Free Runaway Heart (A Game of Hearts #2) by Candace Knoebel, Sonya Loveday

moved my hands from her hips down to her arse so I could pull her hard against me.
    I smiled as a small moan escaped her lips.
    “I’ve tried to keep my hands off ye. I just can’t do it anymore,” I said against her ear as the tension grew to an all-new level between us. One I wasn’t sure I could take a second more of without release.
    Her breath hitched against my shoulder as she jerked in response, her fingers digging into the material of my shirt.
    Damn. She made me want her in a way I hadn’t ever wanted anyone before.
    And she wanted it as badly as I did.
    There was something about Hannah that snuck past the defenses I’d put into place. Ones I’d built up for a long time. Sure, I’d mucked about with other girls. I hadn’t lived the life of a saint, but I also never let anyone in. Hannah breached my barrier at an accelerated speed with no caution to what the fallout could be.
    I felt the tension in her body, the need to have me just as badly as I needed her. One move and she’d snap, and we’d be at each other like we both craved.
    Did I want that? Yes. Could I live with it later? No. She wasn’t the kind of girl ye’d add a notch to your bedpost with. I mean, sure, ye’d definitely want her all over your bed, but she deserved more than that. Better.
    She was the total package I could only stare at through the shop window, because my heart was too empty to lay purchase to hers.
    With a relenting sigh, I forced myself to move my hands from her arse and put a little distance between us, cursing myself for pulling the good-guy card. Since when had I become the good guy?
    “Ed, I—”
    “Ye don’t have to say anything. I shouldn’t have done that, and I’m sorry for it.” I took another step back, raking my hands through my hair.
    Something like regret, or maybe it was hurt, flickered in her eyes before she gave me a sexy, crooked smile. “I don’t want you to be sorry, Ed. We’re two people looking for a good time. Nothing wrong with that.”
    Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I rocked back on my heels. “Do ye think we can start over? Maybe try to get to know each other a little better?”
    She nodded. Shoved at my shoulder again in a playful manner, making it easier to get past the heavy moment. “I think I’d like that.”
    I went right back into joking mode. “Me too. It’s not every day ye get to give your friends an orgasm on the beach without touching them,” I said, unable to keep my witty retort to myself. “Wonder what else we could accomplish between us?”
    There was a moment after that remark, when the air grew heavy again and her eyes met mine, where we exchanged a mutual, curious look. One that could mean more than just sexual tension.
    A look that could get us into bloody trouble.
    I wanted to get back to the way it was between us the night before. Me cracking jokes and her rolling her eyes at me. It was safer for both of us. She broke the connection, biting her bottom lip as she looked out over the ocean. I couldn’t help but feel relieved. And maybe a little disappointed.
    She wrapped her arms around herself. “We should probably call it a night since we both have flights to catch tomorrow.”
     

     
    ROLLING OVER ONTO MY SIDE to get comfortable, I listened to the clock tick away. Time counted down, bringing my return home closer and closer with every second. Back to the rain. Back to the bar.
    Down the hall, Hannah slept the sleep of the blissful. After sitting outside of Maggie and Phil’s house, we’d danced around the moment we shared on the beach with small talk. We’d both thrown our guards up, keeping things light and simple.
    I kept my sob story to myself since I didn’t really want to bring up my past. It was firmly locked away in a place where it stayed buried deep enough not to hurt me anymore.
    But even that was trying its best to break loose through the darkness.
    Sighing, I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Sleep evaded me. Memories pelted me. There was