He stroked the back of her head. “We’re going to find him.”
“Promise me.”
“I promise.”
In that instant, the wind whistling through the treetops and the rush of the water from the stream faded to background noise. Her senses honed in on the man who now held her in his arms. They were standing body to body. She could feel every angular plane of him against her, as hard and solid as the mountain upon which they stood. She could hear the steady thrum of his heart in her ear, as mighty as the rushing water just a few yards away. A heart that was beating too fast and keeping time with hers.
Kelly had forgotten how powerful those feelings could be. It had been five long years since she’d been held like this. Since she’d been held by Buzz Malone. He might be a hard man, but when he put his arms around her she always felt as if she were the only woman in the world. He made her feel safe and cherished and loved—even when deep down inside she knew she wasn’t any of those things.
His arms tightened around her, and an alarm began to clang in the back of her mind. She knew she should pull away. She’d lived with this man and knew how quickly things could spiral out of control. But her emotions were in tatters, her self-control hanging by a ragged thread she could only pray didn’t break. For the first time in a long time, she needed to be held. Right or wrong, she didn’t heed the alarm, she didn’t pull away, and she let herself be held.
Kelly knew fully that touching him like this—getting close to him—was like mixing gasoline and nitroglycerin. Buzz had always liked living on the edge. He made his living tempting fate.
She should have known he would be the one to strike a match.
One instant, they were locked in a comforting embrace. The next his hands were on her face, cupping her, pulling her to him. Kelly saw the intent in his eyes. A voice of reason called out for her to stop what she knew would happen next. But before her brain could send the words to her lips, he lowered his mouth to hers.
The kiss spoke of desperation and fear and the profound connection between a man and a woman who share the bond of a child. His mouth moved over hers, a little too quickly, a little too hard. He’d never been a gentle lover and his intensity had invariably overwhelmed her when they’d been married. With Buzz, it was all or nothing in every facet of his life, and that included sex.
The realization should have been enough to jump-start her common sense and give her the will to push him away. But the feel of his firm mouth against hers sent her thoughts stumbling drunkenly through her brain.
He deepened the kiss without warning. His teeth clicked against hers. He invaded her with his tongue. She tasted male heat and urgency and a dozen other things she refused to recognize. She accepted him, welcomed him into her mouth. He skimmed his hands down her back to cup her backside. Growling low in his throat, he moved against her.
Pleasure shot sparks through her brain at the feel of his hard shaft against the cleft between her legs. Need jumped through her like a jolt of electricity from a hot wire. Her breasts grew heavy as arousal coursed like liquid fire through her veins. The power of it stunned her, made her incredulous, disturbed her.
Kelly had never considered herself a sexual person. She didn’t need sex in her life, didn’t need it to be happy or to feel whole. But she’d forgotten what it was like to be kissed like this. Buzz Malone kissed her as if his life depended on it, as if her life depended on it and the rest of the world was at stake.
He didn’t give her the chance to think about it too long. His hands roamed restlessly over her back to her hips. Holding her in place he moved against her.
Pleasure shocked her brain. She felt the answering tug deep in her womb and her body went liquid. She knew she should stop this, knew it was insane to give in to the needs spiraling out of control inside her. The words formed in her brain. But his mouth and the feel of his body against hers was like a narcotic, slowing her thought process and extinguishing the last remnants of her control.