They stopped in front of her building and Sugar felt her heart race. A breeze picked back up, moving the curls along her cheeks, tickling her face and causing her arousal to heighten even further. Poppy sat by her feet, Boscoe doing the same by Colton.

Sugar couldn’t help but stare at his face, the masculine features, the way he made her heart flutter, her belly tighten. She licked her lips and looked down, knowing what she wanted to say but fearing she didn’t have the courage.

The truth was what she wanted to do with him, say to him, probably wasn’t the best idea. Their companies were in the middle of a merger. Getting involved with Colton in any way that was not professional was crossing lines, wasn’t it?

“Do you want to come up for a drink?” The words came out of her before she could stop them, before she could really try and talk herself out of it. But the truth was she probably wouldn’t have tried to talk herself out of it.

She wanted Colton, the memory of the kiss still so fresh in her mind despite the time that had passed. And the way he looked at her, watched her with that smoldering gaze, told her he wanted her as well.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. She wondered if he was as nervous as she was. Heck, they could go up there and he might keep this strictly friendly. That was for the best anyway, because what she wanted was so far over the professional line it wasn’t even funny.

They headed inside and got into the elevator. Poppy was trained well enough in the building that she sat in the corner, knowing that she had to be on her best behavior. Boscoe, on the other hand, was a little more rambunctious, his tail whipping back and forth as he tried to jump up on Colton. Sugar held in her laugh, and when the doors finally opened and she stepped out she didn’t stop her grin.

They walked down the hallway to her apartment, and once inside, the door shut behind them, she breathed out. This was the first time he had been in her place, and as he walked around looking at the small confines, her apartment so modest compared to where he lived, she couldn’t help the heat that moved through her.

“Would you like something to drink?” She was so nervous right now, her hand shaking and her heart racing.

He looked over his shoulder at her and smirked, nodding before facing forward and looking at her apartment once more. Sugar bent down and unhooked the leash from Poppy’s collar, the little ball of fluff running right to where Boscoe was making himself comfortable on the rug in the living room.

She headed into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of wine out of the fridge, two glasses out of the cupboard, and set the items on the island. She uncorked the bottle and poured the wine, filling up the glasses. She glanced up briefly when she felt she was being watched.

Colton was just a few feet away, his hands in his pants pockets, his focus trained right on her.

She grabbed the two glasses and headed over to him, handing him one and instantly taking a sip from her own. She needed the liquid courage right now because the truth was she didn’t know if she could keep her feelings to herself.

That would be smart though.

She didn’t know if she could hold in her emotions, telling him exactly how she felt, how she had felt since the moment she’d met him. He’d annoyed her at first, despite his devilish good looks. His arrogance drove her crazy and caused her independent side to rear up. But when she’d gotten to know him she felt differently.

There they stood in silence. She wasn’t blind to the fact things felt different. The air seemed to heat, thicken, and her heart raced even more. If it wasn’t for her hand holding the wine glass, or the other one curled into a tight fist, she’d be shaking right now.

She took another hearty drink. She needed a little liquid courage right now. Sugar had to be honest with him because it was eating her up inside. She lifted her head and looked into Colton’s face, realizing he’d taken steps toward her. He was so close to her now, just a few feet away.

Just tell him how you feel. Damn the consequences. To hell with the fact it may not be “right.”

“Colton,” she whispered, her throat so dry all of a sudden.

But before she could say anything else he was standing right in front of her, his lips on hers, the flavor of everything he was making her moan.

She kissed him with all the pent-up arousal she had, with all the desire she felt for him. He took her wine glass away, and for just a second broke the kiss, set the glasses on the table beside them, and resumed kissing her.

Yeah, she wasn’t going to stop this moment, not this time.