Free The Omega Team: Spurs (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Kate Richards

bro,” Andrew choked out. “Remember, safety first.”
    She paused on the landing. Safety. With a five-year implant, she had no pregnancy worries, but she’d let him do her in the shower with no condom, not even a cursory health chat. What about this man made her behave so out of character?
    Isbet was going right back up to that bedroom and doing it right this time! Starting with a little chat about his night table drawer.

Chapter Eight
     
    Somehow, when Ryder closed the door behind him, the easy connection between them disappeared and tension rose. The moonlight had moved on, trapped behind clouds or maybe the angle had changed enough it no longer spilled into the room in glowing white beams, making everything magical and out of time.
    Isbet trailed her fingers along the wall to the bedside table and flicked on the lamp then turned to face him. “Feels weird they know we’re up her and they think we…we….” She swallowed hard. “What business is it of theirs, anyway?”
    He shrugged, suppressing his own discomfort. “If you’d been in the service, which you weren’t, of course, you’d recognize a little friendly teasing between buddies.”
    Her stare could have melted bone. “You’re on that again. Look, I told you I was not in the military. However, I was part of another government team, and I had buddies. It was top secret, and I haven’t been 100 percent released. Which is totally pissing me off. Like your idiot relatives with their damn smirks!” Pacing up to him, she gave him a shove, which of course didn’t move him an inch. “Doesn’t their nosiness bother you at all?” Tears filled her eyes, which he could only see this close. “I don’t just fall into bed with any guy who asks. I thought what we had was special.”
    “It is special.” He fixated on a scratch on the oak floor, unable to bear the tears in such a tough woman. Tears he didn’t understand. “But you said you only wanted one night together.”
    “One very special night!” she spat out. “And they ruined it.”
    His leg hurt more with each word, and he didn’t have a clue how to defuse her anger, so he grabbed her and kissed her. To his amazement and delight, she kissed him back, her soft lips parting under his. Her arms looped around his neck, and she hung on tight, her fingers linking at his nape.
    He wouldn’t waste another moment of their “one special night.” “Not ruined,” he murmured against her lips and stepped back. “Not ruined at all.” Guiding her toward the bed, Ryder paused by the nightstand. “Want to have a little cowboy type adventure?” He held his breath, waiting for her reaction. If she’d seen the contents of his drawer—and how could she not?—she’d probably have a clue what he meant.
    Her words sank into his soul like a lead balloon. “I don’t know, Ryder. What about your leg? Shouldn’t you just get some rest? God knows what the morning will bring.”
    “Sshh,” he said, stroking her cheek. “Do I look tired?” He probably looked worse than tired, but he hoped she’d salve his pride and not say so.”
    “If you’re sure.” Brown eyes sparkling, she tilted her head back. “Why not? What do you have in mind? Something from that naughty cowboy drawer of yours?”
    Ryder fluffed her curls and dropped a kiss on her nose. “I thought it might be fun to bring out a few of my toys and play together. If you’re game?”
    “Gonna lasso me, cowboy?”
     
    His slow grin melted her insides. “With your permission, ma’am.”
    She shivered. No man had ever made her feel so small, so desirable, so feminine. “You may lasso me, then.”
    “I plan to do more than that. Trust me?”
    His gaze held no guile, and she wanted that gorgeous body again, wanted him to make her his. Wanted just one time with no holding back, no hesitation. She wanted to forget about the morning and everything it might bring. “I do.”
    Ryder pulled his T-shirt over his head and smiled down at her. In the