Page 34 of Forbidden Intent

“She died when I was seven—a brain aneurysm.One minute she was talking to my dad and the next she was on the floor.The coroner thought it was likely she’d had it for a while and it was a ticking time bomb in her head.My dad was devastated.She was the love of his life.He said he knew the minute he saw her that she was the one.She smiled at him and he was sunk.”Her smile turns sad.“He’s never tried dating seriously since her death, and sometimes I really worry about him being alone in that big house.”

She swings her putter idly as we walk to the next hole.“I think he feels guilty for not spending more time with her before she died.He’d been working a lot—and as I’m sure you’ve noticed, he gets pretty heavily immersed in his work when he’s passionate about a project.”

“Yeah, he does,” I say with a laugh.

“After her death, he restructured everything.He prioritized time with me, which I was grateful for because I was really struggling back then, although I’ve always been a daddy’s girl.But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to lose your mom so young.Anyway, my dad made me his focus, and we became best friends.”

“And yet you didn’t tell him about that night.”She knows what night I’m talking about.

“No, I didn’t.”She doesn’t look at me.“Sometimes it’s better not to tell someone something if it protects them.”

“It’s a lie by omission.”

Her expression turns hard.“We’ll have to agree to disagree.My dad’s been through enough.He doesn’t need to feel like he failed me when he’s never failed me a day in his life.And that’s exactly what he’d feel if I told him what happened.It doesn’t fix anything or change that night, so there’s no point in hurting him that way.”

He’d want to know.I may not know him as well as she does, but I can be sure of that.But the stubborn slant of her jaw and the hard look in her eyes tells me this isn’t something she’s backing down from.And frankly, I don’t want it to ruin our date, so instead of pushing, I drop it.

“Fair enough.”

She looks up at me like she’s waiting for me to say more—and if the fire in her eyes is any indication, she’s ready to fight me—but when she sees the sincerity in my gaze, her shoulders drop and she relaxes instantly.

The rest of our date goes off without a hitch.With each hole, it becomes harder to control myself.Her laugh, the slight raspy-ness of her voice, her body—all of it entices me and pulls me further under her spell without any effort whatsoever on her part.By the end of the night, the drive to her place is a slight reprieve because at least it’s easier to hide the effect she has on my body when I’m sitting down.

When we pull up to her condo, I park the car and then get out and walk around to get her door.We walk silently up to her door, the lights lining the sidewalk illuminating our way and offering a romantic ambiance.

Hands off.I remind myself for the millionth time.Never before has my control been so tested when I was fully clothed, but Christ, this woman does something to me.

She lingers at her door, her keys in the lock but not turned and her back to me.There’s a second’s pause before she turns to me, her hazel eyes looking far too enticing with that heat in them.

“I had a really great time tonight.”

“I did too.”

She stares up at me, and I know exactly what she’s waiting for.It’s the one thing I’ve been both dreading and dying for all night.It was the one thing I told myself I could have with her tonight—if she showed signs of wanting it.

A goodnight kiss.

I lean in, once again reminding myself to keep my hands to myself and not take it too far.I’m hanging on by a thread here as it is.Our lips barely touch before I gently pull away, not wanting her to think I don’t like her even if what I gave her could hardly be considered a kiss.But I know myself well enough to know if I let my lips linger for much longer, I’ll want her whole mouth.And there’s no way in hell I’d be able to keep my hands off her then.

No, a chaste kiss is all we get tonight, and for as long as it takes for her to realize she’s the one leading this.

God help me, she better figure it out fast.

---