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Danny and Lauren talked for a little while longer, sharing what they’d done in the intervening years. Lauren told him outrageous stories about The Kingmakers’ very first tour that made him gasp and laugh. Finally, Danny glanced up at the big clock over the mantle. It was nearly ten o’clock. Lauren’s eyes followed his.
“Have to go?” She swallowed her disappointment.
“Unfortunately, I do.” He pushed himself up from the sofa.
“I’m so glad you came over,” Lauren said as she walked him to the door. An awkward silence settled between them as they struggled with things they still wanted to say. Finally, Danny broke their reticence.
“Lauren. I… I can’t stop thinking about you. After all these years, you’d think I’d be over you, but I’m not.”
Lauren caught her breath. She wasn’t sure what she expected Danny to say, but it certainly wasn’t that. He reached out and touched her arm, and a bolt of energy coursed through her. An instant later, Danny’s arms were around her, his lips on hers with a bruising, passionate intensity. Lauren’s heart hammered in her chest as she let him in, matching his fire with her own. His arms tightened, the press of their bodies against each other intoxicating. She ran her fingers over his back, and a low sigh coiled in her throat as Danny tangled his fingers in her hair.
They pulled away from each other, stopping the kiss as quickly as it started. Lauren wrapped her arms around herself, confused and conflicted. Danny was married—what the hell were they thinking? Danny looked just as stunned, guilt and passion warring in his eyes.
Lauren’s whole body was on fire. She would have given anything in that moment to kiss Danny again. But they were balancing on the head of a pin—the slightest shift and they would be past an ill-advised kiss and into a full-blown affair.
“I’m no saint, Danny. And I won’t deny it: I want this to happen in ways I can’t even describe. But this is insane! I can’t be—I won’t be—”
“—Lauren—”
“—Even if we did this, would it end differently than high school? When I’m done with this album, I’m leaving. Then what? I’d just be the woman who broke up your marriage.”
“You wouldn’t be breaking up my marriage.” Danny stepped closer. She didn’t step away.
“No?”
“Things have been strained between me and Heather for a long time.”
“But you’re still with her.”
“Sometimes, now, it feels like we’re just going through the motions. I love my family. I don’t want to hurt any of them.” He bent his head a little closer, his mouth only inches from hers. “But you, you’re a force of nature.”
“We can’t.” Every logical, rational part of Lauren said this was beyond a bad idea. It was a foolish, reckless, and downright dangerous idea—but the passionate part of her wanted nothing to do with common sense. She never wanted to lose the emotions surging through her at that moment. She felt vibrant and electric in a way she hadn’t felt in years.
Danny’s voice got low and husky. “We shouldn’t… But I want you so much it hurts.”
He was so close. Flushed and disoriented, she shifted, unsure if she should turn away—or even if she could—but Danny’s arm slid around her waist again, bringing the two of them even nearer while his mouth hovered near hers.
“Please tell me you want me, too,” His voice was little more than a murmur.
She did want him, even as she tried to convince herself otherwise. When she looked into Danny’s eyes, her knees nearly buckled. There was so much there. Confusion, longing, pain, fear, love, lust, even hope… all the same things that were tangled in her heart.
She was lost.
“Danny—”
She didn’t finish. His mouth closed over hers, pulling her into another kiss. For a moment, Lauren stiffened against him, a last, weak protest before desire overrode any sense she still had left. She embraced the kiss, welcoming him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and softened against him. She slid her hands down over his chest and started working the shirt buttons. Her fingers dug into him as Danny’s hand slid under the hem of her tank, grazing the bare skin beneath, and started to move up her waist…
Oh, God—what are we doing?Lauren pushed away, her eyes wide as she gulped in air. “Danny, wait! You—no,weneed to think about this. Do you get what’s about to happen here? What this means? You’remarried, for Christ’s sake!”
Danny’s face twisted, his bliss crumbling before her eyes.
Lauren put a hand to his cheek. “What I said was true. I do want this—I’ve always wanted this. But this isn’t just about us.”
“Lauren—”
“Listen to me!” It was a demand. “We’re not a couple of kids. There are repercussions—giant fucking repercussions. What happens to us—to you, your family —when I leave? Because Iwillleave.”
“I… I don’t know. I just don’t know.” Danny sounded lost.
