Don’t do this, Katie! Don’t.

Desire, long slumberous, rose and seeped through her veins. His breath was warm, the scent of him arousing. With gentle fingers he edged one breast from its confines. Her nipple puckered in anticipation. As he placed his lips over the hard little nub, she drew in a swift breath. His tongue encircled her nipple until he began to suck slowly, seductively.

Katie’s fingers slid through his hair and she fought the urge to cry out as his teeth tugged and pulled and one of his hands pushed her dress past her ribs to her waist. She was breathing fast and hard, her body quivering inside.

“Katie,” he whispered, his voice rough as he lifted his head. “I—”

“Shh.”

“Oh, hell.” The muscles of his face tightened as he battled between good intentions and self-control. “I—I think we should stop. While I still can.”

Disappointment welled inside her as he gently pulled the dress back up and over her breasts. His gaze, still bright with passion, touched hers. “I’ll be in the living room.”

She fought the urge to mew in protest, to beg him to finish what he’d started, to make love to her all night long, and she watched in fascination as he straightened, turned his back to her, and with long, swift strides crossed the room and closed the bedroom door behind him.

Hot tears starred her lashes. Whether the tears were from embarrassment, regret or just plain frustration, she didn’t know or care to analyze. She slapped them away with her fingers and told herself she was every kind of fool known to womankind. What had she been thinking, letting this man—this virtual stranger—into her home, into her bedroom and darned close to into her bed? “Oh, Kinkaid, you’re really losing it,” she chided herself, then decided not to dwell on what had happened between them. He was here, on the couch, presumably to help her and that, as they said, was that.

She pulled off her dress, hung it haphazardly on a hanger, then tossed her favorite nightgown over her head. She needed to wash her face, but that would mean walking into the hallway. “So what?” she growled under her breath. Just because Luke was in the house, didn’t mean she couldn’t do what she had to do. The man wasn’t going to intimidate her, for goodness’ sake! This was her house. Her life. She snagged her bathrobe from a hook on the closet door, flung her arms into the sleeves and cinched the belt snugly around her waist. She crossed the hall, slipped into the bathroom and went through her nightly ablutions with one ear cocked to the door.

Luke didn’t disturb her. A few minutes later she crawled into bed, pulled the covers to her neck and wondered how she’d get one second of sleep knowing that he was just down the hall. Blue, who had padded into the room when she was in the bathroom, circled and dropped into a sleeping position at the foot of her bed. “Good dog,” she said around a yawn and he thumped his tail. Sighing, she closed her eyes and the exhaustion of the day took hold. She was asleep within minutes.