As Levi Spencer appeared next to their table, Hannah found herself slightly tongue-tied for a moment. Again.

“Okay, Kade, I’m willing to talk about the millionaire being the sidekick.” Levi pulled out a chair at the table and took a seat without invitation. “And okay, he can be completely alive. But maybe he could still be morosely interested in brains.”

Michael Kade regarded Levi with an expression that was partly amused and partly exasperated. “The protagonist’s sidekick is completely alive but still wants to eat brains?”

“I’m just saying that it might be worth talking about.”

“Do you know what authors like even less than negative reviews?” Kade asked.

“Readers who tell them how to write their books?” Levi guessed.

“You got it in one.”

“I understand,” Levi said, nodding. “Regarding most readers.”

Kade sighed. “I think I know my next victim.”

“The loveable, eccentric millionaire?” Levi asked, his eyes lighting up as if being a murder victim was even better than getting to help solve the murders.

“Let me guess, you have an idea about how he should die. And it involves something about his brains.”

“You really are good at this,” Levi told him.

Suddenly Kyle was next to Hannah. He wrapped a big hand around her upper arm. “We need to talk.”

Yep, she’d known she wasn’t getting out of this bar without talking to Kyle tonight. As it happened, however, this was great timing. She couldn’t listen to Levi and Kade talk about murder and brain matter.

She looked up at Kyle and nodded. “Yes, great. Okay. Let’s go.”

Kyle was clearly surprised. “Really?”

“I hate when Kade talks about his murder scenes,” she said, shooting Kade a frown. “Derek can totally read that scene,” she said.

“Derek can read it,” Kade agreed. “But you have to, too. You know the deal.”

Hannah groaned as she got to her feet. “Then no extra detailed descriptions of the brains.”

“Oh, come on,” Levi protested.

“That’s a good point,” Kade said. He looked at Kyle. “You willing to give me some insight into how brains look and feel?”

Hannah grabbed Kyle’s arm and pulled him away from the table before he and Kade could make a stupid coffee date or something. “Over here?” she asked, starting for the juke box.

Kyle stopped. “Kitchen,” he said simply. He took her hand and headed in that direction.

There were several people gathered around the bar with water, coffee, and soda, discussing remodel plans, but Kyle pulled her around behind the bar and through the swinging doors that led to the kitchen, without a pause. No one seemed to give them much notice. Except Derek. And he gave Kyle a wink.

Hannah wondered about that wink for a second, but quickly another thought occurred to her.

“Oh crap,” she said as the doors swung shut behind them. “Was I supposed to say no to talking privately?”

Kyle shook his head. “No.”

“But I’m supposed to be resisting you.”

“Yes, but not avoiding me entirely.” He looked and sounded totally frustrated suddenly. “Like you’ve been doing since our breakfast at Dottie’s.”

She focused on his chin rather than his eyes. “I haven’t really been avoiding you,” she hedged. She had been. Completely. Because that was way easier than pretending she didn’t want his attention and pushing him away when he touched her.

He stepped close and tipped her head up with a finger under her chin. “You have. It makes it very hard to romance you when I never see you.”

She swallowed. “Yeah, well, sorry if I haven’t been making it easy for you to torture me.”

She said it with a frown but Kyle grinned, his frustration seemingly fading. “Torture?”

“Like that’s not your intention?” she asked, looking into his eyes.

“If you mean do I want to make it extremely hard for you to go back to Seattle, yes, I do,” he said, his expression serious now. “If you mean do I want you to hurt a little bit being back here and realizing everything you’ve missed, I definitely do.” His voice went a little husky and he leaned in closer. “If you mean do I want you wound tight and wanting it all back, absolutely.”

Holy crap. She just wasn’t used to this intense side of Kyle. Yes, he’d always been focused and determined and driven when it came to things like grades and taking care of his family—and hers—and accomplishing his goals. But he’d never turned this edgier side on her. But then, he’d never needed to. She had always gone according to plan. There had been no trying really necessary.

That thought jolted her. She’d never been the subject of his intense, slightly frustrated, determined focus because she’d been easy for him and fallen in line and hadn’t needed any extra attention or effort? But a second later she had to admit that yeah…pretty much.

And she also had to admit that she liked the extra attention and effort. And that was really dangerous.

