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After leaving Zoe, Ryan had headed home and spent several hours searching the internet for anything he could find on Zoe Crosby. There’d been less than he expected, but the few photos he’d found showed a slender woman with long, straight hair the color of caramel and a Mona Lisa smile. Tranquil and immediately forgettable, despite her beauty, she looked nothing like the spitfire standing before him in pastel floral pajamas and fuzzy slippers.
It struck him then that he didn’t want to avoid the trouble she was likely to bring into his life. He wanted to wade right into danger and say to hell with consequences just so he could go on feeling the fierce emotions raging in him. He didn’t trust her. He was convinced that much of what she’d told him tonight was grounded in truth, but not the entire story.
That his instincts continued to howl at him warned Ryan he should do as she suggested and never see her again. But his blood pulsed hot and fast through his veins, setting his entire body on fire. From their first encounter, he’d wanted her. Now that he had a better sense of who she was, the craving to slide his fingers over her naked skin was nearly painful in its intensity.
Ryan ground his teeth while his mind fought his body for control. Indulging his desire for her would be madness. Even if she hadn’t joined the campaign as one of Abernathy’s puppets, it was obvious that whatever she’d been through in the last year—maybe even her entire marriage—had left wounds that were far from healed.
He should just walk away. And in fact, he took several steps, intending to leave the store and never look back. But when he drew even with her, her tantalizing perfume tickled his nose, reminding him of the first time they’d met. With a sparkle of raspberry for sweetness and something peppery for heat and below it all a sensual layer of vanilla, her scent begged him to move in close and explore every inch of her skin.
“You’re right. It would be better if I left and never came back,” he said, cursing the insistent thrum of hunger that made him lean in. “But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to do this.”
He cupped her cheek, tilting her head and caught a flash of curiosity in her autumn-toned eyes before brushing his lips across her forehead. Her body went completely still and he was pretty sure she’d stopped breathing. His own breath grew unsteady as her hands came up and clutched at his shoulders, urging him ever so slightly closer. The sheer intensity of his need to kiss her messed with his head. What power did she possess that just holding her in his arms turned him on?
He dusted kisses over her cheeks, nose and jaw, testing his willpower. Tension vibrated in her muscles but she made no move to free herself. Ryan wrapped his arm a little tighter around her, drawing her slim curves more firmly into contact with his unyielding planes and, to his delight, her lips parted on a soft moan. This was his cue and he dipped his head, sealing his lips to hers.
Time didn’t just slow. It stopped. Or maybe his heart had forgotten its primary responsibility was to keep him alive. Head spinning, he lost himself in the wet, delicious slide of their lips before flicking his tongue over a bit of peppermint toothpaste that she hadn’t fully rinsed away at the corner of her lips. Setting his palm against her spine, he pulled her lower half into him, letting her feel the hard ridge of his growing erection.
Her lips parted on a luxurious sigh, granting him access to her sweet mouth while her body molded to his. Ryan sent his tongue questing forward, gliding over the ridge of her teeth, taking the time to learn every curve, every taste. Despite the increased tension in both their bodie
s, he concentrated on each new discovery. Rushing this first kiss would be a crime. Instead he intended to savor every slow, sexy second of it. To pay attention to each shiver that buffeted her slender form and learn what she liked.
Tunneling her fingers in his hair, she met the slow thrust of his tongue like a woman who hadn’t been kissed in a long time. Like someone who craved tenderness and romance.
Ryan slid his hand over her hip and down her thigh, exploring muscle and sinew. Her thin frame had deceived him into thinking she was soft and delicate. Beneath her surface lurked power. The revelation excited him. And made him realize that once again he hadn’t grasped the full story.
She looped her arms around his neck, pushed up on tiptoe. The move crushed her breasts against his chest and lightning stabbed through him. Ryan groaned, the carnal sound spurring her to nip at his lower lip with an impatient growl.
He needed no further encouragement. All thoughts of taking things slow vanished. Obviously she was feeling the same sort of insistent pressure. Running his fingers through her short hair, he cupped her head and tasted her a little more deeply. Hunger stormed his body as the kiss became harder, more intense. She wobbled and gave a little moan. He shifted his hold on her, taking a firmer grip, drawing her still tighter into the carnal interplay of lips and teeth and tongue.
Somewhere as if from a great distance came the buzz and trill that signaled he had a text message. Ryan’s attention jerked toward the sound, making him aware of his surroundings, the danger inherent in his loss of control and the sheer joy of letting go.
He lifted his mouth from hers, marveling at the difficulty of such a simple task. He kept his lashes lowered as he listened to his erratic breathing and wondered how big a mistake kissing her had been. At long last he peered down at Zoe, grateful to note she was equally short of breath.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” Despite her words and her unhappy tone, she made no attempt to free herself from his embrace.
He had his own theories on why getting involved with her was a bad idea, but was curious about her opinion on the subject. “Why not?”
His question caused her to act.
She pulled his hands from her body and held them between them. Her fingers gripped his with surprising strength. “Have you forgotten why you showed up here tonight?” she countered.
“To accuse you of lying.” Even as lust continued to rage through him, Ryan welcomed the cooling tenor of her words.
“And of being on Lyle Abernathy’s team.”
“So our relationship has gotten off to a rocky start,” he teased.
“Relationship?” She released him and stepped back out of range. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. My divorce was just finalized and the last thing I’m looking for is a new man in my life.”
Despite what he’d learned about her tonight, his appetite for her remained strong. As long as he remained focused on the physical chemistry between them, he could see the benefit of pursing her sexually.
His lips slid into a half smile. “Haven’t you heard about rebound relationships?”
“What makes you think I haven’t already had one of those? I’ve been separated for nearly a year.”
Ryan considered her for a long moment. “I don’t think so.”
