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“Tell me why you were so mad that morning,” she prompted in soft tones.
Grant narrowed the space between them, drawn to her even as his mind issued a shrill warning to stay away. “That weekend haunts me,” he rasped, cupping her head just below the silky ponytail and bending down until their lips were less than an inch apart. “It should never have happened.”
He lifted his lashes and their eyes locked in a fierce staring contest. A thrill raced through him as her fingers clenched at his sleeve. Sparks danced across his skin as her breath hitched. Despite the questions dodging through her green gaze, her lips softened and parted.
Not trusting his voice, he brushed his mouth against hers, letting their breaths mingle. At the contact, her body stiffened, muscles going utterly still. Discouraged by her cool response, while his insides smoldered and sizzled, Grant was on the verge of setting her free when her nails bit into his arm.
“Grant.” His name came out of her in a husky plea.
One kiss. That’s all he intended to steal from her. A single taste to demonstrate that he was in control of his impulses. He could indulge his hunger and then master it. Only it didn’t quite work out the way he’d hoped.
Before he could think...before she could protest, his mouth claimed hers. The first touch of their lips transported him back to a frantic embrace in a private alcove at the TCC clubhouse where he’d backed her against the wall and stolen one deep and unrestrained kiss after another. The rest of the world fell away, leaving them the only two people on the planet.
That night, she’d tasted like sweet strawberries and tart lemons. Tonight, he was treated to the sharp bite of mint as he ran his tongue over her lower lip, coaxing her to let him in. With a moan, she opened and he plunged his tongue inside her mouth, sweeping it around hers in a seductive dance.
Drowning in the pleasure of her kiss, he wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her close. Pain shot through his chest at the sheer perfection of having her in his arms once more. How had he lived without this for five years? How could he have thought any woman could give him the pleasure a single kiss from Harley brought him? His palms slid over her hips and cupped the gentle curve of her butt, lifting her into his rapidly forming erection. That she turned him on with so little effort should’ve alarmed him. But his body and not his mind was in control now, spurred on by the delicious noises emanating from her throat. Distantly, he recognized that he would forever worship at her feet just to keep hearing those electrifying sounds of pleasure.
Before he considered his actions, Grant bent down and swept her into his arms. His bedroom was several long strides away and he’d nearly reached the hallway before realizing that Harley was pushing her palm against his chest. He broke off the kiss and stopped.
“Stop. Please,” she whispered, shaking her head. “We can’t. This isn’t why I came here tonight.”
“Of course.”
Shocked at his rashness, Grant set her back on her feet, steadying her as she swayed. At no point in the hours leading up to this meeting had he intended to kiss her much less haul her off to his bedroom. In truth, the moment he’d opened the door and found her standing on his doorstep, he’d been fighting the urge to pull her into his arms, cover her mouth with his and revisit any one of a hundred fantasies that he’d had of her over the years.
“I don’t want that to happen again.” He declared the lie in an icy tone that made her lips twitch into a sad half smile.
“So noted,” she said somberly.
Heat pushed against his skin as desire continued to rage through him. What had happened to his self-control? He wasn’t a teenager incapable of resisting reckless impulses.
“All the reasons it wouldn’t have worked between us all those years ago haven’t changed,” he blustered on, talking more to convince himself than to establish boundaries with her.
At his curtness, her eyes flashed in a way that said her patience was running short. “I get it.” She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “Look. I didn’t come here to throw myself at you.”
“Then why did you come?” he asked, his chilly manner hiding the wildfire that continued to rampage through him.
She swung away with an inpatient exhalation and strode around the room. Drowning in confusion, he tracked her agitated movements for several long seconds.
“I knew this was going to be hard,” she said at long last, coming to a halt five feet away. “But I had no idea how hard it would be.”
He wasn’t good at this. On a routine day, husbands and sisters and friends dealt with his patients’ emotional breakdowns. Tonight, he alone must cope with whatever complex issue had created the anxiety that gripped Harley at the moment.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” he snapped, his discomfort getting the better of him. “Just spit it out.”
For the briefest of seconds, she looked utterly crushed by his tone. Her stark vulnerability struck like a knife, driving between his ribs and into the unprotected flesh of his madly pumping heart.
“Fine,” she said, her expression hardening with determination. “You’re a father.”
* * *
The second the words were out of her mouth, Harley wished she’d been less blunt as she delivered the news. One thing she hadn’t learned to do in the intervening years was curb her tendency to speak her mind. Diplomacy didn’t come easily, especially when her emotions ran hot like they were right now.
“You’re lying.”
Although she wasn’t surprised by his reaction, Harley flinched at his harsh accusation. She hadn’t expected that he’d believe her and couldn’t really blame him for being suspicious. If someone had appeared on her doorstep and made such a declaration, she’d want the claim proved, as well.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I should’ve eased into that.”
