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McLaughlins.”
    “I guess I should’ve put that one together. Kenzie McLaughlin.” He drew out her name on his tongue. It was sexy. Cute.
    Matched her to a T. She was fun and cute.
    He watched as she pulled her drink forward and slid the straw between full lips unadorned with gloss or lipstick.
    She was also ridiculously sexy in a natural way.
    The next hour passed just as easily as the first. Conversation flowed with ease, and below the safe discussions, there was simmering heat that built. He knew it couldn’t be one-sided.
    When the bill came he snatched it and paid, despite her protests and insistence that she’d offered to buy his dinner. His mother hadn’t raised him to let a woman pay for dinner on a first date. Maybe down the road, if she threw a fit, but it was bred in him to pick up the check.
    “May I walk you to your car, Kenzie?”
    She only barely hesitated before she nodded.
    Be a gentleman . He kept the mantra in his head as they left the restaurant.
    A kiss on the cheek. He wouldn’t push her.
    But his blood was hot and pounding, and he curled his hands into fists, knowing it was going to be a lot harder than he fucking thought.
     
    Even though she’d been sipping beverages all night, Kenzie’s mouth was dry as sandpaper.
    Her heart beat a frantic rhythm as she walked beside Brett to her car. She’d successfully made it through dinner with him. A date. Technically it had been a date, right?
    And now the evening was coming to a close. That point where he might go in for a kiss. Might try and do some petting if she gave him any encouragement.
    A wash of cold swept over her, mingling with the heat in her blood.
    Oh God. She wasn’t ready for this. Was she?
    She could’ve told him she’d walk out to her car by herself. They were by a busy street and it was light enough. She would’ve been fine.
    But she hadn’t wanted to go out alone, and not because of fear, but because surprisingly she didn’t want this night to end. It had been both terrifying to realize, and a bit liberating.
    She was all too aware of his tall, wide frame walking beside her. Just how blatantly large and male he was. She was used to her brothers, but they were family. Brett was most definitely not a relative, and each step she took toward her car reminded her of it.
    She reached her destination and drew in an unsteady breath.
    “Here’s my little Escort.” She tried for a bright smile, but it felt tight. Fake. Terrified .
    He stopped beside her, inches away, and didn’t say anything. She could feel his gaze on her. Probing. Questioning. Heated. She’d seen that flash of need in his eyes more than once inside the restaurant, but he’d been a perfect gentleman. Doing nothing more than touching her hand briefly.
    She’d been almost disappointed when he’d moved his hand away. Would he try and touch her again now?
    Her heart doubled its rhythm and she drew in tiny shallow breaths as panic started to swell in her.
    “Brett—”
    “Relax, Kenzie,” he said softly. “I’m not going back on my word. I’m not going to seduce you in the parking lot of Applebee’s.”
    He wasn’t? Maybe it was a bloody shame, because with the way her body was reacting right now, she sensed he might’ve succeeded further than any man in the past ten years had.
    With a soft curse, he muttered, “I have to kiss you, though. Please don’t say no.”
    Say no? Could she even if she tried? Yet giving any kind of permission was nearly as impossible at this moment.
    She could only stand frozen, eyes wide and heart racing. Finally, she gave a small nod.
    He drew in a ragged breath and reached out to cradle her cheek with one hand. His other rested on her waist.
    “I hope that was giving me permission, sugar, because I need only a taste.”
    Without waiting for a response, his head lowered and his lips hovered just above hers. She closed her eyes, letting her senses take over. Their breath met first. Warm and moist, their lips not quite