“It’s not that easy, Liam. I’m leaving tomorrow. Leaving. I know you know just as well as I do that I might not come back this time. Right or wrong, consequences be damned, there isn’t much of anything that could make me stop now. Did I expect this? No. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t welcome. I tried to keep my distance. I denied us both, but I can’t anymore. I won’t hurt her. I could never hurt her.”

“All right. I might take back my earlier assessment. You might be stupid after all. Make sure she is clear with whatever is about to happen and what it means to you, Cohen. Because if you don’t, you’re going to get her hopes up, and when you leave without making something, anything, clear, it will crush her more than just you being deployed will.” He turns and walks off, grabbing Maddi on his way by her waist and playfully throwing her over his shoulder before marching onto the crowded dance floor.

It should be said for the record that I am far from stupid. I thought I was doing the right thing by denying us this. I thought that it would be easier for both of us if we didn’t take this attraction any further.

One thing and one thing only is clear now.

I want Danielle Reid.

And right or wrong, I will have her.

I just need to make sure she knows I can’t make her any promises about our future. Not with too much unknown standing in our way. When I get home, we can sit down and figure this stuff out, but for now, I need to find out if the fantasy of her lives up to the reality. I have a feeling that it will be even greater than I ever could imagine.

I don’t know what I expected when I came back to where I left Dani, but seeing her sitting in some kind of protective ball definitely wasn’t it. My Dani is strong. She wouldn’t ever feel the need to turn in toward herself. Hell, if she weren’t happy with me, she would have marched out there and kicked my ass herself.

“Dani-girl?” I implore, walking up to her still form and crouching down next to her. “Talk to me, baby.”

She’s quiet for a second, and just as I lean down to pull her into my arms, she catches me off guard with an elbow to the gut.

“You jerk. I told you not to leave me like that. I’m two seconds away from shoving my own hand down my pants to finish what YOU started.”

Her eyes flash, giving me just enough time to prepare for her launching herself from her position. My arms go around her seconds before I fall back. Then I roll until I have her trapped under me with no way to get away.

Leaning down, I make sure she is focused completely on me before speaking. “I don’t know what’s gotten you worked up, Dani-girl, but I told you I was coming back.”

“No you didn’t, jerk-off. You said you had to go check on Megan. You said you needed to make sure Chance was taking her home. Now tell me how was I supposed to know in Cohen’s world that mean you would be right back? You know what? Just forget it . . . Get off me so I can find my brother and have him take me back home.”

She’s lost her damn mind.

“That isn’t happening.” I push my hips against hers so there is no doubt in what I’m about to say. “For years—years, Dani—you’ve been parading around this flawless body and teasing me with something I couldn’t have. For weeks, we’ve been dancing around this attraction. I’ve had a taste, and now, I need my meal. So what we’re going to do is get off this damn floor, walk out the back door, and I’m going to get your sweet little ass to my bed quickly. I mean it, Dani. Years I’ve thought about what your pussy would feel like with my cock deep inside you, and I’m not giving that up now.”

Her eyes widen hilariously. Those stunning, light-green orbs look at me with so much shock that, if I weren’t so frustrated, I would laugh. Okay, so maybe I should have handled that a little better

Yeah, smooth I am not.

“What?” she breathes. “What happened to you saying this wouldn’t happen?”

“I’m man enough to admit I was wrong and I’m open to discussing this again. Now get ready, baby. It’s going to be a long night.”

THE WHOLE TWENTY-MINUTE DRIVE TO my apartment is done with silence and sexual tension so thick that it’s choking. My cock is testing the strength of its confinement. With every inhale, I can smell her arousal, her desire for me, and it’s driving me insane with lust.

“Do you think we should talk about this, Cohen?” she asks weakly, like she would rather talk about anything else but knows it’s smart that we at least lay some communication out.

“What do you want me to say here, Dani-girl?”