She hated knowing she was causing him pain, and she answered absently, “Do what often?”
“Rescue men.”
He watched her lips curve and could almost taste them. “You’re my first.”
“Good.”
“There, that should do.”
“Aren’t you going to kiss it and make it better?” His mother had always done so, as he imagined mothers had done for all time. When she laughed, he felt his heart lurch in his chest.
“Since you were brave.” She leaned down and brushed her lips just above the bandage.
“It still hurts.” He took her hand before she could move away. “Why don’t you try again?”
“I’ll get the aspirin.” Her hand flexed in his. She would have backed away when he rose, but something in his eyes told her it would do no good. “Caleb...”
“I make you nervous.” His thumb caressed her knuckles. “It’s very stimulating.”
“I’m not trying to stimulate you.”
“Apparently you don’t have to try.” She was nervous, he thought again, but not frightened. He would have stopped if he’d seen fear. Instead, he brought her hand to his lips, then turned the palm upward. “You have wonderful hands, Libby. Gentle hands.” He saw the emotions flickering in her eyes—confusion, unease, desire. He concentrated on the desire and drew her closer.
“Stop.” She was appalled by the lack of conviction in her own voice. “I told you, I...” He brushed his lips against her temple, and her knees turned to water. “I’m not going to bed with you.”
With a quiet murmur of agreement, he ran his hand up her back until her body was fitted against his. It amazed him how much he’d wanted to hold her like this. Her head nestled perfectly against his shoulder, as if they had been made to dance together. He had a moment’s regret that there wasn’t music, something low and pulsing. The thought made him smile. None of the women in his life had ever wanted to have the stage set. Nor had he ever had the urge to set one before.
“Relax,” he murmured, and slid his hand up to the back of her neck. “I’m not going to make love with you. I’m only going to kiss you.”
Panic had her straining away. “No, I don’t...”
The fingers at the back of her neck shifted, tightened, held firm. Later, when she could think, she would tell herself that he had inadvertently touched some nerve, some secret vulnerability. An unspeakable pleasure sprang into her, and her head fell back in submission. On the heels of that flash of sensation he brought his lips to hers.
She went rigid, though not from fear, not from anger, and certainly not in resistance. It was shock, wave after wave of it. A live wire, she thought dimly. Somehow she had closed her hand over a live wire, and the voltage was deadly.
His lips barely touched hers, teasing, titillating, tormenting. It was a caress, mouth against mouth, unbearably erotic. Then it was a nibble, an almost playful nibble. And a caress again, sweet and light and compelling. His lips were warm and smooth as they rubbed a whispering trail over hers. In arousing contrast, the stubble of his beard scraped roughly over her cheek as he turned his head to trace the outline of her lips with his tongue.
It was intimate, impossibly so, the way he tasted her, toyed with her. His tongue dipped to hers, savoring dark new flavors, before he changed the mood again and caught her bottom lip between his teeth, nipping, stopping unerringly at a point between pleasure and pain.
It was seduction, the kind she had never dreamed of. Slow, soft-edged, inescapable seduction. She could hear the low, helpless sound that caught in her throat as he closed his teeth lightly over her chin.
The hand that had tensed against his chest began to tremble. She felt the solid cabin floor sway under her feet. Her rigidity melted degree by degree until she was shuddering with the heat and pliant in his arms.
He’d never experienced anything, anyone, like her. It was as though she had melted against him, quietly, completely. Her taste was fresh, like the air that wafted through the open window. He heard the soft, yielding sound of her sigh.
Then her arms were around him, clinging. She plunged her fingers deep into his hair as she strained against him. In a heartbeat, her mouth went from submissive to avid, pressing hungrily, possessively, desperately, against his. Rocked by the force, he dived into the kiss and let passion rule.
She wanted... too much. Why hadn’t she known she’d been starving? Just the taste of him made her ravenous. Her body felt as though it would explode as dozens of new sensations arrowed into it, each of them sharp, separate and stunning. A muffled cry escaped her when his arms tightened painfully around her. She was no longer trembling—but he was.
What was she doing to him? He couldn’t catch his breath. He couldn’t think. But he could feel—too much, too quickly. The loss of control was more dangerous to a pilot than an uncharted meteor storm. He’d only meant to give and take a moment of pleasure, to satisfy a simple need. But this was more than pleasure, and it was far from simple. He needed to pull back before he was sucked into something he didn’t yet understand.
He drew her away with unsteady hands. It helped—a little—that her breathing was as ragged as his. Her eyes were wide and stunned. Yes, stunned was the word, he decided. He felt as though he’d flown into the side of a building.
What had he done? Confused, she lifted a hand to her lips. What had she done? She could almost feel her blood bubbling through her veins. Libby took a step back, wanting to find solid ground again, and easy answers.
“Wait.” He couldn’t resist. He might curse himself for it later, but he couldn’t resist. Before the first shock waves had passed, he hauled her against him a second time.
Not again. The single thought echoed in both their minds as they went under. The pull was just as strong, the need just as gripping. She felt herself seesaw between limp surrender and furious demand before she managed to yank herself free.