Ace studied her. “Sounds like your instincts proved themselves.” Then he grinned. Slow. Wolfish. Entirely Ace. “I can take him out if you want.”
She choked on a startled laugh. “Excuse me?”
He grinned wider, eyes glinting. “Seriously. People get lost in the Alaskan wilderness all the time.”
Her pulse skipped.
“Just give me the word.”
She stared at him and wasn’t entirely sure he was joking. “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think so.” They’d shared too much, and intimacy wound around them. She couldn’t let this happen, so she moved the blanket aside and stood, walking toward the door.
The room suddenly felt smaller with him in it. He was too big for the furniture, too big for the space, his presence pressing against her senses in a way that made it hard to think straight. Even so, the temptation to ask him to stay, just so she could sleep without dreams, rose fast and fierce.
That would be too much to ask. Plus, if he stayed, she knew they wouldn’t be sleeping. It wouldn’t be possible.
“It’s still early.” Her fingers curled around the doorknob. “You’ve got time to head back to the bar and pick up a tourist for the night.” She turned.
He was already there.
She yelped, her heart slamming into her ribs.
Ace didn’t move. “Sorry,” he said. “You okay?”
She pressed a hand to her chest. “You move too quietly.”
A slow grin tugged at his mouth. “You’re sure skittish.”
“I’m not skittish.”
His eyes held hers, unreadable, knowing. “Given what you told me? I don’t blame you.”
“I’m not afraid of you, Ace.”
“Good.” He lifted a hand, knuckle sliding lightly beneath her chin.
Everything inside her dropped. Her heart, her breath, even her knees. Well, they more trembled than dropped, but still. The guy definitely affected her body.
He tilted her face up, the touch gentle but impossibly intimate. Heat rushed through her. She could feel him, all of him, standing close enough that the air between them barely existed.
“One kiss,” Ace murmured.
Her gaze fell helplessly to his mouth. His lips were firm and full, and that slight cut along the bottom left only made him look more like a bad boy than ever. “You already got punched in the mouth today,” she whispered.
“I know.” His tone roughened. “Why don’t you make it better?”
Temptation caught her, and she tried to stay in control. “I don’t think so.”
Neither of them moved.
The moment stretched, thick and electric. The past, the fear, the caution all tangled inside her, fighting against something warmer, something reckless and long denied.
She was suddenly so tired of being careful and afraid. Tired of going to bed at eight on a Friday night. Before she could overthink it, she rose onto her tiptoes and pressed the gentlest kiss she could against the fresh cut on his lip. Soft, brief, barely there. Then she dropped back down.
His eyes flared. There was no other word for it. The green brightened, sharp and vivid, wildness flashing through them.
Her breath left her completely. That tiny brush of contact sent a jolt through her body, heat and electricity racing under her skin.
Ace stared at her for several long seconds. Then, slowly, he opened the door. “I kiss you next time,” he said quietly. With that, he stepped outside. “Lock this behind me.”
