Return to Me by Christy Reece

back in place, Noah stood and headed to his computer. It was only a little after ten. Samara might be out for a few more hours, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do a little trolling on his own. He was almost positive they’d found their guy … Brian Sanders, who’d been one of the first to respond.
    After that first message, Noah had sent a couple of his people to the real Brian’s home to talk to him and his parents. Brian had denied chatting online. Noah believed him. This had to be the bastard. It was too much of a coincidence not to be, and he wasn’t a big believer in coincidences.
    So far, Brian’s messages had contained nothing more than some heavy flirting and mild sexual innuendos. Though he still didn’t want to come on too strong and have the creep run, he was getting tired of this silly crap they’d been playing.
    Noah typed in the email address for BS626 and wrote:
    Hey Brian, I’m so pissed off I can’t see straight. My mom is making me go stay with my grandmother in Arizona while she goes on a cruise. Can you believe how selfish she is? Taking me away from school and all of my friends for two whole weeks? I won’t even be able to email you unless I go to the library. Gram doesn’t even have a computer
.
    I’ll miss you but hopefully when I get back, we can start chatting again. I’ll be leaving in a few days. Hope to talk to you before I go
.
    Noah signed off. Now it was up to Brian to take the bait.
    A key turned in the door and Noah looked up as Samara entered the apartment. His breath caught. She wore the dress she’d worn to Jordan and Eden’s wedding. The one he fantasized about taking off every time he’d allowed himself to think about her. Blue silk covered her body with the kind of modesty that entices a man to stare hard to determine the secrets beneath. The dress enhanced every curve, hugged tight to every feminine detail.
    All good intentions disintegrated. His cold, logical explanations for wanting this woman crumbled. Self-preservation evaporated. Self-denial took a backseat to raging desire. Without conscious thought, Noah found himself standing in front of her. Glaring down at her, he growled between clenched jaws, “No promises. No future. Just this. Here. Tonight. Your choice.” A part of him desperately hoped she’d slap his face and tell him to go to hell. Another part was just as desperate for her to agree to the incredibly unromantic proposal he’d just uttered.
    Her eyes, wide and filled with shock, locked with his. She stared hard, as if reading his soul.
    Breath held in check, Noah waited for an answer. Desire surged and pulsed through him, strong, potent, and consuming. His breath caught in his chest when a slim, delicate hand touched his arm, giving him the answer he sought.
    Taking the hand, he kissed it softly and pulled her to the bedroom.
    Samara couldn’t believe she was going to be so stupid. Fleeting images of every bad decision she’d ever made flashed through her mind. None of them compared to what she’d just agreed to.
    So what if her date with Brad had been unexciting and dull. So what if she’d been unable to take her mind off Noah and his anger at her for not canceling her date. So what if she wanted him like nothing she’d ever wanted in her entire life. Did that mean she had to be so stupid? The door closed behind them.
    Evidently so
.
    “Noah, I …”
    A hand held both her wrists behind her back as his big body pressed her against the door. “Shh.” Moving his mouth softly, slowly, he traced her entire face with his lips. “Every night, I dream about this body. And every morning, I wake up hard and aching for you.”
    “Then why haven’t …?”
    “Because this can’t be. … We can’t be.” He drew away from her and looked down. Dark, solemn eyes held secrets beyond her imagination and a desire beyond her comprehension. “You know that, right?”
    Her mouth moved up in a wry smile. “Yeah … I think you’ve mentioned it a