingers, Veronica trembled.

He pulled back then, and she looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

“Well,” she said. “My word.”

“Yeah,” Joe agreed. He hadn’t intended to whisper, but he couldn’t seem to speak any louder.

“That was…unexpected.”

He couldn’t entirely agree. He’d been expecting to kiss her ever since their eyes first met and the raw attraction sparked between them. What was unexpected was this odd sense of caring, this emotional noose that had somehow curled itself around his chest. It was faintly uncomfortable, and it hadn’t disappeared even when he’d ended their kiss.

She glanced at him. “Maybe we should get back to work.”

Joe shook his head. “No,” he said. “I need a break, and you do, too.” He stood, holding out his hand to her. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your room. You can take a nap. I’ll meet you back here in a few hours.”

Veronica didn’t take his hand. She simply gazed up at him.

“Come on,” he said again. “Cut yourself some slack.”

But she shook her head. “There’s no time.”

He gently touched her hair. “Yes, there is. There’s definitely time for an hour of shut-eye,” he said. “Trust me, Ronnie, you’re gonna need it to concentrate.”

Joe could see indecision on her face. “How about forty minutes?” he added. “Forty winks. You can crash right here on the couch. I’ll order some coffee and wake you up at—” he glanced at his watch “—oh-six-twenty.”

Slowly she nodded. “All right.”

He bent down and briefly brushed her lips with his. “Sleep tight,” he said.

She stopped him, touching the side of his face. “You’re so sweet,” she said, surprise in her voice.

He had to laugh. He’d been called a lot of things in his life, and “sweet” wasn’t one of them. “Oh, no, I’m not.”

Veronica’s lips curved into a smile. “I didn’t mean that to be an insult.” Her smile faded and she looked away, suddenly awkward. “Joe, I have to be honest with you,” she said quietly. “I think that kiss…was a mistake. I’m so tired, and I wasn’t thinking clearly and, well, I hope you don’t think that I…Well, right now it’s not…We’re not…It’s a mistake . Don’t you think?”

Joe straightened. The noose around his chest was so damn tight he could hardly breathe. A mistake. Veronica thought kissing him had been a mistake. He shook his head slowly, hiding his disappointment behind a tight smile. “No, and I’m sorry you think that,” he replied. “I thought maybe we had something there.”

“Something?” Veronica echoed, glancing up at him.

This time it was Joe who looked away. He sat down next to her on the couch, suddenly tired. How could he explain what he meant, when he didn’t even know himself? Damn, he’d already said too much. What if she thought by “something” he meant he was falling in love with her?

He pushed his hair back with one hand and glanced at Veronica.

Yeah, she wanted him to fall in love with her about as much as she wanted a hole in the head. In the space of a heartbeat, he could picture her dismay, picture her imagining the restraining order she’d have to get to keep him away from her. He was rough and uncultured, blue-collar through and through. She hung out with royalty. It would be embarrassing and inconvenient for her to have some crazy, rough-edged, lovesick sailor following her around.

Gazing into her eyes, he could see her trepidation.

So he gave her a cocky smile and prayed that she couldn’t somehow sense the tightness in his chest. “I thought we had something great between us,” he said, leaning forward and putting his hand on her thigh.

Veronica moved back on the couch, away from him. His hand fell aside.

“Ah, yes,” she said. “Sex. Exactly what I thought you meant.”

Joe stood. “Too bad.”

She glanced at him but didn’t meet his gaze for more than a fraction of a second. “Yes, it is.”

He turned away, heading for the bedroom and his bed. Maybe some sleep would make this pressure in his chest lighten up or—please, God—even make it go away.

“Please, don’t forget to wake me,” Veronica called.

“Right,” he said shortly and closed the door behind him.

The knock on the door came quickly, no less than five minutes after Joe had called room service for coffee. Man, he thought, people really hopped to it when they thought a guy had blue blood.