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“Is this a ‘no take-backs’ situation? Or is the offer for a friends-with-benefits arrangement still on the table?”
“When you tell me no, I’ll respect it. Always. But you can one hundred percent take it back.”
“Really?” Mia’s suggestion about the online dating service popped into her head. Situations like what she was proposing with Graham were only successful when both parties were completely honest, right? “Even if I’m simultaneously on the lookout for the guy who’s perfect for me?”
“Fine by me.” His eyes held steady as he scooted a few inches closer. Slowly. “Are you taking your no back, Claire?”
“I—I think so.”
He shook his head. “Not good enough. You need to be sure.”
She paused, inhaling deeply and letting the scent of his toothpaste flood her senses. She leaned closer. “I’m saying yes, Graham.”
His brown eyes darted between hers.
Did he not believe her? Think she wasn’t certain she wanted to do this?
She resisted the urge to fidget or talk in circles and instead let her gaze roam his handsome face, hoping confident silence would speak more to her decision.
Would she really be able to touch this man whenever she wanted? In a way that wasn’t just friendly? Her attention snagged on his mouth, and the way his lower lip went a little crooked when it stretched into a grin.
Like now.
Damn. That smile was devastating.
He reached up with one hand, tracing the curve of her jaw with his thumb. “Well, then.” Her breath caught as he leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth.
Her lips parted with a soft gasp and without thought, she lifted her hand to grip his muscular forearm. He brushed a kiss to her cheek, teasing her, somehow in perfect control despite having had no idea this would happen thirty seconds ago.
Claire, on the other hand, had thought about it the entire drive across town, and she was a nervous wreck.
Maybe that was the problem. She’d gone inside her head, which was the last place she wanted to be when Graham’s lips were within kissing distance.
She pressed her palm to his cheek and angled his face to hers, slanting her mouth over his. He moved even closer, the warmth of his thigh flush against hers, and her other hand slid into his thick hair.
A tiny part of her had wondered if the other night was a fluke and the only reason she’d gotten so hot so fast was because of the situation with the injured firefighter.
Judging by the race of her heart and immediate pulse of desire shooting to her core now, that wasn’t the case.
His strong fingers moved slowly down her back, leaving trails of heat in their wake, and the wet tip of his tongue traced the seam of her lips. The coil in her stomach released at the same time her brain registered the slam of the front door.
Claire jerked back and pushed Graham to his feet. Reagan walked past, eyes on her phone screen.
Wide-eyed, Claire just stared at Graham, who now had an amused expression on his face. Mixed with the rapid rise and fall of his chest and the dilation of his pupils, he made quite the picture.
“I’m sorry,” she said in a low voice, smoothing her hair. “I, um...”
“Don’t want Reagan to know?”
She shook her head, thankful he kept his voice down.
“That might pose a problem, seeing as how we live with her.”
“I know. But I can be discreet if you can.”
“She was there when we discussed this, you know.”
“That was when we were waiting several years. At which point I figured we wouldn’t all be living under the same roof anymore.”
