And one sensation overwhelmed her more than any other. Vulnerability.

“Ash…” she whispered.

He must’ve heard the unease in her voice because his hold on her neck softened. “Hey,” he said, the word a gentle caress. “We don’t have to. If you’ve changed—”

She opened her eyes, a dart of panic going through her at the thought of him backing out. “I haven’t changed my mind. That’s not it.”

Something like relief flickered over his face. “Then what’s wrong?”

She focused on his shoulder, too afraid he’d read everything she was feeling in her eyes. “I can’t be that woman I usually am in these situations, so I feel a little lost.”

“That woman?”

“It’s going to sound ridiculous.” She rubbed her lips together. “But I’m usually good at this part, being the bold and brassy seductress. I’m usually the one who knows just what to say and do in the bedroom. I can’t be that right now.”

He searched her face. “Why not?”

She reached for a way to explain it but then shook her head and gave him the simple truth. “Because that’s not who I am with you.”

He pushed a lock of hair away from her face, his lips close enough for her to feel his breath on her cheek. “Who are you then?”

Her heartbeat thumped against her ribs. “I don’t know. I guess just me. Your friend who really, really wants to see you naked and do dirty things with you.”

He smiled a sinfully sexy smile, one that said she didn’t need her confidence right now because he had enough for both of them. “Good, because that’s exactly who I want. And I’ll tell you a secret.” His lips brushed her ear, making goose bumps break out on her skin. “You’ve got nothing to worry about because you know what makes me hotter than anything in bed?”

The words rolled over her like a heat wave. She barely was able to form a response. “What?”

“Having the control.” He slid his lips over the shell of her ear. “I don’t need you to seduce me, KC. I just need you to surrender.”

And then he kissed her.

Sixteen

Kincaid let out a soft gasp at Ash’s words, a secret thrill rushing through her, and then his lips were on hers. His mouth was warm and commanding and felt like a deep drink of water after being in a hot, dry desert all day. All the things she hadn’t been feeling when Marco kissed her flooded her body like a tidal wave—desire, need, and absolute urgency to have more more more.

As if hearing her silent plea, he tilted her head and deepened the kiss, swallowing the whimper that escaped her as their tongues collided. His fingers tunneled through the hair at the nape of her neck, angling her head just how he wanted, and his teeth nipped her bottom lip, his tongue following with a soothing swipe.

She wanted that tongue everywhere. Every cell in her body reverberated with oh-yes-please at his hungry exploration. Her muscles melted, her body going liquid as his grip tightened on her hip and pulled her fully against him. This was not the tentative boy she remembered from high school, the one who preferred to hang in the background. This was a man who had come into his own, one full of confidence and command.