But he caught her meaning. She could tell because he stiffened, just slightly. If she hadn’t been pressed against him, she never would’ve noticed the change.
“Not a good idea, baby,” he rumbled.
“I’m well aware,” she said slowly. “Who said every idea has to be a good one?” She was so tired. Tired of missing him, tired of being scared, tired of being lost. Life changed in a second, and she knew that firsthand. Right now she was in a cozy cabin with the badass of her dreams. “I’d give anything for one more minute with my parents. With Sharon. With the cat I lost when I was ten.” She’d give anything to escape reality for just a few moments.
Right or wrong, she needed him. More so, he needed her. She couldfeelit.
“I’ve hurt you enough,” he countered softly.
She moved, turning and straddling him, her thighs outside his hard ones. Atop him, facing him, was exactly where she wanted to be. “Maybe this time I’ll hurt you.”
His chin lifted, and his eyes darkened to a dangerous blue. Intensity, so sharp it hurt to see, swirled there. “You’ve already slayed me through, darlin’.”
Why were those words sweet? Because they came from the truth and somewhere deep inside him he didn’t try to conceal from her. Life sucked, and this hurt, but the truth held strength. Maybe it even held a promise, thinly veiled, of something good. Something possible. “I didn’t hurt you.”
“Leaving you hurt me. Losing myself in a bottle didn’t help, either.” He held himself perfectly still as if fighting himself.
A bottle? “You rarely drink.”
He breathed out. “I tried it, but even that didn’t erase you. Nothing could.”
Power flushed through her. No more fighting this—for either of them. She ran her palm down the side of his neck. “I love your neck.”
One of his eyebrows rose, and his upper lip twitched. “My neck?”
“Yeah,” she breathed, feeling the corded strength along his jugular. “It’s so tough. So male.”
He held himself still, his muscles barely undulating beneath his skin. As if he still tried to hold himself back, as if he tried to tether his control.
Oh, that wouldn’t do. She slid her hands up and into his thick hair, tightening her fingers in the strands.
“Noni—” he started.
“Shut up, Denver.” She leaned in and kissed him. His inward drawn breath spurred her on, and she tilted her head, increasing the pressure. Finally Denver. The taste of him, so familiar, exploded on her tongue. Wine and . . . Denver. She moaned and scooted closer, her core settling against the obvious bulge in his jeans.
The man lived with regrets from his past, and she lived with lessons from hers. This was a moment she’d never get back, and she was taking it.
He kissed her back, following her lead, his hands clenching the sofa on either side of them. Finally, she couldn’t breathe, so she broke free. They were both breathing heavily.
“Are you trying to seduce me?” His voice was glass in a tumbler, his gaze curiously hot.
“No,” she whispered, pressing her thighs against his and moaning at the delicious contact. The pulse between her legs demanded relief, forcing her to grab on to control with both hands to keep from rubbing where it hurt. “I’m trying to fuck you.”
The crude language obviously caught him hard. His head jerked, and his eyes flashed. “Noni.”
She’d never been coy and had no idea how to act like a damsel in distress. “I know what I want, and you want me just as bad.” This time she did rub her sex against his erection.
Red flushed dark across his rugged cheekbones. “This is a mistake.”
“Who cares?” Her nipples sharpened to points against her plain cotton bra. “I don’t care who you’ve been with this last year, and I don’t care who you’re with next year. Right now, tonight, you’re with me.”
His bizarre reflexes kicked in, and he instantly tangled a hand in her hair, forcing her head back. “I haven’t been with anybody. There isn’t anybody but you. Never will be.”
Her heart lurched.No, no, no. None of that. No emotion. “I haven’t been with anybody since you, either. So we’re due,” she whispered, trying to return to just this moment. Her head was captured by his hold, and she couldn’t move it an inch. The forced immobility shot liquid need through her entire body, forcing a primal hunger through every nerve. “Denver?”
Warning and lust crossed his face. With a low growl, he jerked her to him and took her mouth.
The carnal kiss erased every thought in her head, turning her into one long line of pulsing need. Too easily, he lifted her by the waist, setting her on her feet between his legs, even as he deepened the kiss. She wavered and grabbed his arms for support. He ripped her yoga pants down her legs and settled her back on his lap before she could take another breath.
