Tobias had been in prison throughout most of his sexual prime. A very raw and powerful lust welled up at the possibility of sleeping with Harper for an entire week. He’d been attracted to her from the very beginning, and that attraction was only growing stronger the more time they spent together. But they couldn’t cross the boundaries they’d already established. She didn’t really know who he was—or what he’d done. And when their affair ended, he didn’t want her to walk away and leave him as devastated as she’d been when she arrived in Silver Springs. He was trying hard to protect himself from anything that could throw him off course, and he had a feeling Harper could do significant damage. “We shouldn’t,” he insisted.

She lowered her voice. “You’re saying you don’t want me to stay…”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

“Then you have a girlfriend or…or a wife you haven’t told me about.”

“No, there’s no one else.”

“Then what do we have to lose?”

He could lose everything—what small amount of control he’d gained over his life in the past five months. But he didn’t have the heart to say no. He could see why she might want to change things. From what he’d learned about her so far, she’d always been the “good girl.” He couldn’t blame her for being tired of it. “You can stay for a few days, if you want,” he relented. “But I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“It’s not fair to put you out of your own bed,” she protested. “I’ll sleep on the couch. I just need a change of pace, to not feel bound by rules. Following them hasn’t gotten me anywhere, anyway.”

When he’d given her that rose and then his number, he’d never dreamed it would result in having a roommate, even for a few days. He told himself she’d come to her senses eventually. But they skated for another hour, then stopped at a grocery store for cocoa mix and went home. After they’d had hot chocolate, she still didn’t change her mind. She had him follow her to her sister’s house so she could get her toothbrush and a few other things. And to avoid the camera, so her sister wouldn’t know she wasn’t going to be home, she climbed out a back window and ran down the street a few blocks to where she’d asked him to wait in his truck.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said, breathless, as she climbed in.

He’d been thinking about trying, once again, to talk her out of it, but she seemed so relieved and happy he decided he could figure out a way to keep them both out of trouble.