He penetrated the seam of her lips, memorizing her all over again as she arched against him. Her fingernails scraped against his scalp as she threaded her hand through his hair, and in an instant he was lost. In her. In the way her heart beat hard at the base of her throat, in her light sultry scent, in the way she’d managed to make him forget years of uncertainty and isolation with a single smile. Lean muscle flexed and released as he explored the smooth skin along her back. Things had changed between them. They’d gone their separate ways in an attempt to move on, to forget what’d happened between them, but this—the feel of her skin against his, the taste of her in his mouth—he’d missed this. Missed her. He’d given everything he could to make his marriage to Lilly work, loved his children more than he’d imagined possible, but the damage Ana had carved through him when she’d abandoned him had only torn deeper over time. Had left him hollow. Until now. “Ana—”
“We...” She pressed her hand against his chest, directly over his pounding heart. Hazel-green eyes lifted to his as she swiped something from his bottom lip with the pad of her thumb, sensation spreading across his face and down his neck. One word. That was all it took to bring him back to reality, to remind him of what was at stake if they took this any further, to remind him that there were lives at risk. His son’s life was at risk. She sank back onto the four corners of her feet and increased the empty space between them. She pressed the back of her hand against her mouth, a combination of regret and horror contorting her smooth expression that pierced straight through him. Shaking her head, Ana dropped her gaze to the floor. “We can’t do this, Benning.”
“I know.” Dread pooled at the base of his spine. She was right. They couldn’t do this. Because of the case. Because she blamed herself—her feelings for him—as the cause for that girl’s death, and he didn’t know what the hell had come over him other than he hadn’t been able to keep his distance from her for even another fraction of a second.
For years he’d kept himself in check. He’d buried his feelings for her at the back of his mind and tried to forget the rookie FBI agent who’d turned his entire world upside down. He’d thrown himself into taking care of his kids and building his company, but the moment he’d caught sight of her running around the kitchen island, chasing after his daughter with a spatula full of raw cookie dough, he’d realized it’d all been for nothing. Every minute they’d been together for those short few months had left an undeniable mark.
All this time he’d been turning down dates, offers of coffee, or grabbing lunch in the name of protecting his kids from losing yet another feminine influence in their lives. Protecting himself from getting too attached—from getting hurt—but when it came right down to it, he’d been holding out for her to come back into his life. Now here she was, more out of reach than ever before, and all he could do was laugh. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. You’ve made it perfectly clear you don’t have feelings for me.”
“You say that like I didn’t feel anything for you when we were together,” she said.
He pulled his shoulders back. “Did you? Because you certainly made walking away in the middle of the night look easy.”
Her fingers curled into fists at her sides, as though she was preparing for battle, and hell if he wasn’t ready for it. Shadows smoothed the emotions from her features, every detail of her face guarded in an instant. “My job is saving lives, Benning. I’m trying to bring as many victims home to their families as I can, and letting what happened between us distract me from finding your son only makes it harder—”
“Damn it, love isn’t a distraction, Ana.” He hadn’t meant his admission to roar past his defenses, but there it was. Out in the open. His heart threatened to beat straight out of his chest, lungs fighting to catch up with his fight-or-flight response. He understood the importance of her work, why she’d dedicated her life to bringing home the missing, why her brothers had all chosen law-enforcement careers, and he needed that cause now more than ever. But there had to be a point where she couldn’t blame herself for the actions of the monsters she chased. She deserved more than taking on one assignment after the next with nothing to gain. Didn’t she realize that? All she had to do was face that truth. Her little sister, Samantha Perry, all of the victims she hadn’t been able to find over the years? They weren’t coming home, and closing herself off from feeling that loss—or much of anything else—would only destroy her from the inside.
“Love?” The single word struggled past her kiss-stung lips. Her gaze connected with his. “Benning, I wasn’t... We didn’t—”
“I was in love with you.” He shortened the distance she’d wedged between them as the sun disappeared behind the ridge of the Smokeys through the windows. Worn wood flooring protested under his weight, the only break in silence settling throughout the cabin. Benning locked his jaw against the urge to touch her, straightening as he lowered his voice. “Listen, I know why you’re out there saving lives. I know why
