Rachel.
His hold hardened on her. He licked her lips then took the kiss deeper, sampling her, savoring her. His heartbeat thudded in his ears. The thunder of that beat drowned out the sound of traffic on the nearby street.
She was the only thing he felt.
The only thing he wanted.
His fingers slid down her back, curved over her hips and brought her even closer to him. He didn’t want any barriers between them. He wanted her as wild for him as she was in his dreams.
His.
A soft moan slipped from her lips, and he drank it up, greedy for more. He wanted everything she had to give. He’d take everything.
But not there. Not on the street. Not with all of the eyes and ears that could be on them.
And with Jack out there, waiting to strike?
His mouth lifted from hers. He stared down at Rachel, watching as her eyes slowly opened. She blinked up at him.
She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
What have I done?
He forced his hands to free her, when he wanted to hold as tightly to her as possible. “I should apologize,” Dylan began.
She pushed back her hair. The dark mane that he wanted to see spread out on his pillow.
“I should,” he continued, voice rough with desire, “but I’m not.”
Her breath seemed to come in fast pants. She wasn’t the only one breathing too hard. Dylan felt as if each breath he took sawed out of his lungs.
“We’re not on duty,” he said. “And I’ve been wanting to taste you for too long.”
Rachel backed away from him. “You can’t do this now. You can’t.” She spun on her heel and started marching down the street. Her steps were fast and hard.
Dylan followed right behind her, but his pace was much slower as he tailed Rachel back to her apartment building.
Rachel’s apartment was on the second floor, and she hit the stairs leading up to that level at a near run. Dylan lifted a brow at her haste, and then he headed up after her, taking his time.
At the top of the stairs, he turned to the left. Rachel’s apartment was the one on the end. The one that gave her a perfect view of the rising sun. Not that he’d ever been there to watch the sun rise with Rachel...
Maybe one day.
Rachel unlocked her apartment. The security alarm began to beep. Dylan followed her inside and shut the door as she reset the alarm. He propped his back up against the wooden door frame and waited for her to erupt.
In his experience, Rachel liked to do her eruptions in private. She wasn’t the public drama type.
Only she didn’t erupt. She wrapped her hands around her waist, and she stared up at him.
Rachel appeared...lost. Afraid. Of him?
The look in her eyes actually hurt him. He jerked away from the door. “Rachel—”
“I don’t expect an apology,” she said and the words came out too quickly. “Especially since I was kissing you back.”
Yes, she had been. And she’d just been adding more fuel to his fantasies.
“But...why?” Her question was stark. “Why now?”