“Were we ever really friends, or was all of this”—I waved at his relaxed pose—“designed to get me to lower my guard?”

He sat forward, searing honesty on his face. “It was not a trick. I had intended to keep my distance, to stay cold and aloof, but you weren’t the person I expected. You were kind and caring even when it was more work. You snuck past my guard and were impossible to resist. Your friendship means a great deal to me, and I am sorry that I made you feel otherwise.”

I believed him, if only because he’d snuck under my guard, too—in more ways than one. “Why did you kiss me, really?” The question popped out without thought.

Torran’s mouth tipped into a slow, melting smile that matched the heat in his eyes. “I wanted to.” His eyes dropped to my mouth. “Shall I demonstrate again?”

I shifted in my seat as the ever-present chemistry between us burned brighter. “No,” I said, my voice unsteady. “Not while you’re bound to me with a life debt.”

He rose and stalked around the table. Sheer instinct forced me to my feet, but I was torn between standing my ground and fleeing like a scared rabbit. Staying won, but only because my feet felt glued to the floor.

Torran stepped so close that our chests brushed, and I had to tip my head back to hold his gaze. Desire thundered through my veins, driven by my pounding heart and the stark hunger carved into his face. He leaned down, and my eyes dropped half closed. But rather than kissing me, he brushed his cheek against mine in a barely there caress.

“My choices remain my own,” he whispered into my ear, his voice dark with promise.

He could read a dictionary to me, and as long as he used that tone, I’d never ask him to stop.

My hands flexed at my sides as I forced myself to resist the temptation of his body. The last two days had been a whirlwind of wild emotions. We’d barely started back on the path to trust. No matter how much I wanted him—and desire pulsed with every beat of my heart—a physical relationship was the worst possible idea.

Even if my body vehemently disagreed.

“Why did you say you can’t go to bed with me?” After I’d gotten over the hurt of the rejection, I’d wondered at the slightly odd wording.

“There were too many things unresolved between us. Too many secrets. It would’ve been a betrayal, even if you didn’t know about it.” The searing heat of his expression weakened my knees and made my body throb. “But that is no longer an issue,” he growled. “Ask me again.”