Lydia silently studied him as she sipped her coffee. Her gaze raked over him, and he wondered what she was thinking. He knew what he was thinking, and most of it was X-rated. He wondered what the little spitfire would do if he picked her up, carried her to her room, and tested out the big bed she’d slept in last night. There was no denying the physical attraction he felt for her, but it wasn’t something he was ready or willing to act on, yet. Rick cleared his throat and stood. Walking over to the sink, he dumped the remainder of his coffee and rinsed out the cup. Seconds later he stood in front of her.
Rick held out his hand. “Shall we go see what kind of trouble we can get into?”
A smile lit her face. The first real smile he’d seen since the wedding. She placed her palm in his, and he pulled her to her feet. Rick leaned into her as he was taking the coffee cup from her hands. The electricity she was emitting danced between them. He inhaled the sweet scent of strawberries from her hair as he whispered, “Try not to blow anything up.”
She leaned away, and a pretty pink travelled into her cheeks. “I can’t make any promises.”
He disposed of her coffee and opened her door. “Shall we?”
She sauntered up to him and placed her palms on his chest. The energy raised the hair on his arms. “I’m not sure you could stop me from frying the whole place if you tried.” She glanced down his body and tilted her head. “Well, maybe.”
Rick was stunned speechless by her display. He’d brought it on himself. He cursed himself for wanting more from the redhead. His little display had seemed to bring a vixen out in her, or at least she was playing the part. He was in it now. There was no backing out of the desire he felt for her. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her body flush into his. “I’m sure I can manage.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It wasn’t a gentle kiss; it was a kiss that had been brewing between them since they’d first met a month before. It was demanding and testing. He nipped at her lips, demanding entry, and she obliged, giving him what he craved. His tongue dueled with hers as she pressed her body closer to his. He tried to rein in his desire. His tongue explored the crevices of her mouth as his hands ran up her back. She leaned into his embrace, lost in the moment, until he pulled his lips from hers.
Lydia lifted her eyes to his, her gaze penetrating deep into his soul. He wasn’t sure she’d like what she found there. “Why did you do that?”
Because he’d wanted to… because he’d needed to…Hell, he hadn’t meant to. Lydia was getting to him and making him lose his self-control. The way she’d stepped up to him and put her hands on his chest was all it had taken. “Don’t start something you’re not prepared to finish. You don’t want to give out the wrong signals.”
Lydia stepped out of his arms and lifted her chin. His reaction to her brazen move had startled her even, until he’d opened his big mouth.
“You’re right; I definitely wouldn’t want to do that.”
Lydia stepped out of the room and left him standing there. She called over her shoulder. “Well, don’t just stand there. Let’s get moving.”
Chapter 7
Lydia thought for a brief moment that Rick had wanted her. She was so sure that she’d seen it in his eyes and felt it in his kiss and in the touch of his hands. She’d been wrong. He’d kissed her to teach her a lesson, a lesson that she apparently needed. It was so out of character for her to flirt, much less make a move on a man, that she wasn’t sure what she’d been thinking.
She could feel Rick’s gaze on her as she walked down the hall and into the same security room they’d been in the night before. Jonah, the computer geek, was tinkering with the box that she’d fried. He looked up and dropped the wrench he’d been holding. He held up his hands. “Ms. Stevens, please don’t touch anything.”
He gestured to the same room that they’d been in last night. “They’ve been in there an hour and waiting for you two.”
Lydia glanced up at Rick, who shrugged before she turned back to Jonah. “Who is waiting for us?”
Jonah grinned. “Everyone.”
Lydia glanced to the door of the room where everyone was meeting and supposedly waiting, and wondered just who the man thought was everyone. She’d wanted some time to explore their accommodations and familiarize herself with exactly where she was, but it didn’t seem that she was going to get the chance.
Rick placed his palm on her lower back and steered her toward the door. “Let’s go meet everyone.”
He turned the knob and pushed the door open, heralding her inside. Rick let out a curse beneath his breath. “Shit, there’s two of them.”