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thought, a plan started to form.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Vincent ordered himself to keep his shit together as he knocked on Jordan’s door. Six was early for dinner, but he wanted to see her. Hell, he hadn’t wanted to leave at all. When he’d arrived at her place earlier, he’d realized how bad her security was—translation, non-existent. The woman should be looking after herself better. Especially after she’d been in WITSEC. He didn’t care that she’d left the program and was supposedly out of jeopardy. She’d put a dangerous criminal behind bars.
    He’d wanted to prove a point to her about how easy it would be for someone to break in, but then he’d seen her in that barely-there bikini and his brain had completely short-circuited.
    Tan and fit with just the right amount of curves, she had the ability to make any sane man forget his own name. Not touching her, not tasting her, hadn’t been an option. Then when she’d admitted she hadn’t been with anyone since him…it had cracked his heart wide open.
    He might have thought he’d come to Key West to get closure on what they’d had, but this new knowledge changed everything and he couldn’t deny it. While he hated that she had taken away his choice to go with her, she wasn’t some cold hearted woman who’d just left him with no regard for what they’d shared. Because for years he’d tried to tell himself she was, even when deep down he’d known something had happened to make her run. He just hadn’t imagined she’d entered WITSEC.
    She’d made a sacrifice that most people wouldn’t have. And it made him respect her more. It also brought up all those feelings he’d been trying so hard to keep buried the last seven years. For a while he’d tried to lose himself in other women. It hadn’t worked. If anything, it had made him feel even more hollow. After having the real thing with Jordan, every other experience had left him wanting and made him hate himself just a little. Sure, everyone at work thought he was a player. He had been.
    Not the past year though. He’d gotten tired of pasting on a big smile and looking for what he’d had with Jordan only to find it paled in comparison and regretting the whole thing the next morning. So many of his friends had started settling down with the real deal. Porter, Travis, and Kell—they’d all gotten hitched and were obnoxiously happy.
    He wanted that too. When he’d been in the Teams, he’d always secretly envied the married guys. Well, the ones who were actually faithful to their wives. They always had someone to come home to. And wives who could tough out long separations like that—what sane man wouldn’t want a woman like that. But he wasn’t looking to just settle. Jordan had ruined him for any other woman and he hadn’t realized it until it was too late.
    The door opened and all those thoughts—and everything else around him—disappeared as he found Jordan standing there. She wore a blue and white halter style dress that fell to her ankles. It hugged her breasts and hips perfectly, reminding him of what he’d been touching only hours ago. Her skin practically glowed with the soft tan.
    Somehow he forced his gaze to remain on hers instead of devouring her body with his eyes. “You look beautiful.”
    She seemed almost surprised by the compliment, but her cheeks tinged pink. “Thanks,” she murmured. “You look pretty good yourself.”
    God, he used to love getting her to blush. Seeing her do it now sent a jolt of need straight to his cock. Just great. He ordered his body under control. Tonight he wanted to talk to her, to get to know her again before he jumped on her as he’d done a few hours ago.
    Not that getting naked with her wasn’t a priority, because it definitely was. He just didn’t want to screw things up. The attraction between them was still potent, but he wanted more than sex between them. He wanted what they’d had before.
    Something real.
    They stood there for a long