A Kiss in the Dark

by Karen Foley

  She was never going to be this alone with Angel again. Even if she weren’t leaving, he could be recalled to combat duty at any time and she might never see him again. That knowledge added a certain desperation to her feelings; made her bolder and more determined.

  A sharp knock on her hotel-room door caused her to jump guiltily. She gave herself one last, appraising look in the mirror, smoothed her blouse down over her hips and opened the door.

  Her pulse quickened a beat at the sight of the dark-eyed man who stood waiting for her. Angel wore a white, button-down shirt that emphasized the bronze hue of his skin. His black hair gleamed wetly from a recent shower, and Sedona caught the tangy scent of his soap. He smelled good enough to bite. When he smiled, she wanted to trace the deep indents of his dimples with her fingers, pull his head down and crush her mouth against his.

  His eyes swept over her, missing nothing. Sedona was glad she’d decided to leave her hair down when his gaze lingered for a moment on the glossy waves. “Ready to go?”

  She ducked her head, half afraid he might see her intent in her eyes, and rummaged through her purse to ensure she had her room key. “I’m ready. What did you have in mind for dinner?”

  He shrugged and indicated she should precede him down the hallway toward the elevators. “I usually let the lady choose. What are you in the mood for?”

  You.

  “I’m not familiar with this area, so I’ll let you choose. Although,” she added with deliberate nonchalance, “we could always stay in and order room service.”

  She sensed his sudden attention, but they had reached the bank of elevators where several other hotel guests were already waiting, and he didn’t respond to her veiled suggestion. Her heart pounded at her own temerity.

  His casual remark about letting the lady choose had mildly annoyed her. How many women had he been with? And how many of them had offered themselves for dessert?

  As they stepped into the elevator, Sedona was pressed into the corner by the other occupants. Angel stood beside her, his large frame protecting her from getting squashed by those around them. As Sedona determinedly stared at the illuminated numbers blinking their descent floor by floor, Angel leaned down and spoke quietly into her ear.

  “Would you rather we order in?”

  A warm wash of heat suffused her neck and crawled upward, and she risked a glance at him. He watched her with a careful intensity that made her breath catch. For a moment she worried about what the others in the elevator might think, but they stared fixedly at the closed doors, and she doubted they could hear Angel above the piped-in music.

  “Honestly?” she asked softly. “Yes. But it’s only our first night here. There’ll be other nights when we can opt to stay in.”

  There. Let him make what he wanted out of that. The elevator came to a halt and the doors slid smoothly open. Sedona started only slightly when Angel took her elbow and steered her past the small groups of people congregated in the lobby. The heat of his hand on her bare arm caused a shiver to course through her.

  “Cold?” he asked. “We can go back upstairs and get you a sweater, if you’d like.”

  “No, I’m not cold,” Sedona murmured. “Just the opposite, in fact. But if you’d like to go back upstairs…” She let the sentence trail off suggestively.

  Angel’s eyes narrowed and a hint of a dimple appeared in one cheek as he considered her. “I think you enjoy teasing me, mina. If I weren’t so hungry, I might take you up on it.” He laughed as she came to an abrupt halt and stared at him. “Relax. Now I’m the one who’s teasing.”

  He looked away, his eyes scanning the lobby. Sedona scowled at him. Dratted man. It had taken a lot of nerve for her to make that comment, and for one heart-stopping second she had actually believed he was considering her offer. Apparently, he wasn’t hungry enough. For her, at least. She was definitely going to have to do something about that.

  “We can always grab a bite to eat at the hotel restaurant,” Angel commented, interrupting her thoughts. “Looks like a pretty popular place.”

  Across the lobby a dimly lit restaurant and lounge was segregated by a low wall and a row of potted palm trees. Strains of music drifted toward them, interspersed with noisy laughter and loud conversation. It looked like a sports bar, and Sedona’s stomach tightened at the thought of having dinner in that overtly male setting. It was exactly the type of place Mike Sullivan and his cronies liked to frequent; the type of place where single women were easy targets for their lewd attention.

