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Made him feel like a coward for thinking he could so easily slink away from personal responsibility.
“Okay, fine. You’re handsome. And I get that you don’t want to talk about this anymore, so let me just say one more thing. One day, you’re going to look in the mirror and see the man you’ve become instead of the boy you used to be. And after that, you’ll be free. You’re going to fall wildly, madly in love with a beautiful woman, move into the Dream House, and have lots of gorgeous babies.”
“Damn you, Gracie Giordano.”
“What?” She gazed up at him with those big hazel eyes, her lush pink mouth, and all that thick, silky hair.
Shoving between her knees, he braced his hands on either side of her and dipped his face into her neck. He breathed in the scent that turned him feral. “What is this power you have over me?”
“It’s funny you phrase it like that. I don’t want to control you.”
He leaned in close enough to brush lips over hers. “What do you want?”
“What I want, you can’t give me.”
She was right about that. She probably wanted a future. A family. Back on Duff Island, where she could raise her children surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Screwing around with him was a waste of time.
Still…his kitchen might be big enough to fit forty family members, but when he was with Gracie, it felt like it was built for two. The heat from their bodies, the warmth in her eyes, and the bare skin of her arms and thighs…it made him so hard he hurt.
And it made him want to know her as well as she seemed to know him. Because maybe he had it all wrong. “How do you know I can’t?”
Her lips parted, her gaze fixed on his mouth, and her eyes went sultry and hot. “Because if you could, you’d be doing it.”
Dammit all to hell.
She’d just opened the floodgates.A fierce desire took hold, and he kissed her. Just the brush of soft lips and the swipe of his tongue inside her hot, slick mouth felt so good he thought his heart might explode.
She opened to him, her fingers fisting in his hair. She tasted of warm chocolate, and her scent promised a happiness he craved but didn’t deserve.
But God, did he want it. Wanted her naked, grinding on him, and chasing her pleasure. He wanted her sighs and her lusty moans. He wanted to be alone with her under the covers, the kind of privacy meant only for lovers.
The deeper his kisses, the more desperately she clutched him, and the more she unknowingly coaxed the beast into play. It scared him enough to stop. His fingers flexed, digging into her flesh—and he had to force himself to release her. He tore his mouth off hers. “Dammit. I can’t keep doing this.” Mind racing, he backed away. I’m sorry.” But her expression burned through his fear.
She was hurt.
He’d hurt her.
“I’m sorry.” He scrambled to think.Kinsley. “I can’t let my daughter get attached to someone who’s going to leave.”Yes. That was exactly right.
“Bullshit.” She jumped off the counter and headed to the oven to pull out a cookie sheet of mini tarts. “You’re one of those tortured guys who gets off on the drama. ‘Oh, I want her, but I can’t have her. Oh, the unbearable conflict of it all.’ Well, guess what? There’s no conflict because I’m removing myself from it.”
“What’re you talking about? It’s the opposite. I avoid drama at all costs.”
“No, you avoidpleasure. Or anything that will bring you happiness. Look, there’s nothing to talk about. You don’t want me enough, and that’s fine. But I’ll tell you something right now. I’m done with men who aren’t onfirefor me.” She lifted one of her beautifully decorated pastries and shook it at him. “Now that I’ve had a taste of passion, there’s no going back.” She picked up the whisk. “Just keep your hands and mouth off me, okay? There won’t be any hard feelings if you can do that.”
Rooted to the spot, he watched her every move as a new energy charged through him. This woman had left her wedding, her family, and her job, to live on her own terms, to pursue a dream. She was so real, so true, and so fucking strong.
All these years, he’d been locked in his head, and this woman owned the key. If she could be brave, he could, too.
And honestly, he didn’t think he had a choice. “I can’t.”
Distracted, she looked up from the stove. “Can’t what?”
“Keep my hands and mouth off you. I want you too much.”Say it. Tell her. “Gracie Giordano, I am onfirefor you.” In two steps, he had her in his arms. The relief he felt nearly dropped him to his knees, but their mouths fused, and as she grabbed fistfuls of his T-shirt, she hitched a leg around his ass.Fuck, yes.
Their tongues tangled, their hips rocked, and he bent his knees to lift her. She clung to him as he walked them to the kitchen wall and slammed her against it.
Pitching his hips forward, he thrust his cock right into the juncture of her thighs. Sensation roared through him. He couldn’t kiss her deeply enough, couldn’t get close enough—he was desperate for more.
