She gave a heavy sigh. The truth was, she’d wanted to be the girl he was sneaking out to see, or better yet, the girl he was sneaking in to his bedroom. It had been something she’d fantasized about for years.
The wind picked up, and as she hugged herself to stave off a shiver, heavy footsteps heralded someone’s approach. She turned around and came face to face with Daniel. The second his body came into contact with hers and she caught a whiff of his warm, familiar scent, heat unfurled inside her, and she struggled to maintain a coherent thought.
“You cold?” He pulled her close and ran his hands up and down her arms, but the friction merely created heat in the needy spot between her legs.
“I’m okay.”
Daniel slipped off his jacket, draped it over her shoulders, and pulled her in tight. Feeling warm and wanting and in need of a distraction, she glanced at the towering maple tree. She momentarily wondered if his parents had redesigned his room after he’d left, or if they’d left it the way it was. Not that she knew how it was before his departure, since he’d never invited her in.
“Want to climb it?”
She chuckled as her body absorbed his warmth. “I don’t think so.”
He gave her a boyish wink. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Fun?”
“Where’s your adventurous side, Anna?”
“I’m not dressed for climbing trees.” Her voice lacked conviction.
“It’s your only way out, you know.” He pulled a face, fear dancing in his eyes as he pointed to her parents’ living room. “Unless you want to go back in there with those sharks, you don’t have a choice.” He gave a mock shiver. “I’ve never seen such an interrogation. When I first arrived I thought I was in the middle of an intervention.”
Anna laughed and Daniel joined in, and in that instant, she felt like the world had been lifted from her shoulders. Honestly, she’d been strung so tight over the last few days it felt so good to laugh, to let go for a few minutes.
“It’s was an intervention,” she said. “A let’s-get-Anna-hitched sneak attack.” She paused to shake her head. “I didn’t see it coming.”
He touched her gold chain, and when his warm fingers grazed her skin, her hands curled in his shirt. Eyes smoldering, he wet his mouth and in a low voice said, “I think they only have your best interests at heart.”
Needing to lighten things up before she went to mush in his arms and remembering how he’d toyed with her mother, she whacked him on the shoulder and he let loose a moan.
“Hey, what’s with all the abuse?” he questioned, faking exasperation. But that exasperation quickly gave way to passion. “You keep it up and you’re going to get a spanking of your own.”
Anna’s breath grew shallow, and she gulped air, trying for normal. “What’s with teasing my mother like that and telling her you wanted me to go to a football game? She’ll be clinging to that for weeks. You know as well as I do that she wants us together.”
Without an ounce of humor in his voice, he said, “So do I, Anna.”
Her insides twisted. Okay, she understood he wanted her physically, the last few days had proven that. But what she wasn’t sure about was why. Because she was the one he couldn’t have? Or had he changed and matured over the years, and like her, knew how good they could have been together?
“Why, Daniel. Why do you want this?”
He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. Despite the cold, her cheeks flushed hot and her legs felt a little shaky beneath her. The tender intimate way he looked at her took her breath away. Heaven help her, she was fighting a losing battle here. He was charming, seductive, persuasive—the attraction far too powerful for her to ignore any longer. “Daniel—”
Instead of answering her, he grabbed her hand and tugged. “Come on.”
“Where?”
He gestured toward the huge tree branch that hung over the fence. “We’re going up. I’ll show you the view.”
With unhurried movements, he dropped her hand and grabbed the branch to test it. As he pulled himself up, her glance moved to his perfect backside, enjoying the view from where she stood. Instantly, with her brain on overdrive, she couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe he was right and an adventure was in order. And she wasn’t necessarily talking about climbing the tree.
As she warmed to the idea, she slipped her arms through his coat, zippered it, then grabbed the branch to climb. Her tight jeans protested the movement. “These are my favorite jeans, so help me if I rip them—”
“I’ll buy you a new pair,” he offered and reached down a helping hand.
She scoffed, half-heartedly, aware that she found the situation a little exciting. Not to mention fun and spontaneous. “Couldn’t we be normal adults and use the front door? I’m not really a fan of heights.”
“Nope. The only way to my front door, is through your front door. And since you’re avoiding the sharks…”
He was right, the fence circled the yards, and she wasn’t quite ready to go inside and face another swarming.
“Plus this is a little exciting, don’t you think?” he teased with a wink. “Sneaking into my room late at night.”
In spite of herself she laughed. “I’ve had more excitement watching paint dry,” she lied, masking her enthusiasm. Heck, she didn’t want to make this too easy on him, letting him think he was finally going to get what he’d been after for years.
But deep inside her she was excited. Damn excited. Growing up, Anna had always been a rule follower and had never done anything quite like this before. Being here with Daniel and climbing this tree took her back to her teen years when she used to go to
