CHAPTER TEN

 

 

HOLDEN KNOCKED SOFTLY before opening the door to his apartment so he wouldn’t freak Kendall out. “Hey, it’s me,” he announced, making a little extra noise with the keys as he took them out of the lock. “I’m home.”

Kendall came out of the kitchen, a smile lighting up her face. Barefoot, she had on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, her hair loose over her shoulders and hanging down her back. Damn, she was even more beautiful than he remembered. One look at those long, shapely legs had him wondering how she found so much time to work out while spending hours in the campus library. Then he decided he couldn’t care less, instead simply appreciating perfection when he saw it. She definitely had spectacular legs. If he wasn’t so damn tired, he’d probably be on his knees right now kissing his way up them starting at her ankles until he got all the way to the juncture of her thighs. That might have taken him days. Because seriously, those legs went on for days!

Holden forced those thoughts away so he didn’t have to deal with a boner. In his current exhausted state, the lack of blood flow to his head would probably make him pass out.

Instead, he focused on how nice it was to walk in the door and have someone as perfect as Kendall waiting there for him. It hit him then—hard. He had somebody to come home to. That knowledge was doing some absolutely weird shit to his head.

He’d dated women before—lots of them. He hadn’t been actively against the idea of a long-term relationship, but he’s always sucked at them. Between his dysfunctional childhood and his demanding job, it was almost a given that he’d always run women off. But Kendall was different. Yeah, it had only been a few days, but it felt different with her. He was a SEAL who lived and died on his instincts. And right now, those instincts were telling him his life was about to change. For the better.

“Welcome back,” Kendall said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss.

Holden groaned out loud as her tongue slipped into his mouth. The taste of her was enough to make him pass out in pleasure. She was like heaven. He lifted his hands to grab her hips, ready to drag her to the floor and start exploring every inch of those smoking hot legs when she stepped back.

“Don’t take this the wrong way—because I’m really glad you’re back—but I think a shower might be in order before dinner.” She wrinkled her nose. “You seriously need one.”

He glanced down at his uniform. Damn, he kind of looked like crap. It was hard finding a spot on the camo material that wasn’t covered in mud, ground-in dirt, sweat stains, or rips. He knew there were probably some bruises here and there as well. He was tempted to do a sniff test to see how bad it was, but stopped himself. He was too classy for something like that. At least in front of Kendall.

It wasn’t shocking he was somewhat the worse for wear. After reaching the extraction point and not finding the chopper, they’d been forced to run another half-marathon give or take to the next set of coordinates. Unfortunately, they’d found that location heavily defended by somebody’s idea of insurgent fighters. Holden and the rest of the team had to come up with an impromptu attack plan and clear the site so their bird could come in. It had been vicious, coming down to hand-to-hand combat with a bunch of motivated bad guys the CIA had assigned to play the part. There wasn’t a part on Holden’s body that didn’t hurt.

He lifted his gaze to Kendall, worried she was going to see all the dirt and damage and run for the hills like his previous girlfriend. He opened his mouth to tell her it had only been a training exercise, but she laughed and nudged him toward the bedroom.

Once there, he kicked his boots off, then reached for the buttons of his uniform top. Kendall stopped him.

“Let me,” she murmured, popping the buttons and shoving the thick camouflage material off before he could say anything. He liked the way her nimble fingertips felt as they brushed against his chest and abs through the T-shirt he wore underneath.

“You don’t have to help me undress,” he said softly.

She gave him a sexy smile as she reached for the buckle on his belt. “I know. But maybe I want to.”

What the hell do you say to a woman making an offer like that?

The moment she worked his belt loose, his pants dropped to the floor with a thud, leaving him standing in front of her in nothing but his T-shirt and boxer briefs. Everything slowed then as he stood there gazing into Kendall’s beautiful eyes, loving this moment, though he had no idea why.

Her hands skimmed under his T-shirt as she pushed it up and over his head. Heat filled her gaze as she caressed his chest and shoulders. He was filthy, but she didn’t seem to mind. Instead, she licked her lips and eyed him like she was thinking about eating him. The thought made his cock throb.

“Do you need help scrubbing your back?” she asked, the words a sexy caress across the skin of his chest that was already tingling from the touch her fingers.

He was sorely tempted, but he shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but if we both go in there, I don’t think a lot of cleaning is going to get done. And I do need to clean up because I really smell.”

Disappointment crossed her face, but she nodded. “You’re probably right. I’ll get the pizza ready while you clean up.”

Holden watched her go, the view of her ass in those shorts almost enough to make him change his mind about shower sex. But once again he restrained himself. He doubted she’d want his sore, sweaty body draped all over her right then.

Stripping off his underwear, he stepped into the shower and turned on the cold water, knowing it would help with his hard-on, as well as his sore muscles. His ribs on the left side hurt thanks to a solid kick from the heel of one of the fake terrorist’s boot. Holden was surprised he hadn’t broken something.

He leaned against the back wall of the shower as the water washed away the muck and the yuck. He vaguely remembered getting some shampoo involved at some point, but mostly he stood there thinking about Kendall and how much he liked having her at his place. He wondered if it was too soon to tell her that. Probably. Hell, they barely knew each other. He didn’t want to scare her away. He’d bring it up soon. Who knew? She might be as comfortable with the idea as he was.