  As if on cue, she heard her voice being called. Moaning inwardly, she turned to see none other than Ken Larson and a group of men from the engineering division stroll across the lobby toward them.

  “Hey, Sedona,” Ken called, a friendly grin splitting his features, “you and the lieutenant care to join us for dinner?”

  “No!” she said quickly. Then, sensing Angel’s curiosity, she hurried to add, “We were actually just heading out to find someplace a little…quieter.” She smiled brightly at Ken and tried to pretend she didn’t want to wipe the knowing look from his face. “But you go ahead, enjoy your meal. We’ll see you later.”

  “Okay. But speaking of later,” Ken continued blithely, ignoring the warning daggers she was throwing at him, “we’ll be in the lounge if you want to join us when you get back.” He turned to Angel. “We tend to get a little rowdy when we’re on business trips…you know how it goes. But we have a good time. We’ve been trying to get Sedona here to let loose a little bit and join us, but she’s a tough nut to crack. But, hey—” he leaned forward to give Angel’s shoulder a friendly slap “—maybe you’ll have better luck.”

  “Maybe she’s just particular about the company she keeps,” Angel replied, looking pointedly at his shoulder, and then at Ken.

  Sedona watched as Ken’s eyes narrowed, and his features tightened. He stared at Angel for a full minute before he spoke. “Maybe you’re right, Lieutenant,” he finally said, his tone cool. “In all the years I’ve known her, I can’t recall a single time she’s ever agreed to have dinner with one of the team.” He cocked his head slightly as he considered Angel. “So what does that say about you?”

  “That I’m one lucky son of a bitch,” Angel replied, grinning as he took Sedona by the arm and steered her toward the exit.

  “Yeah, well, I hope you remembered to bring your camera, Sedona,” Ken called after their retreating backs. “After all, I wouldn’t want you to miss any of the sights.”

  Sedona knew he was referring to the “proof” she had promised to bring back to the Membership. It was obvious Ken didn’t expect her to go through with it, and as soon as an opportunity presented itself, she’d let him know he was right. There was no way she wanted anything to do with his nasty little club.

  As they pushed through the revolving door and out into the dry, cloudless heat of early evening, Angel glanced down at her. “So what was that all about?”

  For one instant, Sedona was tempted to tell him about the Membership and how Ken believed she was going to bring back proof of her own illicit behavior. But she knew he wouldn’t believe her. He’d probably think she was completely nuts. Nobody would believe such a club could exist in today’s world of political correctness, and especially not in a government office.

  Besides, telling him about the club might very well ruin any chance she had of getting him to sleep with her. If she told him about the Membership, he might think she was coming on to him in an effort to further her own career.

  They reached their rental car and Angel opened the passenger door for her. Sedona paused, one hand on the door frame, and looked up at him.

  “Ken Larson has made it pretty clear that when he’s on business travel, he’s on the make,” she said, trying to convey a sense of what Ken was up to, without mentioning the Membership. “I try not to associate with him unless the reason is business related. Ken’s the kind of guy where if you’re friendly to him, he thinks you want to have sex with him.”

 
Angel’s eyes glittered as he stared down at her, looking intently at her mouth. “Oh, yeah? So if what Larson says is true, and you never go out when you’re on business trips, why’d you agree to have dinner with me tonight?” He shrugged. “Maybe I’m cut from the same bolt of cloth as Ken.”

  “Well,” she said archly, her insides churning, “a girl can always hope.”

  She slid into the car and waited while Angel came around to the driver’s side and eased behind the wheel. He started the engine and flipped the air-conditioning on, but made no move to put the car in gear. Sedona held her breath when he turned in his seat to face her. His expression was taut. His entire body seemed coiled with tension.

  “Okay, Sedona.” His voice was low. “That’s about the third time in the last ten minutes you’ve made a suggestive remark to me.” One black eyebrow arched in question. “So tell me now, do you get some kind of cheap thrill from teasing guys? Are you the type who likes to string a guy along with your sultry come-ons, but never comes through with the goods?”

