I stared at the shadows on the ceiling in Taryn’s loft, the cherry on my cigarette glowing brightly as I took a big puff. I’d given in and bought a pack on my way here. But only after Taryn fell asleep did I feel the need to smoke one.

She quieted my mind, even as her presence spoke to everything wrong about what I was doing. What I was risking.

She stirred, snuggling into my side. “This is new,” she mused, taking the butt from my hand. Smiling, she lifted the Marlboro to her lips and took a drag. “Fall off the wagon, did you?”

And though I knew she was talking about the cigarette, my stomach dropped.

I threw back the covers. “Nope. But I have to take off. I’ve got an early meeting.”

Taryn propped on her elbow, and I saw it on her face. The disappointment. “Okay … call me tomorrow.”

It came out like a question, so I nodded. She dropped back to the pillow and watched me step into my boxers. I stalked to the bathroom, avoiding her gaze and that damn magnetic pull. Loitering as I gathered the rest of my clothes, I took stock of myself in the mirror.

I needed to spend the night in my own bed. Get my head clear. Wash Taryn’s scent off my skin.

But I did none of those things. Instead, I grabbed the bottle of Chardonnay from the ledge of the tub and inspected the contents. Half full.

The crisp, fruity liquid slid down my throat easily, but didn’t provide the courage I desired.

Go.

My brain barked the order, but it only took seconds for the alcohol to argue the logic. Shuffling back to Taryn’s bed, I slipped under the covers, keeping my back to her. A small compromise.

She pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “I thought you were leaving?”

I am. I was.

I rolled over, and the tendrils of hair in her face begged for my touch. “You want me to leave?” I tucked a wayward strand behind her ear. “Say the word, baby.”

She smiled a dreamy smile. “No. I want you to stay.”

Pulling her forward, my hand slid to her ass. “Why’s that?”

“Because I want you to make me breakfast in the morning.”

I traced a finger along the ridge of her spine, cursing my inability to keep my hands to myself for one fucking second. “Is that all you want?”

Despite the wine fogging my brain, my cock sprang to life when her fingers coiled around my shaft. “No.”

She gave me a saucy grin, so I pinned her on her back. “You are a greedy girl. Twice in one night.”

Grabbing a condom from the nightstand, she pressed the foil packet into my hand. “You’re one to talk.”

She kissed my neck, and any bit of resolve fell by the wayside. I rolled the latex into place and, positioning myself at her entrance, I sank in an inch. “Is this what you want?”

All you want?

I pushed all the way in, swallowing the small cry when she moaned. As I moved inside her, it was easy to forget all the things that made this—whatever it was—such a bad idea.

In the dark, there was nothing but her. The feel of her skin and the sound of her voice. But things that happened in the dark had a funny way of forcing themselves into the light. I knew that better than most, and still, I couldn’t stop myself.

But then, I never could.