I still couldn’t believe it.

One minute we were just talking, and the next minute she was touching my face, then in the blink of an eye, we were kissing so hard it was like we were devouring each other.

Hell, I almost lost my head.

I was so wild for her I had to force myself to walk away before I threw her down on the floor, ripped her clothes off, and did all the things that I had been dreaming of doing since the first day I saw her.

Even though my balls ached for her sweet pussy, I was glad I walked away. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but for once in my brutal life I did the right thing. I saw a delicate little flower and did not crush it under my boot. I was no good for her. She was a sweet, innocent little thing and as surely I was sitting alone in my sleeping bag, I would end up hurting her. Breaking her innocent heart.

I stared into the fire and watched the glowing embers. I was not used to sleeping next to so much heat, but I wanted to keep the house warm for her. I had an image of her asleep in my bed. Immediately, the desire to go up to her pulsated in my loins. I had to stop thinking of her. The blizzard had stopped about an hour ago. Maybe I should go out and spend some time with the wolves. The cold will be good to cool down my heated blood.

I took a few deep breaths. In. Out. Just breathe.

Right when I thought I had things under control I heard a sound on the stairs. I stood up and froze. It was her. She was coming down the stairs. Another couple of creaks and she was standing at the doorway. She was so fucking still; she was like a statue.

My eyes roamed her body greedily. She was so beautiful framed by the velvet darkness behind her. Her honey colored hair was loose down her back and it shone like burnished gold in the firelight. In the flickering light her face was that of an angel. Her feet were bare. My dick became rock hard. I wanted her with every fiber in my body. Every living cell in my body called out for the taste of her flesh.

“Tell me why we can’t?” she asked softly.

I didn’t move or speak, not that I could have, even if I wanted to. She caught the sound of my breathing and walked toward me. She didn’t have her cane, so she moved cautiously, one hand raised in front of her and testing the floor with every step she took. She kept going until her hand collided with my chest. She reached forward, sliding those clever hands up my arms, to my shoulders, until she cupped my face in her fingertips.

“I just want to know why we can’t,” she insisted.

I caught her hands in mine and swallowed hard. “I don’t want to do anything that you might regret, or that might end the friendship we have. It’s really good our … friendship, isn’t it?”

Her soft lips parted in a silent gasp. “Yes, but I want more.”

“Lara, honey.”

“I like the way you say my name,” she purred. “It sounds almost exotic. I don’t know how you do that, but you do.”

I cleared my throat and gently took a step back.

“Lara …”

“See? Just like that. You did it again.”

She was so small I could crush her with my bare hands. “You know … we could ruin everything. And this is so damn good, isn’t it? I haven’t had a friendship like this in a very long time.”

“How long has it been since you had a lover?”

I choked on my own saliva. My body surged so hard my dick hurt. All I wanted to do was fuck her and I had to give her these bullshit excuses. My heart began a crazy beat. I could feel my blood crashing in my ears. “A really fucking long time,” I muttered.

“How long?” she pressed softly.

There was a distant memory, so distant it was goddamn sad. A woman who mattered for a weekend. It was on a beach. A prostitute, but kind. She looked at my dick, and kissed me on the lips to show me that I was not repulsive to her. “You’ve got the biggest cock I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot, soldier,” she said. When she was leaving she told me to call her if I ever needed relief again, but I never did. While I was emptying my cock inside her throat, I was back in Mosul. The white light was exploding all around me, and Valerie was lying in bloody pieces.

“Over a year,” I whispered. “Closer to two.”

“Huh … that’s not what I expected at all,” she said with a smile. “You are so darn sexy I don’t know how any woman is expected to keep her hands off you.”

Oh, Lara, Lara, my doll. Look at you, saying all the right things. My whole body felt like it was on fire. “Are you actually trying to seduce me? Me? The guy with the fucking burnt face. If you are it’s fucking working.”

When she stepped forward again and pressed her hands on my shoulders, I had a tough time even thinking about anything else but the gorgeous body that lay underneath her clothes.

“Lara … are you fucking sure about this?” I whispered hoarsely.

Her answer was to press herself against me as fully as she could. I let her delectable weight push into me. Then I lowered us onto the sleeping bag. To my surprise she climbed right on top of me with no shyness or hesitation at all.

Sinking her hands into my hair she held my face as her lips and tongue worked magic over my mouth, then slowly moved, dropping butterfly kisses all down my chin. By the time she kissed my neck, I knew I was at the point of no return.

“This is your last warning,” I said. “Go any lower and I’m gonna be inside you all fucking night.”

“Promise?”

Her giggle was that of a carefree child that didn’t know better. It frightened the shit out of me. I pulled back, but she grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me closer, closer, closer.

“I’ve offered my body to you, please don’t say no,” she said in a quiet voice.

She obviously had no doubts whatsoever, and suddenly, neither did I. Fuck, it wouldn’t be crushing a flower under my boot. It would be more like taking it out by its roots and planting it on my soil so that it would be mine forever. I wrapped my arms around her and rolled us both over onto the sleeping bag, pushing up with my legs until we were both stretched out on it properly. Her head was on my pillow as I hovered above her, and I swear I had never seen anything more beautiful, more innocent, or more delicious than her. I was shaking with desire.

“You’re mine, goddammit,” I growled like a fucking Neanderthal.

“Yes,” she growled back fiercely. She was like no woman I knew. She cared nothing for niceties.

Then her hands were everywhere. I had rarely been with anyone so eager and it pleased me. I liked it that the little pussycat was a tigress in the sack. I kissed her until she was panting with need. That was what was so unusual and refreshing about her. She didn’t pretend to be cool or sophisticated. She made love in the same way she ate cupcakes. With complete abandon. Enjoying every second of it.

I hadn’t removed a single stitch of clothing yet, but that was definitely next on my agenda as she arched her back and pulled restlessly at the hem of her sweater. With a few simple movements it was off, and I was staring at a pair of luscious, full breasts encased in a whisper of lace.

I ran my lips up the curve of her breast. Her perfume was stronger here, and I let my tongue explore, hoping to find the tangy spot where she had sprayed it. She gasped as I made my way down her stomach, then back up again, teasing her.

“Take your shirt off,” she demanded. “I want to feel your skin.”