He opened his mouth to tell her how badly he wanted her, how well he’d treat her. But then he closed it again. He knew what stood in their way, and it wasn’t just Axel.

So he said nothing.

Pulling back, she hurried out before someone could come looking for them.

“I just can’t keep myself from reaching for the flame,” he muttered, shaking his head.

He could still taste her as he turned off the music and went out to help put the skates away and say goodbye.

Harper knew the second she kissed Tobias that she was going back to his house, so it was difficult to get through the rest of the evening. She couldn’t wait until the girls went to sleep.

As soon as her sister finally turned in, too, she texted him.

I want to see you.

Tonight?

Yes.

When?

Give me twenty minutes, just to be sure everyone’s asleep.

I’ll be there. Same spot.

Harper was pretty sure she’d never felt happier than after she escaped her sister’s house and was running down the block toward his truck.

“We’re just making this harder, you know,” he said when she climbed in.

“I know. But I can’t seem to make myself care about that. Not right now. Can you?”

His gaze roamed over her before he answered, “No.”

“At least we both feel the same,” she said.

This time they didn’t sleep at all. They made love as soon as they got to the house, dropping their clothes as they crossed the living room to reach the bed.

The encounter was intense, exquisite, and they were both exhausted afterward. But they didn’t drift off. They knew the hours would pass far too quickly as it was. They talked and touched and laughed and talked and touched some more.

Tobias couldn’t believe how right it felt to be with Harper, how content she made him feel—whether they were in bed or not. The only time he got uncomfortable was when she asked him something about his past that was difficult to answer without an outright lie.

At one point he asked her if she’d ever done anything she sincerely regretted, down to the depths of her soul. He’d been looking for an opening, an opportunity to tell her the truth.

But she’d said she couldn’t think of anything she’d done that would be that bad, and it scared him. She’d never understand. If he told her what he’d done, she’d never be able to trust him, especially around her children, and her sister and brother-in-law would probably be the first to jump on the stay-away-from-Tobias bandwagon.