  Sedona stared at him in dismay, momentarily at a loss for words. Did he really think that of her? That she was a tease? She felt wild color come into her cheeks as she forced her gaze to deliberately travel over the thrust of broad shoulders, down the arms corded with muscle, to the lean, hard body that dominated the interior of the small car. But when she slowly met his eyes, there was no mistaking the heat she saw there, and it lent her courage to say the things that until now, she’d only ever dreamed about. She drew a deep, unsteady breath.

  “I never tease, and I never string guys along.” She ran the tip of her tongue nervously across her lips. “And I’m definitely not stringing you along. If you really want the goods, then come and get them.”

  6

  ANGEL STARED AT her, stunned. This couldn’t really be happening. It was like a miracle or something. Here he’d been trying to figure out how he was going to get her into bed, and she’d practically offered herself to him on a plate. If someone had told him yesterday that Sedona Stewart would put the moves on him, he’d never have believed it.

  Want her? Was she kidding? For just an instant he let his imagination soar with all the possibilities the coming night held. He had an incredibly sharp image of Sedona, less her clothes, straddling his hips.

  He’d surprised himself with the intensity of his desire for her. When she’d opened her hotel-room door to greet him, his eyes had immediately been drawn to the rich abundance of glossy hair that framed her face and fell softly around her shoulders. She didn’t wear any perfume, yet he’d caught the clean, light scent of something floral. Her shampoo, he’d guessed, and his eyes had lingered on her hair. He’d wondered briefly how it would feel beneath his hands. Silky? Cool?

  Her breasts thrust gently against the soft fabric of her blouse and for the first time he’d noticed how green her eyes were. And when she’d preceded him down the corridor toward the elevators, his attention had been fixed on her luscious backside, encased in a pair of jeans that were worn nearly threadbare across her buttocks. She wasn’t all that tall, but her long legs and curvy hips lent her an aura of height.

  Oh, yeah, he wanted her. But as he stared into her eyes, he also realized she was the kind of woman a guy could get serious about. The kind of woman who probably didn’t get involved with someone unless she had long-term plans. She probably fell in love with every guy she slept with. He had to make it clear that he wasn’t interested in anything permanent or long lasting.

  He’d seen plenty of relationships fall apart under the stress and demands of a military career. Add combat duty and extended overseas deployments, and it was a recipe for marital disaster. Nope, it took a special woman to commit herself to a navy man. So while he was perfectly willing to engage in a fling, he didn’t want Sedona to delude herself into thinking it would be anything more than that. He could be recalled to combat duty at any time, or be reassigned to another squadron, and there was no way he was going to ask a woman to wait for him while he was gone. It wouldn’t be fair.

  But in the meantime…he was already anticipating fitting himself against her lushness, and was unable to prevent the tightening of his body in response.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Sedona said.

  Angel arched one eyebrow at her, and couldn’t quite suppress a smile. “Oh, I don’t think you do, mina, or you’d already be halfway back to the safety of your hotel room.”

  To his surprise, she smiled, a slow, sensual curving of her lips. “That’s where you’re wrong. I might be anxious to get back to my room, but only because I’d be dragging you with me.” She turned slightly toward him in her seat. “I want you, Angel Torres. So, what do you say? I know you’re hungry. You said so yourself. Shall we forgo dinner and go right for dessert?”

  A primal response coursed through Angel, a rush of heat that poured through his veins like liquid fire. But although her words were full of bravado, he could sense her uncertainty. This wasn’t something she did frequently, if she’d ever done it at all. His gaze drifted to her mouth, ripe and moist. He wanted so badly to sample those tempting lips, to taste her and find out if she was as delicious as she appeared.

  He leaned toward her across the center console as his eyes swept her features. Why had he never before noticed how damn pretty she was? Her skin was smooth and golden beneath a dusting of freckles across her nose and brow, and her lips…Jesus, her lips could tempt a saint.

