Panic threatened to douse the flames building inside her. Cassidy wanted to hold on to the fire one last time. A final chance to say goodbye, even though he didn’t remember ever saying hello.

Her hands flew around his neck and pulled him against her. She captured his mouth with wild abandon, kissing him like she was on death row and he was her last meal. Her tongue danced with his, making her forget who she was right now and losing herself in him.

He tried to pull away. “Sweetheart, slow down. We’ve got time.”

Heat burned in his brown eyes, lightened with a hint of auburn and dotted with flecks of gold. She longed to discover the secret right there just under the surface, staring back at her through his desire.

But they didn’t have time. She had to stop this. For her own sanity. For the life she’d chosen. But dammit, she was a starving woman standing in front of a yummy male buffet. No sane girl would deny herself one tiny bite. One small taste to satiate her craving.

She doubled her efforts, pressing her breasts against his chest and cupping his face in her hands. Licking against the seam of his mouth, he gave up and let her in. She plunged her tongue inside, devouring his protests. Her fingers grabbed at his hair and yanked. With a grunt, he let go of his restraint. His mouth and teeth traveled down her jawline and licked a path along her neck, his ragged breath and raging need matching hers.

She writhed against him, and opened her legs so he could press himself in between. He answered her unspoken request and rubbed his throbbing cock against her hot core. The two of them were a flash fire ready to consume, incinerating them to ashes.

His hand traveled down her torso, kneading her breast. She pressed herself into his demanding squeeze. He pinched her pert nipple, sending a shock wave of biting ache to her center. His hand continued over her stomach and down the front of her jeans. She should stop him...stop allowing herself to feel something she couldn’t have. Shouldn’t have.

His fingers curled into the swollen flesh of her folds soaking wet underneath her clothes. Unable to stop herself, she tilted her hips to meet the pressure of his touch.

“So hot and ready for me.” The words gritted out of his mouth, more like a snarl than a statement.

She rocked against his touch, giving in and falling into the trap she herself had set. No longer caring about the consequences, she closed her eyes and let him overwhelm her senses.

“Parker.” Her head hit the wood of the bookshelf when his mouth captured the hardened peak of her nipple and sucked on it over her shirt.

With a growl, he hoisted both her legs up around his waist, balancing her against the shelf. She wrapped them tightly, pulling his body into her. He thrust his hard shaft against her again and again, the clothes between them barely dulling the throbbing need building inside her.

He bit her earlobe and sucked on it. “I’ve got you.”

“Yes.” She was close, so close.

The sound of a baby’s giggle broke their heated passion. It repeated, and Parker’s body stilled and tensed.

“Shit. Put me down.” Cassidy flailed until he dropped her feet to the floor. She wobbled for a second, off balance. Tearing herself away, she fumbled to pull her phone out of her pocket and stop the sound of her ringer.

Unable to look at him, she turned away and cleared her throat. “Hey.”

“Cassie, baby, we’re on our way. You ready?” The chipper voice of her landlord and closest friend Flora usually made her smile in the worst of times. Right now, it made her want to smash her phone against the wall.

“Yeah, I’m still here finishing up.”

“Okay. Should we stop by the store and get some things to make dinner before getting you so we can go home right away?”

Cassidy shook her head. “No, I’ll go with you.”

“Great. We’ll be more productive that way so we can double-team him. We’re out the door.”

She shot Parker a sideways glance, guilt eating every drop of her pleasure as he adjusted himself in his pants.

She continued, “You are? How long?”

“Ten minutes?”

Looking at the clock on the wall and then at Parker, her stomach lurched. Time’s up.

She nodded. “Mm-hmm. I’ll be ready.”

“Okay, hon. Bye.”

With a swipe of her finger, Cassidy cradled her phone in her palm. Whipping around, she held out her hand. He handed back her glasses. Cold, hard reality cleared her vision.

She shook her head and reached out her hand again. “Give me your thing.”

Confusion filled his face. Parker gaped at her. “My what?”

Impatiently, she wagged her fingers to speed him along. “I don’t have time for this. The sheet of paper I have to sign to prove you were here.” The burning ball in her gut churned.

