heart. It was too much. Too powerful. Too breathtaking. And far too dangerous to continue…
A clever turn of her head and Sara broke the kiss. Nick’s face lingered close to hers for the span of a heartbeat, then he pulled back and sat up.
“I’m sorry.” His voice grated like rusty steel.
Sara couldn’t meet his gaze. Her body still vibrated with the remnants of his kiss. “It’s okay,” she said. “I just…I was…” For the life of her she couldn’t think of how to end the sentence.
“Caught up in the moment,” he finished.
“Something like that.” Their gazes clashed, held. Heat simmered within his. Electricity seemed to arc between them. He was still sitting on the bed. Too close. There was too much heat between them. Too much temptation zinging back and forth.
As if realizing they were about to repeat a mistake that never should have happened in the first place, he rose abruptly. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I’m sorry. I was out of line.”
“Me, too.”
Nick paced to the door, then turned to look at her. “You going to be okay?”
Sara tugged the blanket up to her chin. “I’m going to be just fine.”
His gaze lingered an instant longer. Then without another word, he opened the door and walked out.
N ICK LAY in the darkness and listened to the storm, trying in vain not to think of Sara sleeping in the next room. What the hell had he been thinking? Marching in there when she’d been in the throes of a nightmare and kissing her? The truth of the matter was he hadn’t been thinking at all. At least not with his head.
“Idiot,” he muttered.
The alarm clock on the night table told him it was almost 4:00 a.m., but Nick knew sleep would not come again tonight. He told himself he was merely worried about the film they’d found. But he was a cop and an experienced one; he didn’t get overly keyed up over the job anymore.
He didn’t want to admit that he was a hell of a lot more wound up over Sara than he was the film.
What the hell had he been thinking?
“You weren’t, buddy,” he muttered.
He wanted to blame his sudden case of lust on a year of celibacy. On the fact that he was finally healing. That he was ready to move on with his life. He wanted to believe he would have acted the same way with any pretty female. But it was a flimsy lie. Sara Douglas wasn’t just any woman. Nick knew it sounded ridiculous, but he’d been half in love with her since he was a kid. Could those kinds of immature feelings survive two decades? Could they survive adolescence and maturity? Marriage and the black grief of losing the love of your life?
Nick didn’t want to believe so. He didn’t want to have any complicated feelings for Sara. He much preferred even keel over powerful and complex. But after touching her, after kissing her, he knew there would be no going back to the way things were before.
Troubled by the reality of that, he threw his legs over the side of the bed and put his face in his hands. He was going to have to keep his distance. That would be difficult with her back in town and digging into a twenty-year-old murder mystery. Even more difficult knowing she was in danger. Could he keep her safe and still keep his distance?
Walking into the bathroom, he twisted the shower knob, going heavy on the cold and tried not to think about Sara Douglas or the turn of events that had put her in danger. Nick had done all he could to keep her safe. He’d offered her refuge at his home.
Now, it was up to Sara to do the smart thing by backing off and letting the police handle the rest.
Chapter Nine
The mansion was perched on the cliffs like an elegant cat, Sara thought as she pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. Nick had already been gone when she’d wakened an hour earlier. There was no note telling her where to find coffee or when he would return. There was no scribbled apology for what had happened the night before.
Sara wanted to be
A clever turn of her head and Sara broke the kiss. Nick’s face lingered close to hers for the span of a heartbeat, then he pulled back and sat up.
“I’m sorry.” His voice grated like rusty steel.
Sara couldn’t meet his gaze. Her body still vibrated with the remnants of his kiss. “It’s okay,” she said. “I just…I was…” For the life of her she couldn’t think of how to end the sentence.
“Caught up in the moment,” he finished.
“Something like that.” Their gazes clashed, held. Heat simmered within his. Electricity seemed to arc between them. He was still sitting on the bed. Too close. There was too much heat between them. Too much temptation zinging back and forth.
As if realizing they were about to repeat a mistake that never should have happened in the first place, he rose abruptly. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I’m sorry. I was out of line.”
“Me, too.”
Nick paced to the door, then turned to look at her. “You going to be okay?”
Sara tugged the blanket up to her chin. “I’m going to be just fine.”
His gaze lingered an instant longer. Then without another word, he opened the door and walked out.
N ICK LAY in the darkness and listened to the storm, trying in vain not to think of Sara sleeping in the next room. What the hell had he been thinking? Marching in there when she’d been in the throes of a nightmare and kissing her? The truth of the matter was he hadn’t been thinking at all. At least not with his head.
“Idiot,” he muttered.
The alarm clock on the night table told him it was almost 4:00 a.m., but Nick knew sleep would not come again tonight. He told himself he was merely worried about the film they’d found. But he was a cop and an experienced one; he didn’t get overly keyed up over the job anymore.
He didn’t want to admit that he was a hell of a lot more wound up over Sara than he was the film.
What the hell had he been thinking?
“You weren’t, buddy,” he muttered.
He wanted to blame his sudden case of lust on a year of celibacy. On the fact that he was finally healing. That he was ready to move on with his life. He wanted to believe he would have acted the same way with any pretty female. But it was a flimsy lie. Sara Douglas wasn’t just any woman. Nick knew it sounded ridiculous, but he’d been half in love with her since he was a kid. Could those kinds of immature feelings survive two decades? Could they survive adolescence and maturity? Marriage and the black grief of losing the love of your life?
Nick didn’t want to believe so. He didn’t want to have any complicated feelings for Sara. He much preferred even keel over powerful and complex. But after touching her, after kissing her, he knew there would be no going back to the way things were before.
Troubled by the reality of that, he threw his legs over the side of the bed and put his face in his hands. He was going to have to keep his distance. That would be difficult with her back in town and digging into a twenty-year-old murder mystery. Even more difficult knowing she was in danger. Could he keep her safe and still keep his distance?
Walking into the bathroom, he twisted the shower knob, going heavy on the cold and tried not to think about Sara Douglas or the turn of events that had put her in danger. Nick had done all he could to keep her safe. He’d offered her refuge at his home.
Now, it was up to Sara to do the smart thing by backing off and letting the police handle the rest.
Chapter Nine
The mansion was perched on the cliffs like an elegant cat, Sara thought as she pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. Nick had already been gone when she’d wakened an hour earlier. There was no note telling her where to find coffee or when he would return. There was no scribbled apology for what had happened the night before.
Sara wanted to be
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