Page 10 of Strip Search
We’re still so close together that I can feel his thickening erection between us. My own heartbeat picks up, and I feel like I’m gasping for air.
My God, when did he start having this effect on me?
The closer we began working together, the sparing, the shooting practice when he’d wrap his arms around me to help me perfect my stance. The shoulder squeezes, how he would brush past me at the office. I’ve convinced myself all along that I was imagining the chemistry between us, he was just being kind, but I can feel it clearly now. I’m not imagining this.
Not wanting this moment to pass, and before I can think twice, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss his lips. Lips that I’ve longed to kiss for far too long.
I’ve dreamt of this moment.
A moment that, however brief, has already exceeded my expectations. Cole’s kiss is sweet, tender, and somewhere in my brain, I expect him to pull away quickly. Yet, he doesn’t. Instead, Cole takes full control and turns it into something so passionate that I feel like I’m crumbling to the ground. And falling head over heels in love with the man, all over again.
My hands take on a mind of their own, tracing down his arms, across his chest, roaming the hard plains of his body. I have no idea where this will lead, but the minute I fist his shirt in my hands, he pulls back.
Panting and visibly pissed.
I know what’s next, and so help me God if he says the words, I’ll kick him right in the nuts.
“Please. Don’t,” I beg, in a voice not much louder than a whisper.
Cole looks at me again and runs his fingers through his hair that he’s let grow out a bit more since he retired from the Marines. “Mol–“
“No,” my voice shakes. I won’t fall apart. I won’t let him destroy me, or at least I won’t let him know he already has.
“I’m sorry.” He shakes his head. “That should have never happened.”
Dagger. Straight to the heart.
“Yeah. You’re right it shouldn’t have happened. I’m not the dirty slut you need.” Every word is laced with venom. “I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. Forget about it.”
“I’m not the man you need, Molly. You’re just confused. You’ll find someone, but it ain’t me, babe.”
“No. Nope. You don’t get to do that with me. We’re done.” I keep backing away, building a wall around my heart with each step. “As for business, I got your message loud and clear about the whole situation. The thing is, Cole, you don’t get to dictate my life. I’m going to do what I want to do, with or without you. So, either set it up to give me the protection you think I need or watch me do it all on my own.”
“Molly,” Cole groans in frustration.
I have nothing left for him. “We’re done here. Get out. I’ll see you at work on Monday.”