“You really want me sorry?” Hannah asked softly.

“I really, really do.”

“Can I just tell you that I’m sorry?”

“Show, don’t tell, Hannah,” he said. “Just like with your grandma. You have to prove stuff sometimes.”

Yeah, she supposed that was true. And she found herself going up on tiptoe, gripping his shoulders, and kissing him.

It took less than a second for Kyle to respond. He took over the kiss, his hands tangling in her hair, his mouth opening, his tongue demanding her surrender. Which she gave without a single qualm. He gripped her head and flat-out plundered her mouth. For nearly two full minutes. Then he pulled back, rested his forehead against her, and asked raggedly, “What was that?”

“I thought I heard someone coming,” she lied.

“Oh?” He didn’t believe her, she knew. “But you’re supposed to be resisting.”

“But I can’t push you away if you’re not up close to start with,” she said.

He stared into her eyes for a long moment. Then he shifted and took her hands in his. He put her palms against his chest. She could feel his heart hammering and it sent a thrill through her. “Okay. Push me away.”

“In a minute,” she said, her voice husky. She just wanted to feel him for a second.

“God, you look…so different.”

And she remembered what she was wearing. And that she had a spot where she’d dropped whipped cream. And that she had no makeup on. And that her shoes didn’t match her outfit at all.

She stiffened, but Kyle didn’t relax his hold. “Hey, I like it,” he told her.

Her hand went to her hair. She’d pulled it up because she hadn’t been able to wash it that morning. It had been a rough couple of days. She’d been having pain that she attributed to stress and to sleeping in a new bed. Kade had done some treatment on her a few hours ago and she was better now, but still definitely not the put-together girl Kyle would remember. “I’m kind of a mess today. I just couldn’t…get myself together.”

He frowned, clearly concerned. “You okay?”

“I’m…” She pressed her lips together. She wasn’t sure how much to share with him.

But for some reason, she wanted him to know that she hadn’t been avoiding him because she hadn’t wanted to see him, but rather because she just wasn’t what he would expect. Yeah, maybe that was a good thing to let him in on. “I have some neck issues,” she said carefully. “Ongoing. They flare up from time to time and the last couple days have been a little rough.”

His frowned deepened. “Neck issues? Like what?”

“Do you remember the car accident I had a few years ago?”

“The one when you were doing your last rotation?” he asked. “Yes.” Then his eyes narrowed. “It was worse than you said it was, wasn’t it?”

How had he known that? But she nodded. “It was. It took me a lot of therapy and I still have…issues.”

“What can I do?”

Exactly what she’d expect from him. And it was sweet. But there was nothing. She shook her head, swallowing past the tightness in her throat. “Nothing. It’s fine. I manage it.”

“It doesn’t sound like it. You’ve been hiding out for four days and you’re wearing cut-off denim.” His eyes tracked over her legs and then came back to her face. “Not that I’m complaining.”

The combination of heat and concern in his gaze made her heart wobble in her chest. Denim was practically a requirement to live in Sapphire Falls, but she’d always preferred dresses. Dresses were easy. They looked nice with little effort, and they were easy to make. Once Alice had taught her to sew, Hannah had been in heaven, making her own dresses and skirts. Now she could buy her dresses, but she still wore them primarily. Maxi dresses were her favorites. So comfortable, and yet they gave the illusion of being a little dressed up.

But she hadn’t packed much for the trip to Sapphire Falls since she hadn’t planned on being overly social, and knew she’d have a washer and dryer at her disposal. And now she needed to do laundry. She hadn’t been quite able to work up the energy for the cookie-baking session Alice had wanted to do and do her laundry, so she’d rummaged in her old dresser for clothes. And this was what she’d come up with.

“That’s one way I manage,” she confessed to Kyle. “I let go of things like worrying about how I look, doing my hair and makeup and stuff.”

He clearly didn’t totally understand that. “I can help, Hannah. We can check things out. I can get some x-rays set up while you’re here. And we can go from there.”

“I’ve had all of that,” she said quickly. She didn’t need Kyle seeing the fusion in her neck. “I’ve been dealing with it for three years.” Well, minus the months she’d spent hooked on painkillers. That hadn’t exactly been dealing with it. “I know what works. And sometimes just chilling out is what I need to do. Decrease the pressure and stress, just relax.”

