Brad reached for her, pinning her against the wall, his legs framing hers, his hands on either side of her head. He was rewarded with the soft, familiar scent of jasmine. He was addicted to that smell. No. Addicted to her.

He fixed her in a hot, tell all, stare. “I want you, Amanda.”

“You had me,” she said, her hands pressing against the wall of his chest.

His reply was instant, his rejection complete. “It wasn’t enough.”

“It has to be.”

“Do you really want that?” he asked, pressing, knowing it wasn’t. Feeling the slight give of her body as it softened into his touch.

She drew a shaky breath, her hands resting on his chest rather than pushing, her response one of avoidance. “You have to leave.”

”I can’t leave,” he said, pressing his forehead against hers.

Her chest rose and fell, her voice low now. “I can’t do this, Brad.”

He eased backwards a bit, letting her see the truth in his eyes. “I didn’t come here over Tony. I told myself that was why I drove here. I needed to believe that, too. But the minute I saw you again, I knew why I really came. I knew it was because I needed to see you. Because I couldn’t help myself.”

“You said-”

He cut her off. “I lied.”

Confusion flashed in her eyes before her expression hardened again. “You left my hotel room, acting as if I couldn’t be trusted, when I’d done nothing to deserve that. Yet now you admit you are the one lying? I don’t want to play these games with you. No. I won’t.”

“No games,” he said. “I came here because I can’t get you out of my mind.” They stared at each other, sexual tension between them, his body burning to feel her closer. “That’s the truth.”

“I don’t know what to believe,” she murmured. “I don’t…we can’t.”

He leaned forward, resting his cheek to hers, relieved when she didn’t push him away. She felt so good. He felt her inside and out. Felt her everywhere. What was she doing to him? He could barely breathe from the impact of her, from the way her touch, her nearness stormed his senses.

“Tell me to stay,” he whispered near her ear.

“Brad,” she whispered.

“Tell me to stay,” he said again, forcing himself not to kiss her, not to push more than he already had.

Her hand went to his face, a tender touch that tightened his gut. “This is so not good for either of us,” she murmured.

Her response spoke of acceptance and he responded with an instant, yet gentle, reaction. His lips slid along her jaw, brushing the sensitive skin with a long caress as he traveled upward. Absorbing the sweetness of her as his lips touched hers.

“Trust me,” he whispered, his hands leaving the wall to frame her face as he stared down at her. “No one will ever know.”

“Like you trust me?” she countered, her voice soft, full of passion, but her eyes alive with defensiveness.

She was always challenging him and he found it incredibly arousing. “Trust is earned.”

He brushed his mouth over hers, this time using his tongue to tease hers, just barely sliding past her teeth for a quick, tantalizing touch. “We could start tonight.”

“How exactly do you propose we do that?” she whispered, her mouth near his, their breath mingling. His hands slid down her neck, her shoulders, her sides. He’d felt her walls the night before. Known she’d only allowed him to see a part of her. Tonight he wanted more.

“Every time you let down your guard,” he said. “Every time you trust me a little more, I’m going to reward you with pleasure.” He let the promise linger in the air for several beats. “How does that sound?”