Page 76 of Rekindle My Heart

She saw lust in his eyes. The same lust that churned inside her. He wanted her, and she wanted him. Always had.

Her heart beat like a machine-gun blast. Bursts of adrenaline still raced through her veins from the game.

Or was it from him?

He reached out and brushed aside a piece of hair that had fallen from her ponytail. She’d pulled it up somewhere around the one-hour mark.

Her mind scrambled.

Their gazes locked. Minutes. Hours. She couldn’t say. All she knew was he was here. She could feel his soft touch. His caress down the side of her neck. She could smell his aftershave and the faint linger of beer. Would his kiss taste of hops?

She licked her lips. Suddenly, her mouth was dry and the only thing that would quench it was him.

“Erica.” The gravelly sound tightened her nipples. “Tell me you want this.”

“This?” She did. God knows she did. But could she live with herself if she let herself be with him again?

“Us.”

The tick of the clock echoed in the room as she fought to remain unaffected by him. She internally snorted. Yeah, right. He’d barely touched her, and her panties were damp.

“Ryan, I…”

She what? Wanted to throw her legs over his lap right now and ride him like a stallion? Yes, but that wouldn’t end well. She needed to go to sleep. Clear her mind. Remember all the reasons she couldn’t be with him.

Sarah. Yes, but with him staring at her like he could eat her with a spoon, she couldn’t even picture her sister’s face.

“Sarah.” She forced the name from her lips.

“Is gone. We weren’t together, and you know it.” He stroked the pulse point of her neck. He could probably feel it flutter from his touch. “Don’t let her come between us again.”

He drew tiny circles along the ridge of her shoulder, little loops with his callous fingertip. The soothing sensation caused her eyelids to droop.

“Just answer me one question.”

She looked at him, knowing the question before it left his lips.

“Do you want me?”

A heavy breath released. She couldn’t deny the way her body reacted to him.

“Yes,” slipped out on a whisper. Soft. Tentative.

His eyes sparkled, but he didn’t move. No sweeping her into his arms or throwing her over his shoulders or caveman-style dragging her to the bedroom.

“Erica, I want you. Always have, but this won’t happen if you aren’t one hundred percent in. I’ll step back, and we can just be friends. Work together.”

She dipped her head. Friends. Were they friends again? It sure felt like the old Ryan and Erica tonight, except this version had a powerful attraction running between them. Stronger than before.

She looked him straight in the eye. Time to be honest.

“We’re past the point of just being friends. Don’t you think?” She reached up and slipped her hands into his hair, nestling her fingers into his soft strands. “I can’t keep ignoring this pull you have on my body.”

She was going to hell. There was no doubt about it.

“Ryan, take me to bed.”