“Indeed it is.” He looked her over. His hand was braced at the doorway, and he was leaning casually, looking her over. “You clean up well, princess.”
Those hot eyes raking over her made her think of what else this rugged man was capable of. Actually, she knew exactly what he was capable of. And that made her shiver. She needed to stay strong. They’d had a good time. She was unfamiliar with the exact protocol, but surely him showing up at her home wasn’t part of the Survival Skills course.
“I’d say the same for you, but…” She looked over his slightly dusty pants and wrinkled black T-shirt. He smelled like…her. Just the faintest scent of her perfume wafted from him, and that made heat hit her cheeks. She’d been wrapped around him. Surrounding him. And hours later, when he should have showered and removed any trace of her, he still smelled like her. A thrill surged through her.
“I haven’t been home yet,” he said, standing up straight and taking a step inside. “See, I was teaching wilderness training to this woman, only to find out she took off on me and left me no choice but to search her out.”
“I took off because it was morning,” she defended.
“You could have gotten hurt or lost.”
“Not likely considering you never took me that far into the wilderness. I could see my car when I woke up.”
“You’re welcome,” he said.
She frowned. Remembering why this man was so irritating. “You’re welcome?” she repeated and crossed her arms. “You didn’t do me any favors. You tricked me.”
“I kept you safe, and you survived,” he said plainly. “Didn’t matter how far we went into the woods.”
“Well, then I should thank you, because getting away this morning quickly was much easier with my car.”
He raised a brow. “Oh, yeah? You were so excited to run from me, huh? Last night was too dirty for you, princess?”
She swallowed hard. Yes, it had been too dirty. Dirtier than anything she’d ever done, and she’d never felt more alive. And deep down, she wanted to get that dirty again. Instead of admitting to that, or answering his question, she went with, “I was just seeing through my end of the bargain.”
“Bargain?” he said. “Did you take notes on that, too?”
He reached down and picked up her notebook she dropped. When she tried to snatch it away, he lingered a minute. He got a good look at her sexy list and unleashed a full-blow grin.
“I may have jotted down a couple things,” she mumbled and shoved the book in her purse.
“It looked like to me you jotted down a few more desires you’re looking to fulfill.” He held out his arms. “Well look no further, princess.”
Great, between his sexy swagger and confidence, she was having a hard time remaining objective. Getting into any kind of repeat hangout session with G.I. Joe was not a good idea. She wanted experiences, but with the same guy? No, that would equal a relationship, and she wouldn’t make that mistake again.
She needed to stop staring at him though, because aside from adding to her list of fantasies, she couldn’t stop thinking about how her body had been on fire in the best way. What aspects of this frustrating man brought out the animal in her. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that.
“Did you come here to rehash last night? Or do you have a purpose?” she asked.
He frowned hard at her. She knew she was using her “snotty” tone. She wasn’t trying to be mean, but he was goading her. She had to get space from him, because he was all rough and sexy and God, she wanted to get dirty again. Really, really badly. Which meant he needed to leave before she threw herself at him.
“I came here to start our next six hours together,” he said.
“Beg your pardon?” she asked quickly.
He took another step toward her, and she held on to the door handle tightly as he got even closer. That scent, his masculine pine mixed with her lilacs danced around him, and she saw the small fingernail marks she’d made on his shirt.
“I have to provide training for eighteen hours to a novice. You made it twelve. So you owe me six.”
She laughed. “I owe you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Now it was her turn to ask obvious questions like he had last night. “You’re aware you’re standing in my home right now, right?”
“Yes,” he said.
“And you just assume I’ll give you six hours of my time for you to train me?”
“Yes.”
“Have you lost your mind?” she asked honestly.
He looked at her for a moment, considering her question. “I think I’ve regained most of it.”
“Regained?”
He grinned, his lips hovering closer to hers. “Yeah, regained. Because last night my mind took off on me and I could only think with my—”
“I get it,” she interrupted quickly. She knew the feeling, because her mind had taken off on her last night, too, and honestly, she hadn’t regained it completely yet.
“Well I appreciate your diligence, but I’m fine forgoing the six hours.”
“I’m not,” he said. “Like it or not, princess, you’re stuck with me until your training is done.”