He pulled out a wrinkled folded piece of paper from his pocket. Ripping it out of his hands, Cassidy walked as fast as possible to the front desk. In her panic, she knocked some books off the counter. Yanking on one of the pens attached to a clipboard, she signed her name across the entry lines. The metal chain rattled under her shaking haste. When she finished, the clipboard fell with a loud clank onto the floor.

“Can I get your number, too?”

She pursed her lips and handed the paper back. “I think it’s best if you don’t come back.” Please don’t come back.

He glanced down at the wrinkled sheet and back up at her. “Why?”

Nope. No questions. Time was running out. Waving her hands as if pushing him with some invisible force, Cassidy ushered him out. “I’ve left the dates blank, so all you have to do is fill those out and turn them in after the last one. It’s a win-win.” Or at least it saves my ass and preserves your future.

They reached the door after she nudged him a few times. Parker attempted one more time to use his charm, but she shut him down. Whatever connection they had made, she shattered with an icy demeanor.

He straightened, folding and stuffing the paper in his back pocket without looking at it. Pulling out his keys, he opened the door.

“Thanks, uh…you know, I didn’t catch your name.”

Right, football star. One last Hail Mary. “And you never will.” She allowed the door to close between them, but couldn’t stop herself from watching him through the small window.

He stood outside and stared at her for a second. She watched him pace, running his hands through his sexy hair. With a curse loud enough to penetrate the door, he stalked in the direction of a large truck, unlocked it, and got in.

Cassidy turned and fell against the door, her back scraping down it until she sat on the floor. Overwhelmed and confused, tears welled in her eyes and poured down her cheeks. Sobs racked her entire body and echoed off the books and walls in the empty library. Why did he have to be the guest reader? Why did he show up today? And why did it have to hurt so damn much?

Almost a year and half had passed, and yet the pain hadn’t dulled. Now that he finally got a sliver of a clue that they’d been together before, her own fear and panic had stopped her from telling him the truth. The awful wonderful truth that, if revealed, would change everything and turn her life upside down. Again.

And she liked her life now. After everything she’d been through, Cassidy now lived a nice, steady existence filled with good things. Adding Parker Berenger into the mix would spoil the recipe. He was the tornado that would blow a path of destruction and raze things to the ground. Nope. Better for him to disappear again. Ignorance was bliss, in his case. She patched up her old wounds with worn out excuses, ignoring the nagging voice in her head that screamed she was wrong.

Thank goodness nobody came to the library anymore so she could suffer in peace. Pulling off her glasses, she wiped wet cheeks with the back of her hand and scrambled to stand. He’d had too many of her tears, and she couldn’t afford to shed more for him. No matter how much the ache between her legs lingered, an almost automatic physical response to him did not justify changing her mind this late in the game.

With a deep sigh, she wiped her glasses and placed them back on. Trudging back to the front desk, she picked up the fallen books and clipboard from the floor, straightening them on the counter. The door opened behind her, and a cold breeze blew in. Her body stiffened in anticipation.

“I hope you brought your raincoat with you.” Flora’s voice filled the empty library.

Cassidy relaxed, glad to hear it wasn’t him. No way she wanted Flora to see her eyes right now and grill her. Without turning around, she waved her hand. “I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and live in Seattle. Of course I did. Give me a second.” She ran to the office and grabbed her coat and purse.

Pulling a mirror out of her bag, she checked her eyes. A little red and puffy from crying, but her glasses would hide that. Sniffing away the rest of her sadness, she plastered a smile on her face and walked out, turning off lights as she went.

“Ready to go,” Cassidy said, and held out her arms.

Flora handed over the wriggling bundle to her. Connor, her almost one-year-old son, wiped at his sleepy eyes and smiled up at her, instant innocent delight bright on his face.

He squealed with glee, and Cassidy showered kisses all over his face, enjoying his noises. His tiny hand pushed her face away while he garbled protests.

Balancing him on her hip, she looked down and stared at him, regret and joy mixing in her gut. Keeping the truth a secret protected more than just her. From the second her belly swelled to the moment he was born, she took on the role of the big, bad mama bear ready to strike down anything that threatened to hurt her baby cub. And Parker was a huge threat.

“I’ve got you, little one.” She stroked his soft cheek.

Big, beautiful brown eyes, lightened with a hint of auburn and dotted with flecks of gold, gazed back at her with trust and unconditional love.

• to hear about future books