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“Do you always say what you’re thinking?”

“Yes. My filter is set rather low.” He smiled and handed her his mug again, which she gladly took. She needed caffeine for this conversation. “Do you always avoid answering questions that make you uncomfortable?”

“Do you like to make me uncomfortable?” She couldn’t stop herself from playing along. He was different from any man she’d ever met, and as much as his directness repeatedly caught her off guard, she was completely drawn to it, to him.

“That’s a loaded question.” He turned in his chair, bringing his leg between hers. His hand came to rest on her knee, but his heated gaze never wavered. “I might be purposely trying to push your buttons, but it’s only because I find you incredibly attractive and interesting.” He leaned in close, sucking all the air from her lungs. “Were you able to forget our kiss?”

Her lips tingled with the reminder.

“Tell me something, Kat. Do you remember every man’s kisses like you remember mine?”

Hell no.

“Do you still feel my lips on yours? The press of our mouths, the slicking of my tongue over yours? Do you still taste me the way I still taste you?” His thumb stroked slow circles on her knee, making it hard for her to think. “Last night when you were in bed, did you close your eyes and remember the feel of me filling you up the way I remembered the tight hold your body had on me?”

He paused, and she didn’t know if it was for effect or because he saw that she was no longer breathing. Either way, she was thankful, because her body was so tightly wound that he nearly had her coming apart with nothing more than words—and that damn thumb of his, which was sending pinpricks of desire racing up her thigh.

He lifted his hand from her leg, leaving a wave of cold air behind, and he cupped her cheek, brushing that talented thumbover her lower lip. She could barely breathe as he leaned in even closer.

Kiss me.

“All night I thought about what it would be like to wake up with you in my arms. To kiss you good morning and feel your body soft and warm against mine. I want to kiss you, Kat. One kiss.”

She didn’t think before the whisper left her lips. “Kiss me.”

He pressed his lips to hers lightly, warm and sweet. Her insides quivered at the tenderness of this unobtrusive kiss, the delicious feel of his mouth touching hers. When he pulled away without deepening the kiss, she had a burning desire for more, and that’s when her brain began kicking into gear again. She shook her head, trying to ward off the dreamy intimacy he’d suffused her with. What was she doing?

“Last night was supposed to be our last kiss,” she reminded him.

He smiled. “Did you want it to be?”

She pushed to her feet, feeling agitated and annoyed at the way her body thrummed from his touch. She was frustratingly turned on.No, she didn’t want that to be their last kiss, but she didn’t want a weekend fling, either. He was watching her as she paced the patio, and that annoyed her even more, because she knew he sensed her frustration and was just letting her pace it off. That should piss her off, but it was another goddamn turn-on, the way he was so in tune with everything about her. She’d never met a man who looked that closely into her feelings or her actions.

“You’re messing with my head,” she finally admitted.

He set the coffee mug on the ground beside his chair and stood, taking her gently into his arms. “Then tell me not to, Kat. Tell me to leave you alone once and for all.” His words were rough, challenging, belying the way he embraced her. His gripon her hips tightened. She loved his strength and had thought all night about how hard he’d thrust into her, reliving the intensity of their sex for hours upon hours.

He rocked his hips against hers, and her breath left her lungs in a rush.

“You’re all about hookups,” she said, pushing at his chest, and wanting to keep him close at the same time. “It’s too easy to get swept up in you,” she finally managed.

“How do you know I’m about hookups?” His gaze was unyielding.

“You picked me up in the airport bar,” she reminded him.

“One could say you picked me up.” He smiled, but it didn’t dampen the heat in his eyes.

She fisted her hands in his shirt, unsure if she was holding him close or keeping him at bay. “You followed me to the bathroom.”

“You wanted me to.”

“I did not.Youkissedme!”

“That’s not how I remember it. I remember asking you to send me away, the same way I just did, and you grabbed my cock.”

Oh shit. He was right.

“The truth is, Ihavealways enjoyed fast women. You read me right, darlin’. No doubt about that.”