Kristin Daniels

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 Copyright © 2009 Kristin Daniels

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 As he stepped farther into her house, he couldn’t help but think she’d somehow turned the tables on him. He smiled at the thought of her trying to set the perfect scene for him on his last night home, but then the smile faded for the same exact reason.

This could be his last night home.

He made his way down the short hallway and stopped at her bedroom door. It hung partially open, and when he set his palm against it to push it the rest of the way, he closed his eyes to prepare for what he imagined waited beyond it.

When he opened them again, he nearly faltered. He always considered himself to be a tough guy more or less, but the sight of Lily stretched out against a heap of pillows wearing a virginal white negligee had him ready to drop to his knees and beg for mercy, let alone for a reprieve from his unexpected orders.

“You’re late,” she said, then pursed a set of full lips to sip from a glass of champagne she held so gracefully in her hand.

He swallowed past his rising lust and took a guarded step into the room. God, how could he tell her not to wait for him when she looked like that? When every cell inside him screamed that he wanted her to do the exact opposite?

Her dark hair was tossed on top of her head in a mass of unruly curls, with several errant strands working loose and framing her face. And Christ, the negligee. The creamy satin—and the way the material barely covered those amazing breasts—was nearly enough to undo him.

She smiled then and his heart flipped at the same time his stomach flopped. She deserved so much more than what he had to offer her right now. She was so vibrant, so full of sensuality and possessed such a remarkable lust for life, he could never ask her to set aside all of that just to wait for him. Because he knew without a second of forethought that she would, and for her to do that—for her to put her needs and desires on hold—would only dim the vivacious spirit he so loved about her. Never mind what it would do to her if he didn’t come home at all.

No, it’d be better for all of them if she forgot about the last few weeks, if she moved on and found someone else. If they went back to just being friends.