  Hardly aware of doing so, he reached out and slid a hand beneath the cool, silken fall of her hair and drew her forward. Her pupils dilated, turning her eyes almost black, before her breath escaped in a soft rush and her lashes drifted down to shield her eyes from him. Her lips parted, and then he was covering them with his own.

  Her mouth was incredibly soft and pliant, and she tasted vaguely of something sweet, as if she’d recently sucked on a piece of candy. But if he’d thought he was going to be the one doing the kissing, he’d thought wrong.

  She made a soft, needy sound that inflamed his senses, and then she arched against him, tentatively seeking his tongue with her own. When he responded, she met him eagerly. She wound her arms around his neck. She drew him closer, gently thrust her tongue against his and did some exploring of her own until he groaned aloud and angled her head for better access. She clutched at his shoulders, slid her hands along the back of his neck and speared her fingers through his hair.

  Her mouth was hot and sweet, and Angel’s entire body responded to its pull. His hands moved down her back, over her smooth shoulders and the bumps of her spine, to the bare strip of skin revealed where her shirt gaped away from her waistband. His fingertips caressed the exposed flesh, learning its texture and warmth.

  She gave a soft gasp and wriggled closer, slanting her mouth across his. She caught his tongue and tugged on it, sucked it until Angel’s world was reduced to nothing more than the woman in his arms and the feel of her hot, insistent mouth on his. When he ran one hand along her rib cage and captured her breast, she gasped and arched her back. He caressed the soft mound through her blouse, reveling in the weight of it against his palm. When he rubbed his thumb across the peak, her nipple hardened instantly, thrusting against him until he rolled it between his fingers.

  He was only dimly aware of working the buttons on her blouse until the fabric fell away and he encountered the silken flesh beneath. He dragged his mouth from hers and used his lips to sear a path along the elegant arch of her neck to her collarbone. She gripped his head, encouraging this new exploration. Her breath was warm and ragged against his cheek, his neck.

  Slipping one hand behind her, he bowed her across his arm and tugged her bra downward until her breasts spilled free. They were round and firm, pale and smooth except for the ruddy nipples. He bent his head and sucked one into his mouth, pressing the hard nub against the roof of his mouth while he cupped and kneaded her other breast.

  Vaguely, as if from a great distance, he became aware of a car engine roaring into life somewher
e close by, accompanied by the sound of voices. Slowly, the realization of what they were doing in the parking lot of the hotel sunk into his lust-sodden brain.

  “Jesus.” Angel jerked himself away from her.

  She lay half collapsed against the seat, her naked breasts pushed high by the bra that was still bunched beneath them. Her nipples were stiff and rosy and gleamed wetly from where he’d suckled them. Tousled hair fell around her flushed face.

  She looked like an erotic fantasy.

  Her breathing was as labored as his, but her eyes were still closed, her lips moist and parted as she struggled to draw breath. If Angel didn’t know better, he might have thought she was still savoring the taste and feel of him. When she did open her eyes, they were hazy with pleasure. She stared at him with a mixture of wonder and longing, and for the first time in years, Angel felt a frisson of fear.

  Almost harshly, he dragged the open edges of her blouse together. “Cover yourself, mina.” His voice sounded rough, even to his own ears.

  Confusion, then embarrassment, replaced the warmth in her eyes, and she struggled to sit up. She bit her lip and turned slightly away from him as she adjusted her clothing.

  Angel blew out his breath in frustration and resisted the urge to drag her back toward him. He flung himself into his seat and scrubbed his hands over his face. What the hell had just happened? He’d come so damn close to losing control. Too close. He’d wanted to haul her across the console, tear her jeans off and take her, right there in the freakin’ car in the middle of a goddamn parking lot. He still wanted her. He was aching and uncomfortable with need, and it scared the hell out of him.

  Sedona wasn’t the first woman to come on to him in such a blatant way. In fact, women had been chasing after him or propositioning him since he was in high school. He was, to a certain extent, used to it. The difference was that he was the one who decided whether or not to let the pursuer catch him. He always retained the upper hand, never let his libido rule his better sense. He never let himself lose control. End of story.