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All of his muscles slackened and he leaned against her. “I can’t apologize for what’s happening, Dani,” he said, his breath ruffling her hair. “I’ve tried to fight my attraction to you and I’ve failed.” He sighed loudly before staring into her eyes and softly tracing her jaw with a long, rough finger. “I didn’t want any of this to happen, y’know.”
Swallowing, she placed her arms over her chest and stepped away from him. “Neither did I.”
“But it’s there.”
“Not if we don’t let it be,” she said, her head clearing a little. “Look, I really can’t get involved with anyone now. Especially not you.”
“Why not?”
“You’re Caleb Johnson’s partner, for God’s sake!”
“So you can’t trust me?”
“Would you?” she demanded, her eyes bright.
Tortured by the bewitching gleam in Dani’s gaze, the thick strands of her vibrant hair, the proud lift of her chin, Chase had to look away. “Maybe not.”
“Then we understand each other.”
“Not quite.” He turned to face her again and this time frustration contorted the shadowed contours of his rugged face. He balled a fist and slowly uncurled it, as if in so doing he could release the sizzling tension that twisted his insides and made him burn with lust. “What I don’t understand is why I can’t keep away from you, why I can’t quit thinking about you, why I lie aw
ake in bed with thoughts of you. I don’t want any of this, lady, and God knows I didn’t ask for it, but it’s there. I can’t get you out of my mind and, unless I miss my guess, you feel the same way about me.”
He reached for her and when she tried to pull away, he jerked her roughly to him. “You can’t deny that you want me just as much as I want you.”
“I don’t want you!”
“Liar!”
“Chase, don’t!” Dani felt like slapping him but when his lips came crashing back to hers, she kissed him hungrily and the fire in her blood raged wildly in her veins. An ache, deep and primal, awakened within her body and her fingers caught in the rain-dampened strands of his hair.
“Don’t what?” he rasped, once his plundering kiss was over.
“Don’t make me fall for you,” she whispered, surprised at her own honesty.
He let out a sigh and tried to control his ragged breathing, his thudding heart. He noticed the worry in her eyes and attempted a smile that failed miserably. “All right,” he finally agreed, wiping an unsteady hand over his brow. “I’ll leave you alone, if that’s what you want.”
“It’s what I want,” she lied.
“Because you don’t trust me,” he said flatly.
“Because I can’t, dammit!”
Chase looked up at the pouring rain before glancing back at Dani. “Just remember that you’re the one who set down the rules,” he said. “I can’t promise that I’ll stick to them, but I’ll try.” He gave her a scorching glare that touched the forbidden corners of her heart before he slowly walked away from the porch and into the pelting rain.
Dani clutched at the lapels of her robe, feeling more alone and desolate than she had in years as she watched Chase disappear into the darkness.
Chapter Four
All through the night, Dani listened to the sound of the rain running through the gutters and wondered what had happened to Chase. More to the point, she wondered what she was going to do about him. No matter which way she thought about it, Chase McEnroe was Caleb Johnson’s partner. Even though he was attractive, her reaction to him was all wrong and much too powerful to ignore.
“Of all the men in the world, why him?” she asked herself as she tossed on the bed and flung off the covers in disgust. Sitting upright, her hair tangled and messed, she stared out the rain-streaked window and thought about the way she’d melted inside when he’d kissed her.
Even in the darkness she could feel her cheeks burn in embarrassment as she remembered how her heart and breasts had responded to the warmth and tenderness of his touch. “Oh, Dani,” she sighed, flopping back on the pillows and trying to slow her racing pulse, “what have you gotten yourself into?”
* * *
Cody, hair still dripping from a quick shower, bounded down the stairs and took a seat at the kitchen table.
