“Why not?” he asked softly, moving to the side of her neck. Another soft kiss, and his teeth grazed an earlobe. “You could come back here whenever you wanted.”

Her knees felt weak. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

He curled a finger in the neck of her sweater and drew it aside, pressed a damp kiss on the curve of her shoulder. A tremor ran through her. Heat slid into her core. She worked to stifle a moan.

“It’s not that far away,” he said, his mouth returning to the side of her neck, trailing hot, wet kisses over her skin, making her shiver. “Walking distance.” Desire swept through her, need she hadn’t felt in months, maybe years.

She swallowed as she forced herself to turn and face him, rested her palms on his wide, hard chest. “What’s changed, Edge? We’ve been working together for more than a year. Now all of a sudden—”

He caught her hands and held them in place on his chest. “It’s not all of a sudden. I’ve wanted you from the moment I first saw you. But, like you said, we were working together. At the time, I figured taking you to bed was a bad idea for both of us. But the wanting just got worse. In Mexico, I forced myself to focus on the mission. People’s lives were at stake. But I wanted you then—same as I want you now.”

She shook her head. She could feel his solid strength in the hard sinews beneath her fingers.

Edge bent his head, and his mouth settled softly over hers. She couldn’t resist opening for him, inviting him in. When he deepened the kiss, a little sound slipped from her throat.

This was Edge, and he was kissing her the way she had imagined a hundred times, softly coaxing, nibbling and tasting, kissing her and kissing her as if he couldn’t get enough.

Knowing she should stop him, Skye let the kiss go on, her arms sliding up around his neck, her fingers curling into his thick black hair as she tumbled deeper under his spell.

If she hadn’t heard the sound of the guest room door opening and footsteps coming down the hall, there was no telling where the kiss might have led.

Edge must have heard, too. He gently broke away and took a step back. “They need space. I need you, and after that kiss, I think there’s a chance you need me, too. Think about it.”

She’d think about it, all right. She wouldn’t be able to think about anything else. But the answer would have to be no. Edge meant too much to her to risk the kind of reaction she’d had from Brian. Just the thought made her stomach churn.

Callie walked into the kitchen. She was too upset to notice the heat still simmering between Skye and Edge.