Stuff it. She couldn’t raise the energy to mind.

Ali gave in and slumped back against the mattress to catch her breath. One breath, two, and then curiosity got the better of her, and she was up on her elbows, watching him. Fascinated by him.

He nuzzled her thigh. The man looked spectacular spread out across the bottom of the mattress in the small hours of the dawn. Bare ass na**d and really … yeah, a lot of burnished skin on show. Along with one very tight white ass.

He was gorgeous, with the lean angles of his face and his big body. Short dark hair spiking out every which way, care of her fingers the night before, dark stubble on his chin, and his smile …

A girl could let it all go straight to her head in a very nice way.

Time to admit she was drowning, her lungs working hard but getting nowhere. She was losing the war despite her best efforts. God, she always confused good sex with love. Great big mind blowing sex was certain to break her in two. The way he watched her, he didn’t play fair. As if he wanted to know every stupid thought wandering through her head. No one had ever looked at her like that.

The il usion of guarding her heart kept her going. Because, reality-wise, it would be one hell of a loss when this all went to pot.

Screw it. Why worry it to bits? The pounding of her rabbit heart made her queasy, but irritation prodded her to make a decision.

She’d grab happiness with both hands while she could. Life had become more precious now than it had ever been. She needed to make the most of it. Decision made.

Ali turned away from him, studying the gorgeous dawn. The beauty removed the scariness, gave her a chance to calm down and quiet the panic attack in the making.

Already sweat dripped between her br**sts. It would be an absolutely sweltering summer’s day.

“So, given you’re a female and all,” Daniel began, fingers tapping either side of her belly button as if it were a tribal drum, “I’m guessing you want to talk about last night. More specifically, what I might have said last night in the throes of coital bliss.”

“The throes of coital bliss? Do you even listen to yourself? No, I don’t actually feel the need to discuss anything right now.”

The drumming ceased. “You sound pretty certain about that.”

Out by the highway there was a flash of light. A whole lot like the slowly rising sun had reflected off something. It was there and gone.

“Dan …”

“I meant it. If you’re wondering, at all.”

“No, I …”

“Don’t feel the same way. I know.”

“By your own rules, I now get to spank you.” She wrestled her legs back, not kicking him in the head when it might have been excusable. She sat up and searched their surroundings. “There’s someone out there.”

“Infected? It’s stil early. They might be stumbling on home after a big night chewing on the local wildlife or something.”

“No. There was a light. Like sunlight reflecting off something.”

“Well, that can happen.” Daniel shrugged, rolled over onto his back and stretched out, supremely unconcerned, totally at home in his own skin. Totally turned on, too. Long and hard, the thick head flushed a deep dark red.

Her body lit up in sheer instinct at the sight. She was liquid and alive, ready to go. Came close to forgetting what she saw out there, waiting.

“Babe,” he said, winking. The arrogance worked for him, unfortunately. “There’s a better topic of conversation for us right there.”

She faced him straight on. It was easier said than done. Maybe not the time to have been caught checking out his cock, despite knowing each other in the biblical sense. “Daniel, concentrate. The light wouldn’t be there and gone. Wouldn’t the metal or whatever have to be moving to do that? Otherwise it would stil be happening.”

Slowly he nodded, the heat in his eyes dimming. “Alright, alright. How about we pack up, move on. There are some back roads we can use, less cover on them for anyone following. If anyone is, which I doubt. My bet, it’s infected.”

“Thank you,” she replied drily.

He gave a pained sigh and one big hand reached down, wrapped around the meat of his cock. He stroked once, twice. “I call rain check on oral, though.”

Her mouth watered. How the hell did he take her from irritation to lust in two-point-oh seconds?

She had never had much of an opinion on the subject of oral. It was the polite thing to do. It was expected. It made a guy happy.

With Daniel, she wanted to know if she could reduce him to the same mindless whimpering state as she fell into whenever he put his hands on her. She wanted to know what he tasted like, what he felt like. Would he pant and plead?

She wanted to please him and show him without words what he was starting to mean to her.

She could imagine herself on her knees for him, sucking him off. It was no great stretch of the imagination. Her mind leapt at the idea and her pulse thumped hard down low. The strong, sure way he handled himself held her captivated. A muscle jumped in his jaw and his stomach tensed. With lips parted he watched her watching him. He really was beautiful. Her body heated further every time she met his gaze.

But the light she’d seen, it hadn’t been her imagination. She tensed as the old familiar stress slid through her. They weren’t alone. This wasn’t safe.

“Dan,” she whispered harshly, torn in two. She’d love to watch him make himself come. “This isn’t safe.”

“I love that expression on your face, all hungry and curious. And there it goes.” The man gave up stroking his still-hard c**k with a truly agonized groan. Surprisingly, she was … disappointed. Disappointed that he had stopped, disappointed that she had shut down on him, her and her rabbit heart. “Oh, well. We are making progress, babe. I can feel it.”