He shouldn’t have said the part about not regretting, not when he couldn’t explain. Stupid, stupid, stupid not to leave it at sorry. He cleared his throat. “After I turn off the signal jammer and call NSWC, I’m coming back for you.”

“How will I know it’s you?”

“If I can’t get the phone to work, I’ll knock in a pattern. One, two, one.” He knocked on the counter as he said it, then repeated the knocking without the words. “If it’s safe for you to respond, you’ll knock back with a different pattern. One, one, two.” Again, he demonstrated. “Got it?”

She responded by knocking on the counter, once, again, then twice in a row.

He smiled. Her strength never failed to impress him. And he was a monumental asshole for using her as he had.

He cleared his throat. “On the plus side, if I’m successful, I’ll call you.” He pulled out his cell phone. “What’s your number?”

She gave him the number, and he typed it into his phone. How weird to be getting her cell number now, and not after their night together. He’d ruined something that could have been amazing. What he’d done was unforgivable, even if he could make it right with her boss. It was too much to hope she’d ever be willing to give him a second chance, but with each minute they spent together, that was what he wanted.

Giving in to impulse, he tucked away his phone and gathered the edges of the thick comforter in his fist and took a step toward her. “Stay safe. I’m coming back for you as soon as I can.”

He still wasn’t touching her, just the blanket, but their mouths were mere inches apart. He saw uncertainty flash in her gaze, then she did the impossible and rose on her toes and brushed her lips over his. But her kiss wasn’t soft or fleeting. No. She opened her mouth and stroked his tongue with her own. In a flash of memory, he was back in the lodge as their mouths met for the first time.

Their first kiss had been sexy and sweet and a promise that delivered. Now, here they were again, mouth to mouth and he could lose himself in the heat of her. He remembered vividly the feel of being cradled between her thighs, skin to skin.

He wrapped a hand behind her head, taking the kiss deeper, just like the night when she’d been his. He wanted her again. And not just for one night.

All at once she pushed at his chest and jumped back a step. In her gaze, he saw confusion and a half dozen other emotions, including, miraculously, desire. “How do I know you aren’t going to use that against me too?”