Resisting Her Rebel Hero by Lucy Ryder Page A

‘Hell’? What’s next? The b word?”
    Cassidy froze and stared open-mouthed for a couple of beats before a faint flush rose up her neck into her cheeks. “You heard all that?” And when his eyes crinkled and his mouth lifted at one corner, she groaned.
    “Oh, God, just shoot me.”
    Sam laughed. “I only shoot bad guys,” he assured her, slipping his arm out from under her shapely bottom to let her slide down the length of his body while he enjoyed the friction of soft curves against hard angles. Her face flamed when she felt a certain hard angle and he bit back a groan, suddenly realizing why he’d come.
    He wasn’t cool with his brother putting the moves on her and he sure as hell didn’t like the idea of Buddy or Jake dropping their shorts in her presence either.
    Ignoring what that might mean, Sam inhaled the flowery, fresh scent of her hair and enjoyed the soft press of full breasts against his chest. Suddenly nothing mattered but putting his mouth on hers again and finding out if she tasted as good as he remembered.
    As if sensing his intent, she made a sound of protest and scrambled out of reach, her eyes huge and dark with suspicion and...was that arousal?
    “What are you doing here, Major?” she demanded a little breathlessly. For a long moment he watched from beneath heavy lids before taking a step towards her, enjoying the flash of annoyance that replaced the mild panic when she found herself backed against the wall.
    Blocking her escape with a palm to the wall, he tunneled his free hand beneath the soft, fragrant cloud surrounding her flushed face. He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and gently pressed his thumb into the soft hollow at the base of her throat. The rapid flutter beneath his touch had him lifting her face to his.
    The scent of peaches drifted to him and his gut clenched. Damn , he thought, she makes me hungry . Dropping his gaze to her mouth, he feathered a knuckle across her jaw to the corner of her lips and when her breath hitched in her throat, his blood went hot.
    “I had no intention of coming here,” he accused in a voice rough and deep with need. “But you...make me crazy. I couldn’t stay away.”
    With a sharply indrawn breath Cassidy fisted her hands in his shirt as though she couldn’t make up her mind whether to push him away or pull him close. Sam took advantage of her indecision to open his mouth over hers in a soft kiss that stole her breath and sent his head reeling.
    “Samuel,” she protested tightly against his mouth.
    With a deep “Hmm?” he slid his tongue along her lower lip before dipping inside where she was warm and delicious. He hummed again, this time with growing need.
    God, he thought, he hadn’t exaggerated the memory of her taste, or the feel of her mouth moving beneath his.
    “S-Samuel,” she stuttered, “this...this is a bad idea.” You’re telling me. But she didn’t pull away, which told Sam he wasn’t the only crazy person here. In fact, she tilted her head to give him better access and her breath hitched in her throat.
    It was the sign he’d unconsciously been waiting for.
    “I like the way you say my name,” he growled against her lips, before rocking his mouth over hers, his control rapidly slipping. “I like the way your breath hitches in your throat when you’re aroused.” He pressed his hips against hers. “It makes me...hard.”
    “ I’m not! ” she protested. “I...don’t...” Then flattened her palm over his heart, drew in a shaky breath and tried again. “You’re not .” But her words emerged on a moan when she felt exactly how hard he was, ruining her denial.
    “I beg to differ,” he drawled, and chuckled when she blushed and huffed out an embarrassed giggle.
    “No, I’m s-serious,” she stuttered, squirming away, only to find herself backed into a corner. Huffing with annoyance, she narrowed her eyes, stuck out her chin and clenched her hands as though she was contemplating taking a swing