Chapter 5
Sabrina couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this excited about a date.
Actually, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone on a date, but it had been warm outside. Over the summer maybe?
Her usual approach involved showing up in whatever she happened to be wearing, most often because she’d left work late.
But here she stood in front of her closet, actually caring what she put on. Actually wanting to make an effort.
That was new.
She surveyed her options: little and none. A shopping maven she was not, but she had a few things she’d picked up. For emergencies. And this counted as one.
“Best outfit it is,” she muttered to herself, pulling out a sweater dress in deep blue that hit mid-thigh. Paired with boots, she’d strike the right balance between looking like she’d tried and looking like herself.
Not that Noah Colton seemed like the type to care what she wore. The way he looked at her in uniform had sparked something she hadn’t felt in a long time. Maybe ever.
Of course, coming in hot with her best look meant she didn’t have a second-date outfit waiting in the wings, in the event she wanted to up her game. Possibly that wouldn’t be necessary. But she’d lay odds on a shopping trip in her future.
Her phone buzzed. Noah. Or rather, Sexy SAR Expert, the contact name he’d entered when he’d keyed in his number to her phone.
It was too cute to change. And kind of a fun way to keep their blossoming attraction under wraps. The only way someone would know who Sexy SAR Expert was would be to ask her…and then admit they were paying attention to her text messages.
Sexy SAR Expert: I’m five minutes away.
Her phone time flipped to 6:55 p.m. Nice. A punctual guy who also kept her informed.
The flutter in her stomach was definitely anticipation. And maybe a touch of recognition that tonight could be the start of something fun. Fun because that’s all it could ever be. She’d long given up on finding her unicorn guy.
But Noah felt like an excellent Mr. Right Now.
She’d just slipped on her second boot when the doorbell rang exactly at 7:00 p.m. on the dot. Not that she’d expected anything less from a guy who handled search-and-rescue operations with precision and flair.
Though she did wonder if he’d waited outside her door for a few beats specifically so he could hit the buzzer at exactly the top of the hour. It felt like a detail he’d strive to get right.
She started to fling open the door and hesitated for split second. What if Noah didn’t live up to the hype her brain had manufactured? Odds were high he’d disappoint her, given the track record of those who’d come before.
She didn’t want him to fail the test. Never mind that she had no idea what test she hoped he’d pass. Perfect guy? Most likely to keep up with Sabrina West in a single bound?
Spoiler alert: he was neither.
Noah Colton equaled a fun time and a free dinner. Unless he’d really pulled one over on her and she decided to cut her losses during their first drink.
Stop being silly.
When she opened the door and spied the tall hunk of perfection on her front step, her breath caught.
He’d cleaned up nice. Really nice. His dark hair had some texture to it, but not enough to be called styled, and the windblown look worked for him.
The unkempt facial hair was still there, thank goodness, because she’d been having some pretty intense fantasies about that scruffy beard.
But he’d traded his SAR gear for dark jeans and a ribbed Henley that hugged his shoulders.
Mouthwatering. She wanted to feel those shoulders under her fingertips, just to see if the muscles were as well defined as they looked.
Yeah. Good call on wearing her best outfit.
“Hi.” His eyes lit up as they traveled down her dress to her boots and back up again. The heat in his gaze put a matching warmth in her chest. “You look incredible.”
“You dress up pretty well yourself.” She stepped out, pulling her door shut behind her. His truck sat in her driveway, and he’d parked at an angle as if too eager to get out the door to straighten up.
That made her feel giddy.
“I know a place that matches what you’re wearing.” He opened the passenger door for her, which did something to her insides. “Unless you had somewhere specific in mind?”
“You’re the boss of this venture.” As she settled into the seat, Noah’s clean wintery scent engulfed her, and she might never exit the cab of this truck. It was too delicious. “I’m curious to see what kind of restaurant you think matches this dress.”
His answering grin sent another flutter through her stomach. “The kind that makes me think about how hungry I am.”
Oh, this date was starting off on exactly the right note. “I like that answer.”
The drive was short, which was good, because the anticipation crackling between them made small talk feel anticlimactic. He pulled into the lot of the Stone House, Dark Canyon’s nicest restaurant. She’d driven past it a hundred times but never been inside.
