of them were going to be competing for the top spot. That one spot as payload specialist. Though there were two other spots, there was only room for one payload specialist which meant either Izzy or Antonio.
He took a step toward her and this time, instead of retreating, she closed the gap between them. Put her hand on his chest and held him there. “From the moment we met you’ve been flirting and acting like you were the bomb, and I let you because—”
“Because you knew I was, but you needed to focus on your training and on beating me,” he said.
“Beating you? Playboy, I left you in the dust.”
He leaned in closer, put his mouth next to her ear. “You only call me Playboy when I get too close to the truth.”
She turned her head and he felt the minute exhalation of her breath across his cheek. She smelled like oranges and the first signs of spring, and this close, he saw her eyes were so much warmer than gray. They had blue and green flecks around the irises. Her lashes were thick and dark, and she had the tiniest mole under her left eye.
“What truth? That you’re a man and I’m a woman?” she asked. “I thought you were smarter than that.”
He laughed.
He couldn’t help it. Every time he thought he had her figured out, she surprised him. He wasn’t just drawn to her looks, which always made him catch his breath, but also her wit and her intelligence. She was the kind of person NASA wanted in command because she was the total package.
She made him want to be better. Not to best her but so he could stand shoulder to shoulder with her.
His laugh had surprised her and she turned her head back again so that their foreheads brushed and their noses were touching, and then her eyelids dropped to half-mast—and then he thought to hell with it.
What could one kiss hurt?
But as their lips brushed, that damned tingle moved through his body with all the precision and intensity of lightning on a dry field. He knew that he’d opened Pandora’s box. He pushed aside the warning bells and moved his mouth more completely over hers. Her fingers knotted in his shirt and tugged him closer, and then her lips parted under his. His tongue slid into her mouth, the taste of citrus so strong now.
Lightly he ran his fingers down the side of her neck and wrapped his hand around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him as she deepened the kiss, tilting her head, her grip on his shirt tightening. As if she’d never let go.
As if he’d never want her to let go, he thought. His mind screamed at him, this is Izzy.
Izzy.
Isabelle, who’d been one step ahead of him from the day they’d met. The truth dawned slowly as he realized that kissing her might be the biggest mistake he’d ever made. He’d thought not knowing how she tasted and felt in his arms was torture, but knowing and not being able to kiss her all the time was going to be even worse.
ANTONIO TASTED BETTER than chocolate cake on her birthday. He was forbidden and not good for her but, damn, he knew how to use his mouth. His body moved with the symmetry and precision of a well-oiled machine. She knew it had to be the result of all those hours he spent in the gym and on horseback.
He smelled...like a man. Not only of expensive cologne and whatever high-end retailers thought was masculine. Antonio was the real deal. He didn’t hesitate when he kissed her, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and taking her completely. He gripped her butt, pulling her close, maneuvering his leg between hers until they were pressed together from the waist up. His chest moved against hers as he angled his head and pushed his hands into her hair. He held her head, positioning her for a kiss that left her completely under his spell.
She couldn’t breathe or think. She saw stars as she closed her eyes and her hands went to his waist, clinging to his sides as he thrust his tongue into her mouth, mirroring the movement with his hips, rubbing his growing erection against her center and making her feel hotter than a rocket flying too close to the sun.
His lips were soft and supple as he moved them over hers. He took his time, seducing her, and she had to admit she liked it. Too often the guys she dated were aggressive, thinking they had to be because of her tough exterior. But not Antonio. He held her like he had all the time in the world.
She had to admit that scared her more than the fire burning through her body. Her breasts felt fuller and heavy, her skin sensitive even to her own clothes. She felt sensual, full of desire, and she couldn’t help arching her back and feeling his hand on her backside as he tightened his fingers.
A meteor shower of sensation spread throughout her body and she tangled her tongue with his, sucking his tongue deeper into her mouth as she felt that need, that ache between her legs. She rubbed herself over him, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted more.
She sucked harder on his tongue, trying to take control. Lifting her arms, she held his face, feeling his soft skin even as his stubble abraded her fingers. She rubbed her fingertips over it and then moved her hands slowly to his back, looping them around his neck.
Antonio kissed like he did everything else, with skill and accuracy, mastering her. And she was caught up in the maelstrom. Caught up in Antonio.
Suddenly she pulled back, breaking the kiss. This was the reason she’d stayed away from him. Not because of his reputation or the damage he could do to hers, but because of this. The overwhelming way he consumed her body and—if she wasn’t very careful—her soul.
She tried to slip away but he held her with one hand at the small of her back and the other tangled in her hair. “I never figured you for someone who would back down.”
His voice was sexy, his Spanish accent and the low husky timbre making her nipples harden and her center soften. She wanted him. Everything about Antonio was seductive, and now that she was in his arms, her willpower was gone.
But she had to own this. Couldn’t let Antonio know how much power he had over her. She had to up the ante, press her advantage. Could she do it?
She had no choice because she knew if she walked away now, he’d always have beaten her. And that wasn’t something she was willing to live with.
Maybe it only felt different with Antonio because he was tender yet dominant. There was no doubt that he was in complete control. And that was where her struggle lay.
She wanted to take control, but it felt good to just be in his arms, kissing him, not trying to prove she had the lady balls to own this moment. His hand trailed along the side of her neck, feathering his fingers against her until gooseflesh spread down her arm, making her nipples tighten even more.
“Querida, your kisses promise greater pleasure than I have ever known,” he said, leaning in to whisper. She felt the brush of his lips against her neck, and then he moved his mouth lower, biting so gently that she barely felt the edge of his teeth against the point where her neck and collarbone met. It was erotic and made her want to rip off first her clothes and then his.
She buried her fingers in the thick richness of his hair and closed her eyes. She wouldn’t deny herself this moment with Antonio. It had been risky of her to challenge him physically, and now it was clear she wasn’t