“Like meditating by the river?”

She shouldn’t have been surprised that he knew about that. This was Sapphire Falls. “Yeah. Like meditating by the river.”

“And avoiding me.”

“Yes,” she said honestly. She blew out a breath. “But that sounds worse than it is. There’s just this pressure of putting on this show for Grandma, and I thought that I needed to be in a little better place.”

He ran his thumbs over her jawline. “I hate that I made you hurt.”

And that made her heart squeeze. He did. Even that little bit. Imagine if he knew everything she’d been through and that she hadn’t been able to tell him. Yes, he was hurt and angry about the breakup, but he still cared. And he would be completely pissed to know that there was something she had thought he wouldn’t be able to handle. Kyle Ames handled things—all things—and he was very proud of that. “It’s not your fault,” she told him.

His eyes tracked over her face and hair. “Damn, I really want to run my hands through your hair. Is that weird? But I love this tousled look.”

He probably couldn’t have said anything that would have surprised her more. “Really?” Because if tousled did it for him, she could so deliver on that. Tousled was a really nice term for her new normal. Of course, she then had to immediately remind herself that she didn’t want it to “do it” for him.

“Really. I can’t explain it. But seeing you not quite perfect is…different. And…hot.”

Oh boy. Well, not quite perfect was totally her. Crap. He was supposed to like and want the Hannah he remembered. Because that was an awesome mental barrier she could keep up between them.

Instead, she heard herself say, “Well, you’re probably going to see a lot of my not-quite-perfect in the next six weeks.” Because it was true.

Without a word, he lifted his hand to the back of her head. She felt his fingers on the clip she had holding her hair up, then she felt the clip give. The twist loosened and her hair fell to her shoulders.

He pulled his fingers through it. “It’s curly.”

She nodded, her mouth dry suddenly. “I let it air-dry yesterday.”

“You always wear—wore—it straight.”

“Yeah.” She’d always dried it straight and then smoothed it with a straightener. Her natural curls could get pretty frizzy in the humid Nebraska weather. He’d seen it curly, of course. Like when she’d been in a pool or at the river. But she would then always pull it up into a braid or ponytail to keep it under control

He was fingering one curl that laid against her shoulder. “This is so different,” he said.

“Things change.”

His pupils dilated and he took a deep breath. “Yeah. I’ve never had such an urge to go wild with you.”

She sucked in a quick breath. She wasn’t sure what exactly he meant, but the look in his eyes and the gruffness in his tone told her that he wasn’t talking about her curls and denim.

He skimmed a hand over her shoulder, down her side, resting on her hip. “I was always really sweet to you.”

She nodded.

“Romantic. Considerate. A gentleman.”

She couldn’t disagree.

“And look what that got me.”

Okay, that hit her directly in the chest. “Kyle. You were…an amazing boyfriend. We were good, right? For a long time.”

“Maybe. But maybe good wasn’t all we needed. Maybe we needed more. Maybe we needed hot. And wild.”

Oh, Lord. Hot and wild. Two pretty simple words with lots of meanings, but Hannah felt her stomach flip. “What does that mean?”

“I think it means that this idea to romance you might not be complete.” He was studying her lips, and Hannah wasn’t sure she’d ever been as aware of her mouth. “I think maybe I should do more than remind you of what you left behind. I should show you what you could have here now instead.”

“But you don’t want me to stay,” she said softly. She’d said it before too, and she wasn’t sure why she kept saying it. To remind him? To remind her? To hear him change his mind? The last thing she needed was more reason to not want to leave.

“I want leaving to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done.”

Already there. She hadn’t exactly left Sapphire Falls but not coming home had been hard. Very hard.

“And you managed it pretty easily when I was sweet and gentlemanly,” he went on. Now he lifted his hand and ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “So maybe I need to step things up.”

She didn’t have a chance to reply or ask what he meant because he leaned in and took her mouth again in a hot, wet kiss that made fire lick along her limbs.

The limbs that he was now running his hands over. He slid his big palms up and down her arms, tangling with her fingers and then pressing her hands back against the wall behind her. She laid her hands flat on either side of her hips. It was a small sign of submission, she knew. It wasn’t pulling him closer, but it certainly wasn’t pushing him away. Kyle definitely understood. His hands gripped her hips as he deepened the kiss, holding her as he pressed into her, his erection obvious against her fly. Her body felt like it was melting at the evidence of his reaction. He stroked lower, his fingertips meeting her bare thighs, and she sighed.

