“This isn’t about being friendly, dammit,” he said in an undertone, but only because he didn’t want to yell and scare her shitless. “I want to be your lover. I want more nights like the one we just had, and I want to know you don’t see me as some fucking fallen angel whose only mission is to heal your broken sex life.”
“Tell me how you really feel, Jeff. Don’t hold back.”
He lifted his head, gaze seeking hers. That she seemed on the verge of a smile irritated him more. “I want you. Just you. Just me. No ghosts, nobody between us.”
She didn’t flinch from the words or his stare. Instead she extricated her fingers from his suddenly bruising grip and scraped the hair back from his face. “I need…”
Here it came. The mother of all brush-offs. Maybe Lon had changed his mind, decided to try for round two of his marriage.
At least Daisy would be off the hook. At least he’d have his memories of last night.
Screw at least. Was he supposed to just step back and say no harm, no foul? She’d been married ten years. He’d had less than ten hours with her. A decent man wouldn’t force her to make choices she wasn’t ready to make.
Wasn’t that part of what being strong meant? Putting his own needs aside for someone else, just because it was the right thing to do? No matter how it hurt.
Letting out a frustrated growl, he reached up to clasp her hand, intending to rip it away from his face. Before he could, she hurtled toward him and locked her arms around his neck, fusing their mouths together. Heat and urgency streamed from her vibrating body and into his, erasing any memories but those they’d made.
She kissed him so deeply his mind shuddered to a halt. Wasn’t he supposed to take control? He couldn’t. How could he control this? She’d become a one-woman wrecking ball against his determination to shut her out. He didn’t want complications but here she was, her lips on fire, melting his last resolve.
Stripping him bare before she left him alone.
She twirled her tongue around his and sucked as if her next breath depended on it, bringing him along with her on her madcap ride. Today she tasted like wild honey, dark and sweet. Need battered his system, intensifying as she slid her sexy curves against his body. But she didn’t stop. She just kept dragging him deeper.
When she drew back, her eyes remained closed, almost as if she wasn’t ready to open them to reality yet. He couldn’t look away. He fought for his breath and his composure, finally giving both up as lost.
As many times as he’d said goodbye, this would hurt the most. Not because he knew her well but because he didn’t. He would never get a chance to see if they were incompatible. He’d never get to learn all her annoying habits. Her off-key singing in the shower or her heavy snores would never keep him from sleep. Her laughter and kisses wouldn’t be there to greet him when he woke.
Hard to miss what he’d never had but he did. Oh fuck, he did.
She traced her fingertips over his chest, seeking his heartbeat. Making it race just from her light touch. “What’s your middle name, Jeff?”
It wasn’t what he’d been expecting. When did she ever deliver that? “I don’t have one.”
Karyn tipped back her head and opened her eyes. “No?”
“No. My parents said they didn’t believe in them, though they gave Daisy the middle name Rose. She always said her name fit a hard-luck chick destined for the county lockup.”
“Or a country singer,” she mused, causing him to laugh. As usual.
“She’d rather go to jail. Daze hates country.”
“What about you?”
“Not really a fan,” he admitted, fisting his hand against her back to keep from stroking her cheek.
“Too bad. I think we’d make a good country song.”
Silence grew between them again until the room seemed to pulse with all that was unsaid. “Will you just get it over with?” he asked finally.
“What?”
“Karyn, you’re married.”
“Yeah.” She pulled herself up and out of his arms, denying him even her warmth. “I am. And until I’m not, I shouldn’t—we can’t—”
“It’s over,” he said, cutting to the chase. “As quick as it started, it’s over. I’m okay with that.”
She folded her arms and angled her chin. “Are you? Because I’m not.”