“Now what?”

“What do you mean now what? We’re going to pretend like we had an important business discussion and go back inside Comfort Zone. We’ll finish our dessert like civilized people. Then I’ll leave and go back to the bar. You could stay a bit longer to work on the website, then leave as well.”

“You’re going back to the bar?” He couldn’t hide the disappointment and longing in his voice.

“I have to,” she said, placing her hand on his arm. He clasped his hand over hers. “I can’t play hooky to go to bed with you. Not when we’re trying to be discreet.”

“Of course not,” he said valiantly. “Let’s get back before too many people notice we’ve been gone.”

What he actually wanted to say was to hell with discreet. He wanted to throw her over his shoulder, run to Lola’s like Flash on a sugar high, and make love to her until neither of them could walk. At times like these, it would’ve been nice to really be a bad-boy player.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Last evening, Tara was blessed with a maximum-capacity bar so she didn’t have a minute to spare for her thoughts. Otherwise, she would’ve obsessed over her alleyway kiss with Seth all night. But this morning, there was nothing stopping her from obsessing while walking through the aisles of the drugstore.

Even though it had still smelled like cinnamon and vanilla from Comfort Zone, the narrow alley had felt far away and a little … dangerous. It was hot as hell. She’d forgotten everything but the feel of Seth’s lips against hers. Her body had cried for more, and if he hadn’t pulled back, she might’ve had him right then and there.

She had never felt this all-consuming, physical need for someone before. Not even with Jason. Her memory of sex with him felt like a watery silhouette compared to what happened when she and Seth kissed. But even the lukewarm desire she’d felt for Jason had given him too much control over her.

She wanted to run. This was precisely the kind of situation she’d been avoiding since she left Jason. Relationships were a trap, confining and stifling. She treasured having her space and a life of her own separate from anyone else. When she was with Jason, she couldn’t even study on her own or with her friends. He insisted she study in his room even when he wasn’t doing schoolwork himself. He acted as though he had the right to micromanage everything she did … everything she was. She was constantly watched and measured, but she always fell far short of expectations.

If she gave into her attraction for Seth, would he begin demanding more of her? More of her time? More of her affection? If she fell for him, she would do anything to make him happy. Nausea churned in her stomach. She would be lost. But what if she was so badly broken that she turned into the one to confine him within her expectations—the one to constantly demand more until he believed he wasn’t good enough. For a moment, terror swept through her. Then she remembered he was leaving in less than a month.