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and pressed her legs together. Dave’s dog came to sit in front of her. When she reached out to pet him, he buried his massive head in her lap and sighed. She stifled a giggle and caressed his black fur. For a big, scary dog, he was quite personable.
    “Cerby, come on. Give her some space, Casanova.”
    Dave came in with two glasses of wine and nudged the dog with his knees before settling down next to her on the couch. He handed her a glass.
    “To new friends.”
    “To new friends.” And possibly more. She glanced down at his leg, so long and muscular beside hers. She took a small sip of wine and peeked over to find him looking at the same thing. She choked slightly and wrapped her fingers around the wineglass so she didn’t drop it. What did he expect of her? What did she expect of him? She wanted to put her hand on his thigh just to see what it felt like.
    “What are you thinking?” he asked in the silence.
    “I want to put my hand on your—” She shook her head, horrified at herself. “I mean…your leg. I mean… I was just… I haven’t… I haven’t been this close to a guy in…” She laughed. “Okay, I’m embarrassed.”
    “Don’t be embarrassed.”
    “It’s just that my last relationship…it ended very badly. So I’ve been a little…”
    “Gun-shy?”
    Sophie nodded, mesmerized by the understanding in his eyes.
    “Well, I’m flattered that you chose to trust me. When I saw you at the munch, I have to admit I was interested.”
    “Were you? Even when everyone was glaring at me?”
    “Especially then.”
    She laughed, but he sobered and turned to her.
    “You know what, Sophie?”
    “What?”
    “I want to touch you too. But I’m not sure I should.”
    Sophie’s breath left her. Ouch. She swallowed hard and downed a gulp of wine.
    He took her wineglass away and put it on the table, then moved closer to her. He traced her jaw with a light fingertip. “I just want to proceed carefully here. I mean, it’s clear you’re not in a completely comfortable place when it comes to this thing we do—”
    “No, I am. That meltdown at the dungeon, that was just because…because I hadn’t been there in a while…and something about the way she was screaming…”
    “You don’t know anything about me. Maybe I like to make women scream like that too.”
    Sophie stared at him. “Do you?” It was true. He could be a hard-core sadist. Evil personified, wrapped up in a smiling package. Again, she was leaping into a risky relationship without looking first. “Well, I do like… I like…”
    “You like to be hurt. I figured that. But I won’t hurt you like your last guy did. I can’t. If that’s what you’re looking for—”
    “No.” Sophie shook her head. The big black dog raised his head from under the coffee table at the stridency in her voice. “No, I don’t want that again. It wasn’t healthy.”
    “No, it wasn’t. And I’m not into unhealthy relationships.”
    Sophie wrung her hands together in her lap, humiliated. “You’re assuming that I’m a nutcase. I don’t blame you—”
    He placed a fingertip against her lips. “I’m not assuming anything. I am telling you that if I kiss you…if I touch you tonight the way I want to…”
    The way he was staring at her made it impossible to concentrate on his words. Her eyes dropped to his lips, full and sensual. His bottom lip was perfection, something to lick and nibble. Before she could stop herself, she drew her tongue across her own lips. His hand cupped her chin and his gaze forced her to focus. “Listen to me. If I kiss you… Sophie…” He leaned forward and she parted her lips with a sigh.
    The moment his lips touched hers, she felt relief. She felt a peace that had eluded her for months, perhaps years. He held her face in his hands as his mouth possessed hers. The kiss quickly intensified and his tongue pushed into her mouth. He moved closer. His hands grasped her shoulders, then ran down her arms to pull her