Ash sat up, laughing now, and smacked her with the pillow a few more times. “What the hell were you trying to do? She can’t see you on top of me.”

She playfully fended off the swats and tried to grab his pillow in retaliation. “I was trying to help. You were about to stoop to her level and lose your cool. She would’ve won. Getting on top of you was the only thing I thought might shut you up.”

“Well, it worked!” The pillow hit her and she grabbed hold of it, yanking. But instead of him releasing it, she pulled him down with her.

Kincaid landed on her back with a squeak of the bedsprings, and Ash quickly let go of the pillow, bracing himself on his forearm so he wouldn’t collapse onto her. His body heat wafted against her. Their shared laughter cut off almost immediately, and the playful mood burned up like dew on a hot day. His face was only inches from hers, both of them out of breath and flushed. His gaze searched hers.

She wet her lips. His nearness, the way he was looking at her, and his bare chest all making her thoughts scramble. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think,” she said. “I didn’t realize…”

“That being straddled by a beautiful woman and feeling her soft and hot against me wouldn’t make me hard,” he answered, voice low, the words like warm honey against her. “Wouldn’t make me want to touch her and see just how much hotter she could get.”

Kincaid’s breath left her in a rush, the words and the look on his face so out of character for Ash that she almost couldn’t process it. “Ash.”

He pushed a stray hair away from her face, his gaze never leaving hers. “Thank you for trying to help, but you need to hear this. We can’t play around like that anymore. We’re not fourteen. My body doesn’t give a damn about our history or that we’re supposed to be friends. All it knows in moments like this is that it wants you.”

“Ash,” she repeated. Her heartbeat was pounding in three different places, every nerve hyperaware. Even his finger brushing over her forehead felt erotic. Unable to resist, she reached up, letting her hand slide up his chest, the smooth feel of him setting off responses in her like gasoline on an already burning fire. Her nipples tightened against her tank top. His eyes moved downward, the telltale signal not escaping his notice. Guys weren’t the only ones who had bodies that betrayed them.

His brow furrowed, and his gaze returned to her face. “You want me, too.”

He said it as if surprised. She let her hand grip the back of his neck and gave him a half smile. “Don’t roll on top of a woman first thing in the morning, half-naked and looking gorgeous, and not expect her to react.”

The arm holding him up flexed as though he was barely resisting lowering all the way down and kissing her, but then a wary look darkened his features. He gently grabbed her wrist and eased her hand away from his neck. He pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist with a chaste kiss before lowering her arm back to the bed above her head. “You’re tempting the hell out of me, Breslin, but this would be a really, really bad idea.” His fingers trailed down the inside of her arm, making her shiver. “You know we can’t.”