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“Neither will playing the patsy.” Chase rammed his fist against the wall. “If only you’d put your foot down sooner.”
“Dammit,” Annie said fiercely, “I did!”
“I don’t know what you did. I wasn’t here for the past five years, remember?”
“And whose fault was that?”
Chase and Annie glared at each other, and then Annie blew out her breath.
“This is pointless. There’s no sense bringing up the past. Dawn needs our help. We can’t let her walk away from Nick and her marriage for the wrong reasons.”
“I agree. Damn, if only she’d made do with simply moving in with Nick. Why’d she have to rush into marriage?”
“A little while ago, you were furious because she had moved in with him!”
“Didn’t you teach her any self-control? If she hadn’t let her hormones get the best of her—”
“How dare you? How dare you talk about self-control? If you’d had any self-control at all, we might still be married!”
“I’m tired of defending myself against that old charge, Annie. Besides, if you hadn’t treated me as if I had leprosy—”
“That’s right. Blame it on me.”
“I don’t see anybody else in this room to blame it on.”
“I hate you, Chase Cooper! I hate you, do you hear? And I regret every time I ever let you touch me!”
“Liar!”
“Liar, am I?”
Chase reached out, caught Annie’s shoulders and yanked her to him. “You were like warm butter, in my arms, right from the beginning.”
“Only because I was so innocent!” Annie set her teeth and tried to twist free. “I was a baby when we met. Or have you forgotten that?”
“You were the hottest baby I’d ever seen. The first time I kissed you, you were like fireworks going up. All I could think of was having you to myself, for the rest of my life.”
“Except when you found out there was more to life than bed.”
“Oh, yeah,” he said, his lips pulling back from his teeth, “yeah, you sure taught me that lesson. ‘Not now, Chase. I’m not in the mood, Chase.”’
“And whose fault was that, do you think?”
“You didn’t see me rolling over and turning my back to you, did you, babe?”
“Don’t ‘babe’ me,” Annie said furiously. “And if I rolled away from you, it was for a dam good reason. I didn’t feel anything anymore. Did you expect me to pretend?”
“Is that what you do when you’re with Hoffman? Do you pretend he turns you on?”
Annie’s hand shot through the air, but Chase caught her wrist before she could connect with his jaw.
“You know damn well you didn’t have to pretend when I made love to you,” he growled, “even at the end. You were just too proud to admit it.”
“Poor Chase. Can’t your ego take the truth?”
“I’ll show you ‘truth’!”
“No,” Annie said, but it was too late, Chase had already pulled her into his arms, and brought his mouth to hers.
His kiss was filled with anger and Annie struggled against it, pounding her fists against his shoulders, trying desperately to tear her mouth from his.
And then, deep within her, something seemed to let go.
Maybe it was the stillness of the night, curling just outside the window. Maybe it was the unyielding tension of the endless day. Suddenly anger gave way to a far more dangerous emotion. Hunger. The hunger that had been between them in the past and that she’d believed dead.
Chase felt it, too.
“Annie,” he whispered, against her mouth. His hands swept into her hair, lifting her face to his. With a sigh of surrender, her arms went around his neck, her lips parted beneath his, and she gave herself up to him and to the kiss.
It was like a dance once learned and never forgotten. Their bodies shifted, moving against each other with an ease that came of passion long-ago shared. Their heads tilted, their lips met, their tongues sought and tasted. Annie clasped her hands behind Chase’s neck; he slid his slowly down her body, cupped her bottom and lifted her into him. She whimpered when she felt the hardness of him against her; he groaned when he felt her tilt her hips to his.
For long moments, they were lost to everything but each other. Then, breathing hard, they stepped apart.
Annie’s skin felt hot when Chase cupped her face in his hands and brushed a light kiss on her lips. He wanted to lift her into his arms and carry her into the darkness.
“Annie?” he whispered, and she smiled and clasped his wrists with her hands.
“Yes.” She sighed...