He ran a finger under the edge of her shorts on both sides, and she felt the sensations shimmying straight to her clit. Oh, boy. It had been a long time. And Kyle had been the last man to really make anything shimmy right there.

He trailed his lips down her neck, licking a path that made goose bumps skitter down her arm. “Damn, you taste so good,” he said roughly.

Hannah tilted her head back to rest against the wall, not to give him better access, but because her body was quickly losing the ability to do anything but just be. The wall would hopefully keep her upright.

A clatter sounded from the front of the bar, reminding her that there were people just on the other side of the door. She started to lift her head, but Kyle already had her hips in his hands again and was sliding her along the wall and around the corner.

“If they come in and I push you away, they won’t see it here,” she said, her voice hopelessly breathless.

“I know. So no sense pushing me away just yet.”

Then he put his mouth back on her neck, and she decided that his ideas were brilliant. Maybe even this one about turning things up from sweet and gentlemanly to hot and wild.

He was cupping her butt now, and she felt herself arching her hips closer to his as he kissed her in that one especially sweet and hot spot. She’d never understood why that spot just behind her earlobe made her crazy, but it did. And he’d clearly remembered. In fact, five seconds after he put his lips there, she was grinding against him. She still had her hands against the wall though, so she could tell herself that he was making her do it. She was a complete liar, of course, but as long as that pressure stayed right there, she was good.

“Unbutton for me.”

It took her a second to process his words. Her eyes flew open—the first time she’d realized they were shut—and she looked up at him. “What?”

“Unbutton.” His hot gaze dropped to the front of her shirt.

Why couldn’t he unbutton her? “You do it,” she urged. Okay, that was definitely the opposite of pushing him away, but she didn’t care. Every inch of her skin seemed to be anticipating his touch, craving it.

“You do it,” he said firmly.

She swallowed. Okay, actually, that was the opposite of pushing him away. Not just letting him touch her, but encouraging it, helping him do it.

Was he testing her? Was he trying to see what she would do?

Well, had he not kissed her behind her ear, she might have kept enough sense to try, even halfheartedly, to return to the plan of resisting him. But he had kissed her there and so this was all his fault.

She lifted her fingers and undid her buttons quickly. She’d buttoned them up wrong anyway, she realized. As the buttons parted and Kyle’s expression grew more and more heated, she remembered she was wearing a pink bra with light green panties. They didn’t match at all, and she wondered briefly if Kyle was going to find that out. And if he’d realize that she’d always worn matching panties and bras.

She liked when things matched. Back when she could expend energy on things like that. She hadn’t considered herself uptight or Type A, but she had been. Definitely. But nothing in her house growing up had matched. Their furniture had been a hodgepodge of new and old. They hadn’t had matching towel sets. Their pots and pans had been a mix of things they’d gotten on sale or had been given clear back when her parents had gotten married. Even the storage containers in the fridge had been a mix of tops and bottoms. They were small things that didn’t really matter, but they’d somehow seemed like a lack of organization, or caring, to Hannah. And truthfully, it had been a lack of caring. She got that now. Matching up the lids on the Tupperware was an unimportant detail when you were worried about paying the electric bill to keep the fridge on in the first place.

As the final button parted, she went one step further and spread the two sides apart.

Frankly, if Kyle didn’t like a pink bra with green panties, she didn’t really care.

“Holy shit.” He traced a finger along the upper edge of the bra, heating her skin with that single touch. “You’re so fucking gorgeous.”

Hannah felt her eyes widen. It was a heartfelt, and hot, sentiment…that he’d never said before. He’d told her she was beautiful. He’d probably even used the word gorgeous. But he’d never said fucking gorgeous. He’d never said fucking to her period. Not even if he was swearing about something else entirely.

He was right, he’d always been sweet and considerate of her. He’d given a mischievous look here and there. He’d kissed her with heat. He’d let his hands wander at times he shouldn’t—under the edge of a tablecloth or in a corner where they might get caught—but he’d always kept himself just this side of indecent. And while he’d certainly seen and touched every inch of her, they’d never really talked about it. It had been a lot of sighs and moans, but very little actual words.