“I hear they have decent steaks,” Noah said as he opened her door, his tone casual but the appreciation in his gaze anything but. “Am I allowed to say I’m glad you’re not a vegetarian?”
“Well, I hope so. Because I’m glad too.”
He held out a hand to help her down from the truck, and it was on the tip of her tongue to inform him she could handle vaulting a couple of feet to the ground. But shut her mouth, because duh.
Noah Colton was a gentleman. She didn’t meet many of those.
Granted, it might be because she radiated a back off vibe ninety-nine percent of the time.
Had she been warding away this kind of treatment all along?
Maybe guys like Noah were thick on the ground and she’d been missing out, thanks to her highly capable vibe.
But she didn’t think so.
Besides, she had no interest in other guys opening doors and treating her like she was special. With Noah, it worked. She couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
She put her hand in his. An electric zing crackled across her skin as he helped her slide to the ground. The thing was, he didn’t back up to give her room, so there was a lot of sliding against his extremely solid torso.
Awareness sizzled between them, taking on shape and weight.
“I seem to be somewhat trapped against the seat,” she murmured an instant before his mouth descended on hers.
Noah. Was. Kissing. Her.
Time shuddered to a halt as he dropped her into a swirl of sensation, his lips speaking to her as clearly as if she could hear his voice. And they were saying things she had no idea she’d wanted to hear.
His hands framed her face as he deepened the kiss, and she melted into him, every ounce of first-date jitters evaporating like morning mist in the canyon. Noah kissed like he did everything else—with abject enthusiasm, incredible skill and absolute authority.
This was a man who knew how to kiss and made no apologies about the timing. Or the lack of warning.
He just…swallowed her.
The interior of the truck was cool against her back, a stark contrast to the heat building between them. His shoulders did indeed feel solid as rock beneath her fingers, but just as she got good and ready to explore the rest of him, the kiss wound down.
Noah’s thumb traced her jawline as he pulled back just enough to look at her, his eyes darkening with his own reaction.
“I’m not going to apologize.” His voice slid into places inside that could wholly benefit from hearing it a lot more in much more intimate circumstances.
“Please don’t,” she murmured. “Apologies are for mistakes.”
“I’ve been thinking about doing that since I first saw you.”
“You mean when I was covered in dirt from the rockslide?” Her attempt at light humor came out breathless.
“Even then.” He brushed his lips against hers again, softer this time but no less intense. “Especially then.”
She curled her fingers into his shirt, torn between yanking him back for round two and pushing him toward the promised steak that was all the way inside the building. “You always kiss your dates before the appetizers?”
“Never been tempted before. I have recently become a convert of the idea though. We might make it a thing from now on. Just between us.” His grin simultaneously made her want that mouth on hers again and for him to keep talking, because she did like the way his mind worked.
“I’ve never let a guy help me down out of a truck before,” she admitted freely. “Can we add that to our thing?”
His grin turned wolfish. “I insist.” He stepped back—darn it—but kept hold of her hand. “Come on. I’m starving, and you look too good in that dress to spend the whole evening crammed into the passenger side of my truck.”
“The dress comes off, you know.” Flirting with him was so easy, the words just came out all by themselves.
The look he gave her sent another wave of warmth through her midsection. “Trust me, I’m aware. But we have to save something for later. Distract me with a story. I want to hear all about how you ended up working in Dark Canyon Wilderness.”
The host’s gaze widened slightly as they walked in. No doubt they looked a little rumpled, Noah’s shirt slightly askew, her lips reddened and chaffed. As thoroughly as she’d been kissed, she hoped it showed all over her face.
They followed the host to a corner booth, and Noah slid in next to her instead of across. Bold. But after that kiss, space felt pointless. She didn’t even want to maintain a respectable distance. Why put up pretense?
“So.” He picked up his menu, but his eyes stayed on her. “Where do you want to start? Work history? Favorite climbing spots? Most dangerous area of the canyons?”
“You’re assuming I have stories.”
“Please.” That grin again, making her stomach flip. “The way you handle yourself out in the elements? You’ve got stories.”
She laughed, appreciating how he’d segued to a subject near and dear to her heart instead of jumping into small talk about stuff that didn’t matter. “Most guys try to avoid discussing my job.”