Outside, the cool desert night was blissfully cool. Monica breathed deep, senses reeling as she inhaled the evening’s fecund fragrance. Davis stood so close she could hear the muted whisper of his pulse. So steady, strong and solid. So exactly what she’d been hoping for, so exactly what she needed.

“I know we’ve only just met,” he whispered, his lips just inches from her ear–and when did he get so close? she couldn’t help but wonder. “But I feel like I’ve been looking for you my whole life.”

A shiver of anticipation ran through her. It was as though his words were the signal she’d been waiting for. Without thinking, she turned to him, pulling his face down to hers, covering his lips with her own, clutching at his shoulders only barely aware of his hands roving over her back.

She tried to keep her lips to herself when he leaned to one side, his neck begging for a kiss, and whispered in her ear, “I collect subs. Do you know what a sub is?”

That didn’t make sense. How does a guy collect submarines? She called him on it. “You don’t collect submarines! Do you know how big a sub–”

“No,” his tongue graced her ear. “Not submarines. Submissives. People that have an affinity with my needs.”

She shivered when she realized what he was talking about and, more importantly, what his needs might be.

“Are you ready?” The man licked her earlobe. Now she know why he had a hand on her neck. The sensation of his tongue on her ear was so overwhelming she would have slumped to the floor otherwise.

“No. Yes. Please.”

She felt the man smile. His tongue lapped the whorls of her ear, and suddenly all she could hear was him.

The marimba band the local Solstice committee had hired — silent. The chattering crowds — tongue-tied. Even the sound of her own heartbeat was stilled. All that was left was the silky smooth whisper of his lips cruising the over-sensitized skin of her cheek.

She looked around in a panic. Is this is how it was supposed to happen?

“They don’t matter.” The man soothed her. “Only me. Only you.”

There he was. Tall and broad, with a high-n-tight that was sorely in need of a barber, her man headed straight toward their meeting place. A big, bulky war-bag draped over his back, his dog tags were swinging with every confident step he took. But all she focused on was his gorgeous face and his mouth, which quirked into a wide grin the moment he saw her.

“Eric,” she mumbled as her breath caught in her throat. Kaitlin’s feet felt glued in place and her vision swam. She was not going to cry, they’d been through this many times, and she was strong, right? Quickly, she blinked away the incriminating dampness and found her clarity. Before she knew it, the space between them evaporated.

The hard, slab of muscle making up his torso flexed against her breasts as he enfolded her within his strong embrace. Inhaling, his scent tickled her nose and tantalized her senses.

“I have something for you baby-doll,” he said, the deep, rough tone of his voice enticed Kaitlin and she gave in to the impulse, moaning as his tongue found her earlobe and swirled across the opal stud.

“Please,” was all she could manage for a reply.

Just askin.