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S ara Jones loved this song.

You and Me had been released in 2005. She’d been nine at the time, but her mother had played it and others on repeat.

She had grown up to this music.

But she was also going to clobber the next guy who put his hands on her. Of that, she had no doubt.

She was there to dance. She was there to get away from the pressure of the job and most of all, she was there to get away from the guy she was currently thinking of dating—who was actually an ex-boyfriend from college.

Okay, so they’d only been on one date so far, but something didn’t feel right.

Never in a million years would she have thought she would ever see Kevin Wilson again. By chance, she’d run into him at a coffee shop in Jack London Square and he seemed to have changed from an uncaring boy into an attentive man.

Kevin was safe, she reminded herself.

And God knew she needed safety after her last boyfriend. She couldn’t trust herself.

She had dated and slept with a stalker turned killer who had been in love with her best friend. Her choices were all messed up.

That was how fucked up she was.

Someone danced close to her and she waited for hands to touch her again, but they didn’t.

Perhaps they knew she was one step away from kneeing them in the balls?

The song changed to Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio, and the place erupted into shouts and jumping bodies.

Sara was bumped and her eyes flew open. She was saved from a nasty fall by a pair of strong arms and pulled snug against a well-muscled chest covered by a white dress shirt unbuttoned at the throat.

Tipping her head back, she met a pair of stunning blue eyes in a ruggedly handsome face. His hair was jet black, his jaw square, and she loved the full, perfectly cropped beard. She was a sucker for facial and chest hair.

But not on this guy.

Levi Huxley was off limits.

He reminded her of her flaws…of the time when her life had fallen apart…but most of all, he reminded her of her very poor choices.

She shoved at his chest, but Levi didn’t budge.

Her hands slipped up his white dress shirt, and she wondered where he had left his jacket. He was a bodyguard, after all, and he did fill out a suit like nobody’s business.

Something glittered in his eyes and she wanted to see how far she could push him.

For what purpose, she didn’t know. Perhaps it was the alcohol…

Perhaps she just wanted to feel something. Or maybe she wanted to break through Levi’s cold-as-ice exterior and see if there was fire inside.

The old common sense phrase—if you play with fire you’re going to get burned—came to mind, but she’d had just enough alcohol to not give a crap.

What about Kevin? her inner voice argued. What about him? They had only gone on one date…hell, she hadn’t even slept with him yet.

So what if she flirted with Levi on the dance floor, it wasn’t like they’d end up in bed together.

Levi wrapped her up in his arms, one of his big hands splayed low against her spine. His fingers touched the top curve of her ass. His other arm was wrapped around her with his palm pressing her upper back, molding her against his powerful body.

Sweet Jesus, he was a fine man, but he was also a deep and brooding one.

Like uncharted waters.

And right now, she needed charted territory.

Didn’t she?

There was no denying the physical attraction between her and Levi. It flared up, raw with hunger.

She remembered their first encounter, the first time she had stood toe to toe with him. In her kitchen back home, they’d locked horns and it had been a hell of a rush. She felt it now, and pressing against him only increased the heat.

When Levi dipped his head and brushed his lips through her hair and then her neck, Sara forgot about all her misgivings.

She forgot that she didn’t know him very well.

She dismissed that he was virtually a stranger to her.

His one redeeming quality beyond his gorgeous good looks was that he came with references. He worked for Lily’s boyfriend, Max. And Max was a stand-up guy.

But did Max really know Levi?

Sara didn’t know.

And trusting people wasn’t high on her list right now.

But God, his mouth nibbling on her neck was doing insane things to her legs, her breasts, and her breathing.

His hand moved lower on her ass and pressed. Through his dress slacks, she felt his cock pressing and when he sank the fingers of his other hand into her hair, she tipped her head back.

Levi gazed down into her eyes, then down farther at her mouth. Her moan was lost beneath the music. She licked her bottom lip, and his face went granite hard.

His eyes glittered like ice chips and his head dipped.

He took her mouth like he owned it and her. He nipped at her lips until she parted them, and then he was inside of her.

And she never wanted it to end.