Oath of Honor

“Is this all right?” Wes asked, her mouth on Evyn’s throat.

“Oh yeah,” Evyn said. “Really, really all right.” She grasped

Wes’s waist, holding her lightly, careful not to disrupt the cotton-towel

barrier between them. Wes would take it off if she wanted, and if she

didn’t… I’ll probably die. Beneath her fingers, Wes’s body was firm and

strong, like her. Evyn ached to touch more. “But what exactly is this

we’re doing?”

“Had to do it,” Wes muttered, kissing her way down Evyn’s throat.

She’d reached for Evyn thinking she knew what she would find—

strength and understanding. She’d been right, but there was so much

more. So much more than she’d ever dreamed. Evyn tasted like winter—

sharp and tangy—and underneath the wild rush, a sweetness like the

promise of spring. Evyn’s pulse raced beneath Wes’s mouth, vibrating

with power, drawing her deeper into the mystery that was Evyn. She’d

never in her life taken a step she hadn’t planned, and rarely, even in the

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midst of an emergency, made a decision when she hadn’t anticipated

the outcome. Now she was flying blind. Evyn felt too good, sounded

too beautiful to turn from while she analyzed, deduced, outlined, and

planned. “Don’t know what’s happening, but I can’t stop.”

Evyn tilted her head back against the wall, giving herself to Wes’s

mouth. “Then don’t. Please, don’t.”

“There’s something you should know,” Wes murmured, pushing

the jacket down Evyn’s arms. She got distracted by the warm, soft skin

at the base of Evyn’s throat and left the jacket tethering Evyn’s wrists

behind her. “I love the way you taste.”

“Your mouth is so hot.” Evyn rolled her head restlessly from side

to side. “You make me burn.”

Wes pulled at the jacket, got it off somehow, and pushed Evyn’s

T-shirt up her torso—searching for flesh. She slid her palm over Evyn’s

belly and gasped at the quick contraction of muscles beneath her

fingers. She loved feeling Evyn’s body respond to her touch. She traced

the edge of Evyn’s abdominals with her fingertips, over and over. Evyn

bowed under her hand. So beautiful. “You might have to help me out.”

“Doing fine so far,” Evyn said thickly.

“I’m getting into unknown territory here.” Wes lowered to her

knees and kissed the strip of skin above Evyn’s jeans. Hot, silky skin.

She sucked lightly and eased both hands higher, grazing the undersides

of Evyn’s breasts. She’d touched thousands of bodies, but never like

this. Never like this.

“God, Wes,” Evyn gasped. “You make me feel so good.”

“I want to touch you everywhere.”

“Yes, yes.”

Wes looked up. Evyn was watching her, her lids hooded, her eyes

hazy. Her lips were slightly parted, a little swollen. Her breasts rose and

fell rapidly. She had done this to her—she had stirred Evyn’s body with

her touch. A wave of awe and power rushed through her and her head

went light. “I’ve never felt anything like this.”

Evyn smiled crookedly. “Neither have I.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Evyn’s hands came into her hair. “Just keep doing it.”

Wes rose and pulled the towel from her body. She dropped it on

the floor and pressed full-length against Evyn. She kissed her again,

deeper, seeking the heat she knew would warm her beyond the icy

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reach of the water and the terror of the dark and the years of solitude.

She pulled back. “You make me warm.”

Evyn laughed. “I want to make you hot.”

“That too.”

“I’d have a better chance if we were in bed.”

“I’ve never done this before.”

The blood rushed from Evyn’s head and her stomach tightened.

“Okay. Well. That’s really scary, because you’re really, really good.

If it’s all right with you, I’d like you to just keep doing exactly what

you’re doing.”

“So would I.”

Evyn took Wes’s hand and tugged her toward the bed. “I want to

touch you all over too. With my hands. With my mouth. Can I?”

“Yes. Please. Anything.”

Evyn finally let herself look at Wes. At all of her. She’d been wrong,

in her fantasy. Wes was far more beautiful than she’d imagined—her

skin a tawny gold, her nipples small tan disks, every muscle sensuous

and smooth. “You’re gorgeous.”

“Can we take your clothes off?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot that.” Evyn met Wes’s eyes. Now was the time

for her to take back control, to lead as she always had. To pleasure from

a safe distance. “Why don’t you undress me.” She held her breath and

willed her legs to keep her upright.

“This isn’t me,” Wes murmured, opening the top button of Evyn’s

jeans. Her fingers trembled. Her hands never shook, not even when she

was sliding an intravenous needle into the only remaining vein on some

trauma victim, knowing if she missed, she’d lose him.

Evyn’s fingers curled around Wes’s wrists, gently stilling her.

“Then maybe you should take a minute.”

Wes looked up so Evyn could see what she knew must be in her

eyes—wonder, desire, need. “I’m sorry, I said that wrong. This is more

me than anything I’ve ever experienced—I’ve just never done anything

without knowing what would happen next. I feel like I’m walking off