Abby finished her shift in a haze, unable to believe she was in the middle of, no, that she was the cause of such a heinous crime.  Exhausted, she left her office and went to her family room where she found Matt on the sofa, removing his shoes.  With his back to her, he stood and unbuckled his belt, then pulled off his T-shirt and tossed it over a side chair.  Lazily raising his arms, he stretched to the ceiling.

At the sight of his well-muscled back and arms flexing in the lamplight, her heart beat in triple time.  Blood pooled low in her womb, making her go jelly-legged and fluttery.  Looking away, she concentrated on the dried flower wreath hanging over her fireplace—a life preserver on a dangerous ocean. 

“I don’t see why you have to spend the night.  Unless Arthur has figured out exactly where I live and decided to drive straight through four states, he couldn’t possibly be in the area this soon,” she said after catching her breath. 

“No problem.  The sofa’s fine.”  He turned, fluffed a throw pillow, and set it back on the couch. 

“Hank’s alone in your house.  He might need you for—for something,” she stammered, furious her body would react so physically to the nearness of an attractive man.

“Hank can take care of himself.  Besides, he snores.  I’ll be fine out here.” Still weak-kneed, she headed for the linen closet, mentally kicking herself all the way down the hall.  Maybe Kate was right, her hormones were out of whack.  She found an extra pillow, sheet and blanket and pulled them down from the shelf.  Returning to the family room, she threw the pillow toward a corner of the sofa, then unfolded the linens and settled them over the cushions.

“It’s the middle of summer.  Unless you plan on bumping the air conditioning to sixty, I doubt I’ll need the blanket.  Even the sheet might be too much.”

Wondering if all women reacted to the sight of a half-dressed, well-built man in the same brainless manner, she blurted out her frustration.  “If you take off any more clothes you will.  Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

He laughed, a full-bellied bark that showed the dimple carved in his left cheek to annoying perfection. 

“What’s so funny?” she fumed.  He stepped near and her heart thudded loudly, her caution light wavering between yellow and red as it blinked up a storm in her brain. 

“I guess I should be flattered I make you nervous, huh?  But I don’t want to frighten you.  I would never do that.”

“Frighten me?”  Folding her arms, she leveled her gaze. “Don’t be absurd.  Now, if you’ll—”

With the agility of a ballet dancer, he stepped to face her.  Imprisoning her gently, he rested his hands on her upper arms.  “Are you still angry because I misrepresented myself?” he asked, ducking low to catch her downcast eyes.

She turned away to focus again on the wreath above the fireplace, only this time the flower-wrapped life preserver floated aimlessly out of reach.  Sinking fast in his grip, she could do nothing to save herself.  Perversely, she realized she didn’t want to try. 

Ruffled with embarrassment, she tried to side-step her feelings.  “Don’t be ridiculous.  I understand why you did it. I’ve had to lie to protect myself and Kate for quite a while.”
He grasped her chin between thumb and forefinger and forced her to face him.  “I’m glad you understand, because there’s more.  Other things I’ve done you need to know about.  And when this mess with Froelich is over, I intend to tell them to you.  There’s plenty we need to discuss.”

She glanced down and her eyes met his unbuttoned jeans.  Sucking in a breath, she wondered why he always smelled like mint and new-mown lawn.  She quickly raised her chin and caught his swirling black chest hairs.  Looking left, she found his tightly-muscled upper arm, bronzed and beckoning. 

She swallowed hard, lost in a sea of overwhelming maleness. “Fine, but there’s nothing happening in this room right now we need to talk about.  I have to get to bed—sleep.”

His smile brightened and a rush of heat centered inside her, blazing in a place she had long thought dead.  Seconds ticked by while she gazed at him.  Unable to concentrate on anything but his compelling nearness, the years of loneliness and pent-up longing she’d tried so hard to ignore melted under the warmth of his penetrating gaze.  Finally, she closed her eyes, a little mewl of surrender slipping from her lips.

“I really want to kiss you.  Please say yes.” 

Bolstered by his questioning voice, which sounded as choked and hesitant as her own, she swayed toward him.  Remembering that Roman hadn’t liked to kiss, she puckered her lips.  One eye raised, she peered up to find him grinning.  Humiliated, she tried to pull away.  “I can’t do this.”

He softened his hands, bringing them to her cheeks.  “You can, but only if you let yourself.  Now just relax and unclench those luscious lips.” Matt cupped Abby’s jaw, holding her gently.  Trembling under his palms, her face was scrunched in a frown as if she had no idea how to kiss a man.  All he could think was to erase the bad memories and fill them with good. 

Her beautiful mouth softened and he leaned down until their noses touched.  Slowly brushing his mouth over hers, he was taken aback by the jolt of longing that slight pressure called up.  Breathing in her scent, he nuzzled closer, teasing her lips until they parted and teased in return.  Her hands slid to his wrists and she sighed.

“Do you like that?” he managed, trying not to break the spell that had somehow woven itself around them. She nodded. 

“More?”

She nodded again, boldly this time, her teeth scoring her lower lip as her cheeks turned pink. Matt grasped her hands and brought them to his shoulders, encouraging her to twine them around his neck.  He set his fingers on her waist and pulled her into his hips.  Bending forward, he claimed her lips with the full force of his desire.
His mouth molded to hers and he stroked with his tongue, letting her taste fill his senses.  Like water to a desert nomad, she brought him to life again after years of dry, barren existence.

Tongues sparred, coaxed, seduced, savoring for a long, magical moment.  Then they broke apart and shared a shaky breath before Abby’s fingers wrapped in his hair and his hands gripped her buttocks to tug her into his groin.