Read Online Short Fuse: Elite Operators, Book 2 by Rebecca Crowley - Free Book Online
Authors: Rebecca Crowley
Ads: Link
down.
Slowly, deliberately, Nicola reached for that hand. She laced her fingers through his and pulled him closer.
It was a small signal but a bold one, and he was mesmerized by her calm expression. Her hand was so soft and delicate against his larger, rougher one. It made him wonder what her body would feel like against his. Sweet and supple. Smooth and yielding.
Tentatively, as though she were a watchful impala rather than an eminently capable woman, he extended his left hand across the short space between them and brushed his thumb across her cheek. Her skin felt like silk, and as he swept the pad of his thumb over the ridge of her cheekbone he watched her gaze flick briefly to his mouth, then back up to meet his eyes.
That look set him aflame with a lust so heady, it took every shred of his willpower not to drag her into his arms, fist his hands in her fiery hair and thrust his tongue between her lips. He wasn’t sure when or how this fuse between them had been lit, but there was no question it was burning bright and hot and faster than ever.
Time seemed to slow to a hushed, hesitant crawl. She inclined her head almost imperceptibly, and her grip on his palm tightened. He slid his other hand into her thick fall of hair, warm and wet from the shower, until his fingertips cupped the back of her neck. The dirt shifted beneath his boot as they drew together with painful slowness. He increased the pressure at her nape in minute increments, the tip of her thumb digging into the hollow between his knuckles.
A gust of wind slammed the door against the wall of the outbuilding with a bang that resonated so loudly in the tense silence it felt calculatedly cruel. Nicola jerked back in his grip and although she didn’t drop her hand, the slight twist in her expression told him she’d just realized what they were doing.
Two colleagues who’d only met the day before, standing outside, in the center of a bustling mine site, she in a towel and he in a filthy boiler suit.
Seconds away from a kiss so hot it rivaled the temperature at the bottom of the mine.
He cleared his throat, constructing a cooling-off sentence that would be more of a yellow traffic light than a red one when something caught his attention.
“Do you smell that?”
She frowned. “Just rock dust and gasoline.”
“No, there’s something else.” He scanned the area around them, working feverishly to complete the circuit that was already setting off squealing alarms in his brain. The scent was sickeningly sweet with a metallic chemical undertone—cyanide? Acetylene? Oh, shit, it was—
“Warren, I don’t—”
Her words were lost in the blast that rocked the ground beneath their feet.
Chapter Six
The vibration juddered through Nicola’s bones as a cloud of dust rolled across the dry grass. The clap of sound was deafening, seeming to surround them, and she was utterly disoriented as she squeezed her eyes shut against the grit in the air.
In one fluid motion Warren pulled her over and down to the base of the outbuilding. He bundled her against his chest, spreading his palm over the back of her head and tucking her face under his chin. As she registered the clacks and thuds of debris hitting his hard hat she pressed into him gratefully, stifling a terrified whimper as the reality of the situation struck her like a cold slap.
This mine wasn’t safe.
After what felt like hours but couldn’t have been more than twenty seconds, the crackling roar of the blast gave way to distressed shouts and motion-triggered alarms bleeping discordantly from various places around the site. Warren thrust her away from him, holding her at arm’s length as he scanned her for injury. She stared at his peculiar, silvery irises, absurdly wishing she could crawl back into his arms and stay there until nightfall.
“Are you all right? Nothing hurts?” He ran a hand through her hair, parting it in sections to check for blood.
“I’m okay. I’m fine,” she said
Slowly, deliberately, Nicola reached for that hand. She laced her fingers through his and pulled him closer.
It was a small signal but a bold one, and he was mesmerized by her calm expression. Her hand was so soft and delicate against his larger, rougher one. It made him wonder what her body would feel like against his. Sweet and supple. Smooth and yielding.
Tentatively, as though she were a watchful impala rather than an eminently capable woman, he extended his left hand across the short space between them and brushed his thumb across her cheek. Her skin felt like silk, and as he swept the pad of his thumb over the ridge of her cheekbone he watched her gaze flick briefly to his mouth, then back up to meet his eyes.
That look set him aflame with a lust so heady, it took every shred of his willpower not to drag her into his arms, fist his hands in her fiery hair and thrust his tongue between her lips. He wasn’t sure when or how this fuse between them had been lit, but there was no question it was burning bright and hot and faster than ever.
Time seemed to slow to a hushed, hesitant crawl. She inclined her head almost imperceptibly, and her grip on his palm tightened. He slid his other hand into her thick fall of hair, warm and wet from the shower, until his fingertips cupped the back of her neck. The dirt shifted beneath his boot as they drew together with painful slowness. He increased the pressure at her nape in minute increments, the tip of her thumb digging into the hollow between his knuckles.
A gust of wind slammed the door against the wall of the outbuilding with a bang that resonated so loudly in the tense silence it felt calculatedly cruel. Nicola jerked back in his grip and although she didn’t drop her hand, the slight twist in her expression told him she’d just realized what they were doing.
Two colleagues who’d only met the day before, standing outside, in the center of a bustling mine site, she in a towel and he in a filthy boiler suit.
Seconds away from a kiss so hot it rivaled the temperature at the bottom of the mine.
He cleared his throat, constructing a cooling-off sentence that would be more of a yellow traffic light than a red one when something caught his attention.
“Do you smell that?”
She frowned. “Just rock dust and gasoline.”
“No, there’s something else.” He scanned the area around them, working feverishly to complete the circuit that was already setting off squealing alarms in his brain. The scent was sickeningly sweet with a metallic chemical undertone—cyanide? Acetylene? Oh, shit, it was—
“Warren, I don’t—”
Her words were lost in the blast that rocked the ground beneath their feet.
Chapter Six
The vibration juddered through Nicola’s bones as a cloud of dust rolled across the dry grass. The clap of sound was deafening, seeming to surround them, and she was utterly disoriented as she squeezed her eyes shut against the grit in the air.
In one fluid motion Warren pulled her over and down to the base of the outbuilding. He bundled her against his chest, spreading his palm over the back of her head and tucking her face under his chin. As she registered the clacks and thuds of debris hitting his hard hat she pressed into him gratefully, stifling a terrified whimper as the reality of the situation struck her like a cold slap.
This mine wasn’t safe.
After what felt like hours but couldn’t have been more than twenty seconds, the crackling roar of the blast gave way to distressed shouts and motion-triggered alarms bleeping discordantly from various places around the site. Warren thrust her away from him, holding her at arm’s length as he scanned her for injury. She stared at his peculiar, silvery irises, absurdly wishing she could crawl back into his arms and stay there until nightfall.
“Are you all right? Nothing hurts?” He ran a hand through her hair, parting it in sections to check for blood.
“I’m okay. I’m fine,” she said
Similar Books
