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  “Dare?”

  His face was hard with passion and self-control, but he heard the doubt and the edge of worry in her voice, and he responded with a crooked smile.

  “It’s okay, Andrea,” he said huskily. “It’s okay. I nearly blew it, that’s all.”

  “Did you?” Slowly a very female smile dawned on her swollen lips.

  A choked chuckle escaped him as he saw her satisfaction. “I knew you were going to be a handful.”

  “Yes, sir,” she answered demurely, but her desire to tease him vanished as swiftly as it had been born. Green eyes wide, she looked up at him. “I never felt like this before.”

  He dropped another kiss on her cheek. “How do you feel?”

  “Like—like every part of me aches so badly to be touched. I want—I want—” Words and courage both failed her.

  “Me too,” Dare said hoarsely, gathering her closer. “Me too. But I was close to forgetting my rules, and I don’t want to do that. Not this first time.”

  “What rules?” she asked, dropping her forehead against his chest. “Did I ever tell you you smell good?” She nuzzled his shoulder and sighed.

  “So do you. And you feel even better.”

  A laugh sparkled in her misty eyes as she craned her neck to look up at him. “Do I?”

  Here she was again, he thought delightedly, his very favorite smartmouth captain who’d so pertly told him she had a pair of standard female issue breasts. He wanted this Andrea as much as he wanted the softer Andrea she so rarely allowed to show. He wanted all of her in his bed, not just bits and pieces of her.

  “You know you feel good, you little minx,” he retorted gruffly. Back firmly in control of his body, he was able to search out that sensitive place behind her ear and, with the tip of his tongue, send a shiver rippling through her.

  “Dare?”

  “Hmm?” He found an equally interesting spot where her neck met her shoulder.

  “I think my knees are going to give out.”

  “Mmm. I like the sound of that.” Lifting his head, he smiled. “Are you brave enough to let me carry you to my bed? Or are you still unsure?”

  Clinging to his shoulders, she cocked her head. “Why are you so sure I don’t know what I’m doing?”

  “Because until tonight you’ve been dead set against this. Because you’re inexperienced, and that gives you the right to have second thoughts.”

  “I don’t believe this,” she said after a moment’s thought.

  “Believe what?”

  “When I graduated from the Academy, my father had only one comment to make regarding my career. He warned me to look out for you pilots because you’d tumble anything that looked vaguely willing.”

  “I told you I always thought he was an ass.” Dare tunnelled his fingers into her short, reddish hair, enjoying its silkiness. “Just what are you saying?”

  She stepped back a few inches so she could see him better. “I may be inexperienced and nervous, I may even get a little shy and embarrassed, but I’ve made up my mind. I wish you’d just quit worrying about it.”

  “Sweet Andrea.” Her jaw had that bulldog set he knew so well, and he had to smile. “Are your knees still rubbery?”

  She shook her head slowly, looking him right in the eye. “No, sir.”

  “We’ll have to do something about that.” He closed the small distance between them.

  “Yes, sir.” Her eyelids fluttered in anticipation of his kiss, but he astonished her by scooping her up in his arms as easily as if she weighed nothing.

  “I always wanted to carry a woman off to my bed,” he remarked humorously as he started down the hall.

  “Thank God,” she muttered against his throat.

  “For what?”

  “We both finally agree I’m a woman.”

  He laughed. “And at the same time, no less.”

  Dare was still chuckling when he carefully lowered her to her feet beside the king-size water bed. “Off with your shoes, Captain.” He kicked off his own, as well.

  For just a moment he held her by the shoulders and studied her face, as if verifying her resolve. “What are you wearing under your dress?”

  Startled by the question, Andrea blinked. “Standard undergarments.”

  “Good.” His smile was crooked. “In the books and movies, clothes just conveniently vanish. In real life there’s no romantic, easy way to take care of them.”

  Drawing her into his arms once again, he reached for the zipper on the back of her dress. “Lean on me, Andrea.”

  She couldn’t have done anything else. The instant he tugged the zipper tab, her knees turned to water again. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his waist and clung.

  “Why does it matter what I’m wearing?” she asked shakily, trying to concentrate. Heavens, he was pulling that zipper slowly.

  “Because you’re not ready to be naked with me, but it’s easier to deal with undergarments than a dress. Now, shut up, Andrea. Pay attention to what I’m doing to you.”

  As if she could pay attention to anything else. All the while he eased that zipper down, his mouth insisted on pillaging her face and throat. His tongue streaked lightning along nerve endings she’d never been aware of before. And then…then his hands slipped inside her dress, warm against the smooth, sensitive skin of her back. Andrea gasped with pleasure, and Dare took advantage of it to kiss her long and deep.

  When he raised his head again, her dress had somehow slipped off her shoulders, and she could feel it sliding down, down. His mouth followed, trailing hot little kisses across her shoulder to the swelling rise of one breast above her bra. Andrea froze, her heart hammering painfully as she waited for what was to come next. She guessed, half in fright and half in hope, that he would kiss her there where no one had ever….

  With a cool caress, her dress puddled about her ankles, and she stood within the circle of his arms clad in nothing but her bra, half-slip, and panty hose.

  “Shh,” Dare whispered when she gave a small cry of surprise. “Shh, sweetheart. It’s all right. Everything’s all right.”

  Of course it was all right, she thought hazily, unable to raise eyelids that had somehow become weighted with lead. What was he talking about? It felt so good to feel the warm skin of his arms around her bare back, to feel the fabric of his shirt against her stomach.

  Gently, Dare loosened her hold on him, and then, lifting her once again, he tucked her into his bed, beneath a comforter. Startled, Andrea opened her eyes, and in the dim light from the hallway she saw that he was discarding his own clothes. For an instant she felt a pang of fear. This was really happening, and she must be mad, insane. She’d sworn she would never do this, not ever, yet here she was, and it was far too late to back out. She’d insisted she wanted this, and she couldn’t possibly change her mind when he was so—so—ready.

  Suddenly he was in the bed beside her, beneath the coverlet, the warm, furry skin of his chest brushing her arm. The sensation electrified her, and her doubts no longer seemed as important.

  “Andrea?” Propped on one elbow, he leaned over her, brushing her hair gently back as he studied her in the dim light. “Second thoughts? Don’t be afraid to tell me.” Disappointment might kill him, but he didn’t want to harm a hair on her head.

  Andrea’s eyes opened again, and she looked up into his concerned face. That face, she realized uncomfortably, had become very dear to her in ways she was afraid to examine. Drawing a deep breath, she unconsciously squared her shoulders.

  “You were right,” she said on a breath. “Clothes are very awkward to deal with.”

  Slowly, he smiled. “Ah,” he said with understanding. “Not second thoughts but cooling fires. We can remedy that.”

  Bravely lifting her arms, she twined them around his neck. Well, Burke, she told herself, you wanted this. You’ve been fantasizing about it for weeks. Now you’re going to find out. Don’t be a damn chicken.

  Dare accepted her invitation, claiming her mou