Her Wild Hero

She laughed. “They make really good spring rolls, but no, that’s not all I want. The spring rolls are just the appetizer.”


“Tell me what else you want.” He gestured to the bar in her hand. “Just don’t forget to eat while you do.”

She looked down to see that she hadn’t eaten much of the bar at all. When she took another bite, it just reminded her why energy bars weren’t on the menu at P.F. Chang’s. She forced herself to eat. Declan was right. If she didn’t keep up her strength, she was going to weaken at the worst possible moment. She opened her canteen and took a swallow to wash it down. Chang’s had about five or six dishes she loved, so it was hard to decide what she wanted—even if this was just in her head.

“Does it take you this long to make up your mind about what you want to eat when you’re actually in the restaurant?” Declan asked.

She grinned. “Most of the time. I don’t know why I have such a hard time making some of the simplest decisions. It’s crazy.”

He let out a deep chuckle. “I’ll remember to eat before we go to dinner, so I won’t rush you.”

That was when it hit her. Declan really intended to take her out…like on a date. The thought warmed her right down to the tips of her combat boots. Would it be too much to hope that it might be the start of something?

Declan took a drink from his own canteen. “If it helps, for the duration of this conversation, the food is calorie free, so don’t feel you have to limit yourself to just one thing.”

She laughed. That would be really cool, wouldn’t it? “Well, in that case, I’ll start with the spicy chicken. You can absolutely never go wrong starting with that.”

He leaned back on one elbow, getting more comfortable and looking sexy as hell. “Go on.”

“From there—since I’m not worrying about calories—I’ll have the Mongolian beef, then the sweet and sour pork. And to finish up, their famous lettuce wraps.”

“Because that’s what everyone has after eating three entrées—another appetizer. What happened to dessert?”

She laughed. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were sitting in a pile of prickly brambles, surrounded by monsters that wanted to kill her and cut up Declan for his DNA, she’d say this was the best date she’d been on in…well…forever.

“Is the no-calorie offer still in effect?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll have the Great Wall of Chocolate.” She almost shivered at the thought of all that deliciousness.

“Damn,” he said. “You must be hungrier than I thought.”

“It’s cake, silly.” She frowned. “Wait a minute. Haven’t you ever been to Chang’s before?”

He shook his head. “I tend to eat mostly at the DCO cafeteria at the training complex.”

Was he serious? “Well, that just isn’t right. The moment we get home, we’re going to Chang’s and I’m going to order you the Great Wall. It’s a huge slice of chocolate cake smothered in raspberry sauce. I promise you’ll love it.”

He grinned. “I do like chocolate cake. You’ve got yourself a date.”

Declan probably didn’t mean it in the literal sense of the word, but the thought of going on a date with him made her pulse kick into a whole other gear.

He suddenly sat up and leaned in close; for one wild moment, Kendra was sure that he was going to kiss her—and she was more than willing to let him. But he only reached out and gently brushed his thumb over the corner of her mouth.

“You, um, had a crumb sticking to you.” The back of his knuckles lingered ever so briefly on her cheek before he took his hand away. “I figured you wouldn’t want something nibbling on you while you’re sleeping.”

She didn’t want to even think about that. Unless Declan was the one doing the nibbling, of course. That prompted all sorts of erotic images, and she bit her lip.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

He cleared his throat. “Speaking of sleep, we should get some rest if we’re going to get an early start in the morning.”

Like she could sleep with the feel of his fingers lingering on her skin. It didn’t help that Declan lay down behind her, placing one of his big arms over her in what he probably thought was a very nonsexual manner. Okay, so having his big forearm and bicep lying across her hip and stomach wasn’t necessarily sexual, but it sure was nice as hell. She could definitely get used to snuggling with him like this every night. She was already getting warm all over and her body hadn’t really come in contact with his…yet. She was tempted to wiggle her bottom back against him, but resisted the urge. This was not the time or place for that, no matter how much her body wished it were. No, she’d just lay here like she was. Thinking that was one thing, but doing it was another.