If he wanted to keep things casual, he really should reach for that coffee cup. Two steps. That's all it'd take to reach the mug. Two steps to keep his life simple, quiet.
Boring.
Easy.
The words whispered through the air and he realized he'd spoken.
The bathroom door swung open and Sabrina stepped into the hallway, back lit and fresh faced.
His gut tightened.
Her amazing aqua eyes met his and his breath stalled just as it had when he’d bumped into her tonight.
It wasn't lost on him that she was only a few steps away. Years ago, she might as well have been a million miles away. The wall she'd put between them had been high and impenetrable.
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask what had happened. How had they gone from the sweetest night of his life to not speaking again? What had he done? What had he said? Had he done something wrong?
He'd wracked his brain for months, reliving every minute, every moment. Eventually he'd given up and moved away. Moved on. Hell Week left little time for examining previous relationships. He'd been trying too damned hard not to drown.
But here she was. The wall was nowhere in sight.
God help him, he just didn't feel like talking about the past.
For the first time in over a decade, he wanted to feel. To soak in her touch, her laugh, the sparkle in her eyes.
David closed the distance between them in two easy strides. One hand slid around her waist, pulling her flush against him. The other cupped her cheek.
Her full lips softened with a sigh.
He trailed his thumb over her lower lip, reveling in the way it trembled beneath his touch. More than that, he marveled at how bold she'd become. How sure of herself, at peace in her own skin.
There'd been a time when she’d hidden herself with baggy clothes and hats.
Her fingertips pressed into his skin as if she were testing to see if he was real.
He was having trouble believing his eyes, too.
There'd been many nights when he'd dreamed of holding her like this, when he would have been thrilled just to touch her.
Her eyes dropped from his and stared at his lips. His gut tightened.
His dreams were about to come true. He had the faintest notion that his dreams couldn't hold a candle to this new reality.
The Sabrina sliding her palms up his chest was confident, worldly even. And she was looking at him the way soldiers stared at a burger after a three-day hike through the jungle.
She swayed forward, and her chin tipped up a notch.
In the back of his mind, he knew that closing the distance would change everything. Right now, their worlds were separated by a scant foot. Twelve measly inches.
All he had to do was reel her in and lower his head.
Slant his lips across hers and lose himself.
But their worlds would be firmly entwined then and there'd be no going back.
Screw going back.
For a man perfectly content to hold his line the past five years, he suddenly itched to move forward. To feel all the things he'd been missing.
Maybe he'd been waiting all this time, stuck in a holding pattern while he'd waited for her. It was a romantic idea.
David had lost faith in romance fifteen years ago.
Sabrina had killed that part of him.
But she was back.
Her hand curled around the back of his neck and she looked up at him through her lashes.
Anticipation tightened his skin.
And then, the tension snapped.
She stretched up, he bent down, meeting her half way. Her lips were warm and firm beneath his. There was no hesitation, not an ounce of tentativeness from her.
And she didn’t just let him kiss her. No.
She was an active participant. Sabrina met him kiss for kiss as her hands roamed his shoulders. Her incredible body melted against him and he wrapped his arms around her waist. If possible, she felt better than she looked.
And the way the black material of her shirt had been clinging to her curves all night said everything. She was toned, fit, energetic.
He traced the band at the top of her slacks, wanting to feel her skin and at the same time, afraid of moving too fast.
Sabrina had no such fear, evidently.
She nipped his lower lip and giggled when he groaned.
“Minx.”
“You know it,” she murmured, a smile in her voice.
Her tongue darted out to sooth the ache. It worked for a second, a split second, before the rest of him caught on and his dick jolted behind his fly.
He backed her against the bathroom door, holding her in place with his hips.
She shimmied against his erection. If he was seeing stars now, what would happen when he sank into her heat? Surely his head would explode on orgasm.
“Where did the sweet, shy Sabrina Duncan go?” he asked between kisses.
“I left her in California.”
He trailed his lips along her jaw and nipped her ear lobe. She shivered beneath his fingers and a breathy sigh grazed his cheek.
“Too bad, he whispered. “I liked her.”
“She liked you too. Too much.”
What?
That was news to him.
Mind racing, brain swamped with implications, he pulled back.
But she didn't let him go. No. This new Sabrina ran the arch of her foot up the outside of his leg.
Fuck that was hot.
Blood hammered through his veins and one overwhelming thought replaced everything else.
Claim.
He sealed his lips against hers again. She tasted of grape and something sweeter. Her tongue tangled with his in a dual that sent a bolt of lightning down his spine.
He moaned into her mouth and let his hands explore.
She was perfection.
Her nipples pebbled beneath his palms. The foot coasting up and down his thigh stopped and her leg hooked over his hips. The movement put her sweet heat right where he wanted it.
Her fingernails raked over his shoulders leaving gooseflesh and desire in their wake. Fuck, she was like every wet dream he'd ever had, come to life.
Rolling his hips, David hooked his thumbs beneath the hem