He slipped the tip of his finger into one bra cup and tugged gently. “Unhook.”

Hannah couldn’t believe they were doing this. She was going to unhook her bra in front of him, in the Come Again kitchen, with the very bright lights above and the crowd of people only a few feet away?

But she was already reaching behind her back. They were around the corner. She’d have time to pull her shirt closed if someone came in.

The hooks slid free and the bra went slack. Kyle tugged again, pulling it away from her breasts.

Her nipples were already hard, but they puckered further the instant his gaze hit them.

“Oh, damn, yes.” He ran the pad of his thumb over one of them, and Hannah gasped softly, her thighs squeezing together as heat and want shot straight to her core.

They’d mostly had sex in the dark while they’d lived in Sapphire Falls. They’d been teenagers after all. But when they’d gone off to college and had two dorm rooms to use however they wanted to—within reason—they’d done it with the lights on and in broad daylight.

But this felt different.

Because in the past, they’d had sex as most people did most things they thought they were going to get to do over and over again for the rest of their lives. They’d enjoyed it, but they’d also taken it for granted.

He’d never studied her before. He’d never licked her nipple and then pinched it gently while watching her carefully for every reaction. He’d also never said, “Playing with your nipples always made you so wet.”

She sucked in a breath. Apparently talking about it also did. He’d never talked about her being wet before. He’d felt it, of course. He knew how to make it happen. But they’d never talked about it.

“Say it,” he told her, tugging gently on one nipple. “Tell me you’re wet for me.”

“I’m—” She cleared her throat. “I’m very wet for you.” Wow, it was crazy how hot it was saying it out loud herself.

He kissed his way to the other breast and licked and sucked there for a moment, making her squirm against the wall.

Then she heard herself say, “But I thought this was all about showing, not telling.”

She froze for a second. She couldn’t believe those words had come from her mouth.

Similarly, Kyle stopped moving, then slowly looked up at her. And she was really glad she’d said it. That look in his eyes was worth it.

Okay, she wasn’t sure exactly what had gotten into her, but it was time for him to be a little shocked and hot too. She kept her eyes on his as she popped open the button on her shorts and slid the zipper down.

Kyle seemed to be holding his breath as he watched her part the front panels, showing off the, yes, green panties. It was so hot watching him watch her, and she wondered why they’d never done this before and why they were doing it now and if they could maybe go somewhere else and really do it. She was shocked that she wanted Kyle to watch her touch herself, but she so did.

She slid her hand into the front of the panties, then lower, her middle finger gliding over her clit. She gave a little shiver. Then kept going. She slid her finger through the wet heat he’d caused, feeling the insane urge to lie down on the tile floor and spread her legs for him. Who cared who was on the other side of the swinging door? Who cared that the floor in the kitchen of a food service business was the last place she would have ever imagined lying down? Who cared that this was Kyle and she was supposed to be resisting him—for some admittedly good reasons—and that getting naked for him was probably the opposite of that?

“Definitely wet,” she told him, her voice barely audible.

There was a pause where there was no sound, no motion, no nothing but hot anticipation in the air. Then he growled and took her face in his hands and kissed her. And she felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes because even in the midst of the intense desire she saw in him, felt in him, he was still holding her head gently, clearly remembering her neck.

She found herself gripping the front of his shirt, her whole body pulsing with need and wanting his hand where hers had been between her legs so badly, she was on the verge of telling him.

“Oh, yeah, we’re definitely stepping this up a notch,” he said against her mouth, his voice like gravel.

Hannah felt the urge to cry, and laugh, and moan all at once. This was torture, for sure. And he intended it to be. But he wasn’t immune. He was tortured too, and for some reason that made her feel horrible and wonderful at the same time.

Finally, Kyle dropped his hands and pulled in a deep breath. “Okay.” He seemed to take a second to gather himself, then he said, “Now, push me away.”

Those had to be the last words she had been expecting. “What?”

“You still have to resist…at least in the end. We can’t forget that.”

Right. They couldn’t forget that. In the end. When this all ended.

