Page 45 of The Art of Loving Lacy
Lacy leaned in closer. “Yeah?”
Don’t kiss her. Do not kiss her.Dane leaned forward.No. No. No. No.
Her perfume permeated his senses. Dane held his breath and pushed away. He moved her hand from his leg.
“I’m sorry, Lace. No pressure. We have a pact,” he said. He leaned back, giving himself enough space to clear his mind. He was only human, after all. How close could he get without giving in?
“The pact. Right.” She straightened her back. “Okay, Mr. Braden, what’s next on the Brave tour?”
My lips on yours, my tongue in your mouth, my hands—Uh oh. Stop it.“Aquarium?” he asked.
“You’re the boss,” she said, holding his gaze.
They returned the books to the shelves in silence and left the library. Every glance stoked their fire, radiating tense, stifled passion between them as they made their way down the street toward the parking lot. Dane felt Lacy stealing glances his way, and it was all he could do not to turn and kiss her right there in the middle of the sidewalk. Instead, he picked up his pace.Get to the car. I need a distraction.
Minutes later, they were back at the car. Dane opened Lacy’s door for her. She leaned her back against the car, fiddling with the edge of her blouse.
“I don’t know what you’re worried about. I’m not going to fall in love with you,” Lacy said with that same dark challenge he’d seen the night before in her eyes.
Dane held the door with his right hand and clenched his keys in the left. He held her stare. Every breath pulled at his groin; every thought tightened the string of nerves that ran through his hard body.
Lacy looked up at him through a handful of curls that had fallen into her eyes, looking devastatingly sexy.
“Maybe you can’t help yourself from falling in love with me…but I’m strong. You can put that hot body of yours against me every night of the week, and I’ll be able to resist,” she said.
Dane took a step closer to her. His mind raced, his body revved, and his hands had a mind of their own—reaching for Lacy, grabbing her by her slim waist and holding her tight, then pulling her hips against his. He leaned down and opened his mouth to settle it over hers. He couldn’t fight the feelings any longer, especially when she was flashing a green light with every breath.
His lips hovered over hers. Lacy arched against him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Her breath was hot; her chest pressed against him.
“Test me, baby,” he whispered, and then he strutted to the other side of the car, gritting his teeth against his raging desires. Anyone looking would have seen a confident man in control of his emotions. Dane could barely see past his intense yearning for her or hear past the curses he tossed at himself for not kissing her. He slid into the driver’s seat.
Lacy threw herself into the passenger seat and clicked her seat belt in place. She crossed her arms and stared straight ahead.
“You okay?” Dane asked in entirely too light a tone.
“Perfect,” she said.
“You look…frustrated.” He smiled to himself as he started the car. At least she was thinking about him now. His cell phone rang, and he let out a breath and answered the call from the unfamiliar number. “Excuse me,” he said to Lacy.
“Dane Braden.”
“Dane Braden? This is Officer Eaton of the Chatham police. Do you know of a Robert Mann?”
“Yes, he works for me,” Dane said. Fear flattened his desire. “Did something happen?”
“We’ve detained him for disturbing the peace. Are you willing to come get him?”
Rob, what did you do?“I don’t understand. Disturbing the peace?” Dane shot a look at Lacy, who watched him out of the corner of her eye.
The officer explained, “He was provoking a group of college kids.”
“That doesn’t sound like Rob at all. Are you sure you have the right guy?” Dane asked.
“Robert Mann, thick brown hair, graying. Stocky, five ten, mid-forties. Says he works for the Brave Foundation,” the officer said.
“I’ll be right there,” Dane said. He ended the call and tried to mask his worry and irritation and tuck the guilt that was brewing inside him away. He should have forced Rob to talk and gotten to the bottom of this mess.
“I’m sorry, Lacy. I have to table our aquarium date. I’ll take you to your cottage.”
