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sounded good. Her stomach rumbled in agreement.
    The figment rolled its eyes and prowled into the room. Julie watched it cross to the stereo on the kitchen counter. The music shut off.
    How had her imagination done that? The man stalked toward her.
    She took a wobbly step backward, thrown off balance by the springiness of the bed beneath her.
    “Whoa, easy there.” He reached out to steady her. His touch was warm against her arm, and she stared down at his long tanned fingers against her pale skin. A shiver of awareness raced through her, sweeping some of the clouds from her mind. This wasn’t a vision. Brendan was really here, in her apartment.
    “Brendan? What are you doing here?” She shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs. Her brain wasn’t processing things as quickly as she needed right now.
    “Well, since you didn’t feel like salmon–” The smile he threw her way robbed her of what few thoughts she’d managed to gather. “–I brought pizza. Pepperoni, tomato and mushroom. I know it’s your favorite.”
    She glanced at the box sitting beside the stereo on the counter. She was hungry. And her earlier reasons for cancelling didn’t seem valid anymore. What harm was there really? The world wasn’t going to end because she ate dinner with him.
    Turning back to Brendan, she ran her gaze from his head to his toes and back up. He was looking yummier than the pizza.
    His smile grew under her perusal, and she raised her gaze to his. The teasing glint in their depth told her he had watched her ogle him, and had enjoyed every minute. He took the wine bottle from her hand and lifted it toward the light.
    “How much of this have you had, anyway?” His lips puckered in a whistle as he surveyed the level of the liquid within. It would be so easy to lean down and kiss him. His lips were already puckered and everything. God knew the man could kiss.
    She dropped to her knees on the bed, putting them at the same height. Taking the bottle from him and setting it on the bedside table, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. His lips hovered above hers, just shy of touching. She stretched, but he leaned back so their lips remained apart.
    “You need to come closer.” She tugged at his shoulders, but he resisted the pull.
    “Ordering me around, are you beautiful?” She tugged again, making no more progress than last time.
    “Fine. If you don’t want me, then go away.” She puffed out an exasperated breath, unraveling her hands to bring them to her side.
    * * * *
    Brendan felt her arms slide away from him, and grabbed them, bringing them back around his neck. He wasn’t ready to release her just yet.
    “Oh, I want you all right. It’s taking every ounce of willpower I possess not to strip off your clothes and bend you backward until neither of us knows our own names. But you, my dear, are drunk. I want more from you than one night you might consider a drunken mistake tomorrow.” He watched his words sink past the alcoholic haze in her eyes. First surprise, then heat, flared in their depths before she dropped them to stare at his mouth.
    “I’m not that drunk, Brendan.”
    The laugh started in his gut, bubbling up until he had to release it. Even knowing it would replace her desire with anger, he couldn’t stop it. “Don’t laugh at me!” she huffed, trying to pull away. He clung tight, loving the fight within.
    “I’m not. I swear. You’re just so perfect. And drunk enough, I might add, that I can’t trust your judgment right now. So why don’t we sit down and have some pizza, maybe some water for you, and we can come back to this conversation a bit later.”
    She stuck her lip out in a pout. His wolf wanted to jump in, but he held the reins tight. Taking her right now, no matter how appealing the suggestion might sound, or how much she begged, was not the way to start a relationship. That way led to ignored phone calls and a pounding from her brothers.
    Pizza. They