When she looked into his eyes, he knew. She was struggling with emotions that she didn’t want to feel. Only a man who knew Bryce as well as he did would recognize that a war was raging inside of her, and he understood. It had been that way when he’d thought she had wronged him. Although he’d tried to eradicate his love for her from his heart, he’d never succeeded.

There had been times when he’d looked at her and their gazes met, when he’d been close to her and they’d accidentally touched, that had let him know, even though he’d wished otherwise, that she was still in his blood. He figured it was the same way with her. She wanted to bar him from her life, her thoughts, her well-being, but doing so wouldn’t be easy. He regretted the emotional conflict she was going through, but it gave him hope. Reclaiming her love would be a process and he had to be patient because he was going for keeps. More specifically, he wanted forever.

For a long moment he thought she wouldn’t answer, and then she said, “No, I don’t have a problem with you cutting in. I was getting tired of listening to him brag about all his achievements anyway.”

“So he was trying to impress you?”

“Yes. I guess that’s what he was trying to do.”

He smiled because she’d said it with that but-I-really-didn’t-want-to-be-bothered attitude, one she could use on everyone else, except him. The slow, seductive melody filled the room and instinctively he pulled her closer to him. She, in turn, pressed her cheek against his hard chest. Glancing down, he saw that her eyes were closed as they slowly swayed to the music. He could feel every inch of her curvaceous body plastered to his. The way he was holding her seemed to make every square inch of her body touch every square inch of his. The full awareness of her in his arms this way charged him with a heated rush through all parts of his body.

Resting his cheek against the crown of her head, he closed his eyes, as well, absorbing the music into his mind while holding the woman he knew he still loved close to his heart. Their movements were invigoratingly slow and stimulating to the point where he felt himself get aroused. There was no way she could not feel his erection pressing at the juncture of her thighs. Just like she had to know there was no way he couldn’t feel the hardened tips of her nipples pressed into his chest.

It was quite obvious the sexual chemistry flowing between them was at a volatile point, which prompted him to give in to temptation and wrap his arms more securely around her. On the drive over he had wondered if she would dance with him because, more than anything, this was what he’d wanted. It was worth coming to an event he’d never been to before, one he’d shunned in the past. When he’d driven into the parking lot, just knowing she was in the building had made it worthwhile. When he realized the song was about to come to an end, he opened his eyes.