"I want fast. Now. Isn't twelve years long enough to wait?" The pupils of her cat eyes widened, darkened, until only a small ring of blue remained, leaving no doubts about how much she wanted him.
"Yes, ma'am, it is."
He splayed a hand on Kathleen's back as he reached forward, rocking her toward the dash so he could palm one of the packets. Kathleen plucked it from his hand as they sat upright again.
Her fingernail lightly rasped up the length of him before she sheathed him with excruciating precision. "Next time, we'll do it your way."
Next time.
Those two words pleased him as much as the silken glide of her body as she lowered herself onto him. He didn't want to think about why her words were so important. Not at this particular moment.
Slow, torturously so, she slid her way down until she settled chest to chest against him, enclosed him in a moist heat that threatened to end it all.
He thrust up. She gasped, shivered, moaned.
She may have orchestrated this, but damned if he would let her control everything. He tunneled his hands beneath her shirt as his face ducked to nudge aside her collar. His mouth closed around her satin-covered breast, laved attention on the needy peak. Circling her tightening nipple, he mirrored with his hand teasing lower where their bodies joined, finding an answering bead of arousal.
A purr swelled in the back of her throat, vibrating through her chest, under his mouth. She scored her fingers up his chest, beneath his shirt until her fingernails dug into his shoulders, deeper, harder, until with a throaty cry she sagged against him.
Two shuddering breaths later, her head flung back, revealing a perfect stretch of neck for him to explore, while he guided her h*ps and she demanded a rhythm all her own. Until they both gave up the battle and simply moved. Together.
Tanner's hands crawled all over her skin, needing to touch every inch of that velvet softness, longing to possess all of her if only for a few hours. For once, he could hold her the way he'd always wanted to. For once, Kathleen didn't fight him. Instead, she sighed, moaned and whimpered her pleasure in a running monologue that had him so crazy he didn't know how long he could stave off the building pleasure.
Her throaty purr started again, followed by a hitch in her breath he now recognized. He was so grateful for that sigh of hers, that increasing sweet sound. The need to finish, pour into her until there wasn't anything left, shuddered through him and he wasn't going alone.
Tanner caught her before she collapsed back onto the control panel. She arched against his hands, her hair streaming against his fingers.
He wanted to watch her, tried to fight off his own release. A losing battle. The sky opened up and he fell in, no plane, no chute, just a free-falling surrender.
Cupping the back of Kathleen's head, he anchored her to his chest while his aftershocks rippled through him. Or were they hers? Who knew? … since they both shook, sagging against one another, breathing a monumental task for what could have been minutes or hours.
Kathleen nuzzled beneath his chin with one last purr of contentment. "You were right."
Fingers combing through her hair, he let each strand slither free while he watched the shifting reds. "About what?"
"About us working this out of our systems. I absolutely do not feel like fighting with you right now."
His hand stopped midstroke. Work each other out of their systems? Damned with his own words.
What did he expect? This was Kathleen, after all. He suffered no delusions that she had some great desire to enter into a relationship with him.
Except, somewhere along the way, she'd become his friend, and his every instinct screamed he'd just messed that up. All he would have to show for their friendship was a blown-up car and a night of no-strings sex.
No-strings sex with the hottest, most intriguing woman he'd ever met.
A woman who made it clear she didn't need a damned thing from him.
An hour later Kathleen buried her face in Tanner's neck, knowing too well their pocket of time together in the airplane would have to end soon.
She should peel herself off him and go. But she couldn't find the will to leave. Not yet. Being with Tanner had been … everything. Both times. Her way, followed by his.
Now she sprawled over him, chest to chest, hearts still thudding at a rate that would blast alarms on any EKG machine. Except her heart rate raced from more than great sex.
Okay, awesome sex.
Her pulse answered with an extra surge. Maybe she could hang out awhile longer.
Kathleen listened to Tanner's heartbeat, nuzzled her cheek against the bristly hair sprinkling his chest and twirled his dog tags around her fingers. A small pewter medal peeked between the dog tags.