She grabbed his T-shirt and held on. If he tried to make a run for it now, he’d have to drag her along with him.

He glanced down at her hands and back to her face. “What are you doing?”

Darla took a deep breath and tightened her grip on his shirt. “Gettin’ what I want.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

No.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

He couldn’t do this.

Well, that was a lie. He could do this. He wanted to do this. But he shouldn’t. Right? It would be wrong. Right? Someone tell him it would be wrong!

But it was just Eggie and Darla Mae. And she didn’t seem real ready to tell him much of anything at the moment. Instead she was moving toward him, leaning into him, her gaze focused on his mouth.

Lord, her hands were so soft and her face so pretty.

Plus he just liked her. He liked when she was cranky because someone was rude. Or when she was going on about politics or going on about that damn women’s libber stuff. He found her interesting and oh so sweet.

Too sweet to fuck?

Well, the way she was now kissing his jaw, he was no longer so sure. And in another few seconds, he’d no longer care.

“Darla—”

Her soft hand pressed against his mouth and she shook her head.

“No,” she said, her voice low. “Don’t say anything. Just kiss me. Please.”

It was the “please” that did him in. That ripped away his need to be what he’d heard termed “a nice guy.”

Eggie framed her face with his hands, his thumbs brushing her cheeks, his fingers lightly gripping the back of her neck. He leaned down, but stopped just before touching her mouth with his. Took a moment to revel in that feeling of anticipation. That feeling of electricity that played between them. It was just so powerful.

Her hands gripped his biceps, fingers digging into the muscle. She wanted him. This sweet, adorable She-wolf wanted him. In Eggie’s estimation, that was pure evidence of God.

Finally, unable to wait a second longer, Eggie kissed her. And he knew in an instant that this had been the She-wolf he’d been waiting for his whole entire life.

Eggie kissed her, his tongue slipping between her lips. He still tasted like her lemon meringue pie, and her recipe had never tasted better.

Darla wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head to the side so that Eggie could easily go deeper. He did and she loved it.

Although not at all what Darla expected, this was turning out to be the softest, sweetest kiss she’d ever had. And she wanted more. Much more.

Darla grabbed hold of the bottom of Eggie’s T-shirt and lifted. She pulled out of their kiss so she could draw the shirt over his head. Biting her lip, she let her gaze roam over all that hard flesh, her fingers itching to touch and explore. Noting that he was waiting forher to make the first move, she did. She pulled off her own T-shirt. Since she never bothered to wear a bra anyway—something that went against all her mother’s ladylike sensibilities—she immediately reached for him, wanting to feel his body against hers.

Eggie stepped closer and Darla put her arms over his shoulders and arched her back so her chest pressed into his. She heard him growl a little, and then he was kissing her again. This time it was a little more desperate. Okay, a lot more. And Darla loved it. She kissed him back, her body getting hot, her nipples hard.

Darla reached for Eggie’s jeans and that’s when he pulled back, catching hold of her hands and stopping them.

“Wait . . . um . . .” He was panting, his eyes closed. Good. This was good. Panting was good, right?

Eyes still closed, Eggie licked his lips, took a breath, then asked, “Do you wanna have my baby?”

Although it was hard, Darla decided not to panic at that question, and instead asked one of her own. “Do you mean right this second?”

Eggie’s eyes opened and he peered at her. “Huh?”

She raised her brows because she really didn’t know what he was trying to ask her.

“Oh.” He blinked. “Oh!” Eggie shook his head. He was still panting, so that was still good, right? “I meant . . . well . . . um . . . I got some . . . upstairs . . . in my bag . . . and . . . ya know . . . um . . .”

Darla thought a moment and asked, “Are you talking about condoms?”

Lord, he looked absolutely mortified.

“Yeah. Condoms.”

“It’s okay to mention them. We are about to have sex.”

“Yeah, but . . . you’re a virgin.”

“Hopefully not for much longer.” Then she grinned, showing her teeth. It made him laugh and she watched him relax a little.

“I just don’t want to scare you—”

“Because you have a bag full of condoms?”

“I do not have a bag full of condoms. Just a few. When you’re stationed overseas, the military’s big about making sure their Marines—”

“Have bags full of condoms?”

At that point she could see he’d given up and she laughingly pushed him, “Go get them. Now.”

“Okay.” He nodded. “Okay. I’ll go get them.” He spun away from her and quickly walked out of the kitchen. A few seconds later he came right back. “Do you see what you’re doing to me?” he demanded.

And before she could answer, he picked her up and carried her out of the kitchen. “About to go all the way upstairs, get the damn condoms, and come all the way back down to get you. You’re making me insane!”