As though he wanted to savor every second rather than risk losing himself in it.
That somehow felt even more intimate.
For the first time, Johanna became aware of the restraint beneath every touch. Blaze held her securely without demanding anything from her, never pushing, never taking more than she willingly offered. He wasn't acting like a man trying to get something from her.
He acted like a man overwhelmed by finally having her close again.
The realization softened something deep inside her, and that frightened her more than she wanted to admit. Trusting Blaze again meant risking the same heartbreak twice.
Eventually Blaze pulled back just enough to look at her.
Her lips felt swollen from kissing him. Wind-tousled curls framed her flushed cheeks while the soft glow from the dashboard painted warm shadows across his face.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Something tender flickered in his eyes as he brushed histhumb along her jaw.
"Baby," he said quietly, his voice rough with restraint, "if we keep going like this, I'm following you upstairs."
Johanna blinked, still slightly dazed. "Why does that sound like a threat?"
A laugh escaped him before he rested his forehead briefly against hers.
"Because you don't understand how hard I'm trying to behave."
Her pulse hammered harder every second he looked at her like that. Maybe it was the kisses. Maybe it was the emotional whiplash of having Blaze back in her life. Or maybe she was simply exhausted from fighting something that had never really gone away.
Whatever the reason, her caution slipped.
"Maybe," she whispered, "I don't want you to behave."
Blaze went completely still beneath her.
The kind of stillness that came from a man holding onto the last of his self-control by sheer force of will.
His dark eyes locked onto hers with a look that stole her breath.
And for the first time all night, Johanna realized Blaze Carter was one heartbeat away from completely losing control.
* * *
Blaze stared at Johanna for a long moment after the words left her mouth.
Maybe I don't want you to behave.
The confession landed like a match in dry brush, igniting every ounce of tension that had been building between them all night.
For a moment, he simply looked at her.
The woman sitting on his lap wasn't some fantasy he'd builtduring lonely nights or a memory he'd carried around for years. She was here. Warm and impossibly soft, looking back at him with those dark eyes that had always managed to strip away every ounce of common sense he possessed.
Shit!
His pulse hammered hard enough to feel in his throat, and for one suspended second, Blaze honestly forgot how to breathe.
Slowly, he exhaled and lowered his forehead to hers, closing his eyes as he fought to gather the last scraps of self-control still hanging on by a thread. Because Johanna clearly had no idea what she was asking of him.
Or maybe she knew exactly what she was asking.
