Her hips swayed with each graceful stride, and I had to work hard to keep my brain from wandering too far down a path I couldn’t pursue. Before she melded into the throngs of party guests, I snatched her hand.

Whirling to meet my gaze, she paused just on the edge of the crowd, hanging on the precipice between fantasy and reality. I pulled her in close before leaning in to whisper, “Just one dance before I let you go?”

She blinked up at me before a slow smile spread on her lips. “Which one of us is going to be in debt after this dance?”

I smirked. “I have a feeling it’ll be me, but it’s a debt I willingly take on.”

My brain wrestled with my libido for control of the situation. I didn’t kiss her again, but instead, held her to me so her head tucked neatly under my chin and the scent of her shampoo tickled my nose, making me think of somewhere tropical and secluded.

I brushed my fingertips over the soft skin at her lower back. The satiny texture of her flesh teased and sent electrical pulses through my blood.

I glanced quickly around before drawing her further into the dimness where no one would see us. And in the darkened peripheries of my own party, I started to enjoy myself.

I tapped her lower spine in time with the music, wishing the moment could last. When my hands slid further up her back, she inhaled suddenly, and I drew my head back to look down at her. “Are you okay?”

The tip of her tongue peeked out again, taunting me. “Yeah, uh, you sent a shiver down my spine.”

“Good shiver or bad shiver?”

Her lashes lowered. “Good.” Too right.

Thanks to the blood roaring in my head, I couldn’t think, couldn’t remember all the reasons I should let her go, the reasons I couldn’t hold her like this, the reasons to walk away. I repeated the shiver-inducing caress, and she whimpered.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that, Abbie.”

Her voice was soft. Barely discernible over the music. “Why not?”

“Because it makes me want to misbehave, and we've already misbehaved enough for one party.”

Her brows furrowed before she met my gaze again. “You’re trouble, you know that?”

“You wouldn’t be the first person to tell me that.” But she would be the first who mattered. What the hell was wrong with me? I barely knew her, but I was already risking too much just to spend a little more time in her presence. I needed to get a serious grip.

With the song fading in the distance, my brain exerted a final defensive maneuver and won the battle over my libido. Gently, I set her away from me. “Thank you for the dance, Abbie. I’m sorry about the kiss. It won’t happen again.”