She forced a smile. She was hot and tingly and confused and disappointed and pissed off. She flattened her hands on his chest and pushed, though she definitely didn’t want to. Then watched him as she re-hooked her bra, re-buttoned her shorts and shirt. He watched every bit of it, looking a little like someone who was starving and was watching someone wrap up a gourmet meal to save for later.

“Tomorrow night. You need to be here,” he said.

“Here?”

“At the Come Again.”

“But—”

“Hannah,” he cut her off. “This thing,” he gestured between them, “needs to be public for the plan to work.” He paused and added, “At least some of it.”

And her stupid heart flipped at the way his voice got a little huskier when he said those last five words.

“If your pain is an issue, let me know, I’m happy to prescribe something.”

And that was like dumping ice-cold water on her head. She knew he’d be happy to give her whatever he thought she needed. He might even insist on it. Because Kyle loved to fix things and in his mind, that was what medication was for. He’d hate the idea that she was right there, hurting, and he wasn’t able to do anything for her.

She needed to suck it up. “Fine.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then.”

“Okay.”

He took a huge step back, shoved a hand through his hair, gave her one last look—which focused on her mouth and made heat and electricity shoot clear to her toes. “And now you need to head back into the bar and act like we just argued.”

Hannah looked at the door and back to him. “What?”

“You’re not supposed to be letting me do the things I just did, remember?”

Like kissing her and touching her and unbuttoning her shirt and… She cleared her throat. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Then get your pissed-off face on,” he told her, gesturing at the door.

“You know, maybe we really should argue,” she said. “Instead of…” She waved her hand in the direction of the wall where he’d kissed her and partially undressed her and—okay, so she’d partially undressed herself, but still.

“Okay,” he said agreeably. Maybe too agreeably.

“What should we argue about?”

They had honestly never argued. At least not about anything major or with any real heat. They’d gotten along famously, because they’d been on the same page about nearly every topic of any importance.

“How about I tell you that I don’t like Kade’s books?” Kyle asked.

She actually snorted at that. “Yeah, me either.”

He looked surprised for a moment, then gave a half smile. “Okay, so not that. How about how I think acupuncture is a little hokey?”

She shrugged. “You’re not the only one. I can get you some articles.”

“That doesn’t tick you off?” he asked.

“I don’t need to justify it to anyone,” she said honestly. “I know it helps me and the people I work with, and that’s all that really matters.”

“But I could tell people that I think the acupuncture is hokey,” he commented. “My opinion and recommendations mean a lot around here. If I tell them not to do it, they won’t.”

She crossed her arms. He was trying to start a fight. But she knew there was truth behind what he was saying. “You mean like Frank and Conrad?” she asked.

“Frank and Conrad are only two of my patients. And they don’t listen to anyone, so don’t get your hopes up for somehow changing their habits.”

Well, now she was a little irritated. “I find that when you do things that actually help people, they tend to stick with it. Pain isn’t always something you can fix or heal completely, but there are definite ways to manage it.”

His eyes narrowed and he took a step forward. “Are you challenging me?”

She lifted her chin. “I don’t know, maybe.” She had never done that before either. She’d…gone along. Ugh. She hadn’t really thought of it that way before, but yeah, she’d definitely gone along. No wonder Kyle had this thing about control. He’d always had it. But the truth was, Kyle Ames was not always right. No matter if he believed that or not.

“So, you’re saying that you can convince Frank and Conrad to stick with your plan and it will help them feel better?” Kyle clarified.

He didn’t know how into it the men already were, but she didn’t mind having a slight advantage. She nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”

Kyle gave her a grin. “You’re on.”

Hannah managed to stomp out into the bar as if she was annoyed, but she had to admit that she felt more confused than anything. Kyle had rattled loose some major emotions, and annoyance was a very mild one, about seventh down the list. She felt a little excitement at the idea of helping Frank and Conrad, actually. Some of her advice had already helped them, but she hadn’t even started on the acupuncture yet.

And then there was something…fun…about shaking up Kyle’s preconceived notions about, well, everything. Especially her. She hadn’t felt put together for three days, but suddenly that wasn’t bothering her at all. He liked her hair wild and curly and certainly didn’t seem to mind the denim shorts. At all.

Which brought up the number one emotion on her list. Lust. Pure and simple. She wanted more of his hands and his mouth and his…other stuff.

So she’d been back in Sapphire Falls for six days.

Only five weeks and one day to go.