Shall I tell you why you’re so jittery?” Daniel bit his lip, paused as if wondering whether or not he should go on. Then he jumped. “You’re wondering if I’m going to kiss you.”

“You what?”

“That wasn’t a denial.” He took another step closer. “Well? Am I right or wrong?”

“Just because I…” I couldn’t handle the mocking in his eyes. He knew more than I was willing to acknowledge. “This isn’t… I mean I can’t…”

“Can’t you?” Daniel’s brows quirked. “What can’t you?” he asked with a taunting lift of his chin.

Mute and rooted to the spot, I silently bade him continue. Silently bade him stop. Please stop. Oh, there were a thousand and one reasons why this was a bad idea, and I couldn’t remember any of them.

Daniel moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue, then reached up to my neck.

I shook my head without shaking it, moved it slowly from side to side, fighting to calm the maelstrom of thoughts and guilt and what-ifs in my mind. But each time I turned my head, even one degree, I moved under Daniel’s hand and the halfhearted attempt to say no, I can’tbecame a reminder of how much I wanted to say yes.

If Daniel’s hand hadn’t been on me, if he’d been standing only a foot farther back, if there had been more air between us, maybe I would have been able to breathe, but the slow back and forth of his thumb on my jaw hypnotized me into silent compliance.

“You know something,” he murmured, inching closer, ever closer until even daylight wouldn’t get between us. “I’ve been wondering what it would be like to kiss you for a while.”

Oh God, this isn’t why I came here, I —

“And you’ve been thinking of the same thing.”

Every time you speak, I forget myself.

“We should do something about it.” Daniel dipped his head, drew back, furrowed his brow, and I thought, surely he can’t be nervous; he’s Daniel Cross, but he wanted to make sure Iwas sure. Again he inclined his head, his thumb’s rhythmic back and forth slowing still further, and I couldn’t stop myself moistening my lips, whether in readiness for his kiss or simply because being close to Daniel made me nervous.

His hand on my waist made me jump, and the short path to its resting place on the curve of my hip blazed a trail of electricity. When I gasped, Daniel closed the distance between us by pulling me in closer, and in an instant I thought, no, he’ll be able to tell just how —

And despite the fact that we both wore jeans, he couldn’t hide how hard he was.

“I know you want this,” he whispered, so close his breath warmed my skin. “Just let me…”

I’ve never kissed a — Oh God. My resistance, such as it was, melted away when his bottom lip dragged over mine. The gentleness of the kiss was incongruous with his stubble. Though soft rather than prickly, it was a constant reminder that I was kissing — or being kissed by — a man. But I didn’t care because that man was Daniel.

He rested his forehead against mine, breathing deeply but slowly, and his mouth curved into a smile. Still cradling my neck with one hand, his fingers flinched, making my skin tingle. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Now, aren’t you dying to contact my lovely guest:

http://scarlettparrish.blogspot.com/

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And if you visit Scarlett’s blog, you’ll see my excerpt from Genetic Attraction. : )