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Curious, he stepped closer. “How about now?”

Her head tipped up, her gaze meeting his, and there it was, a spark in her eyes that lit him up from the inside out.

“Better.” Her voice adopted a low, husky tone. “But you’re still a bit out of focus.”

Another step and he was close enough to touch her. She smelled incredible, like citrus and temptation. It took every last ounce of his willpower to keep his hands to himself. “Now?”

She moistened her lips with her tongue. “Better, but you’re not quite clear.”

Sexual tension charged the air between them. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t look away. He was mesmerized by her gorgeous brown eyes and dazed by the closeness of her body. The imaginary devil on his left shoulder urged him to bend his head and find out whether her lips tasted as good as they looked.

A half step and he felt the warmth of her body. “Now?”

The spark in her eyes flashed into something that looked an awful lot like desire. She moistened her lips again, and every muscle in his body tightened. “Perfect.”

Oh, fuck it. If he didn’t kiss her right here, right now, he’d kick his own ass from here to Orlando.

Giving in to temptation, he lowered his head and covered her mouth with his.

For an instant, he thought she might push him away. Just the thought of it made him cringe inside, but if that’s what she wanted, he’d respect her wishes. But then she let out a soft, breathy sigh as her hands came up to his chest and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. It was all the permission he needed.

He deepened the kiss with a stroke of his tongue, savoring her sweet, sensual flavor. He relished the way her body molded to his, the way her fingers slid up and dug into his hair.

Needing more, he smoothed one hand down the length of her back to cup her ass, pressing her even closer. An urgent moan rose up from her throat that shot straight through him and made him so hard he ached. He wanted to taste every inch of her body, wanted to feel her nails scratching his back. Wanted to see the wild look in her eyes when she totally came undone.

But then common sense reared its ugly head and took a Taser to his libido.

This was Dorcas, his sister-in-law’s best friend, and a woman who might be in danger. He was supposed to watch out for her, keep her safe, not maul her like a horny teenager who’d never gotten to second base.

She deserved better.

If something happened between them—and he prayed to God it would—he wanted it to be more than a quick hookup in a cut-rate hotel room.

Nate ended the kiss, even though his pulse throbbed in every erogenous zone in his body. Ignoring the hunger, he drew back, but not far. Her breath warmed his cheek. Her skin was flushed, her lips swollen, her hair wet and tangled. She didn’t say a word, just stared up at him with those dreamy, heavy-lidded eyes. To him, she’d never looked more beautiful, and the sight put a dent in his resolve.

The last time he’d experienced a need this relentless was when he’d gone on his last bender. It scared the living shit out of him. “You should get some sleep. We’ll leave first thing in the morning. Don’t lock the connecting door.”