“Most people do,” he said drily. “Or at least they pretend they do. Why else would it have a reputation for kicking off celebrations?”
He cupped his hand around hers to steady the glass as he filled it a second time. “This will be it for me,” she said firmly, trying to pretend that she wasn’t totally flustered by the way he touched her.
He raised an eyebrow as he released her and refilled his own glass. “No head for alcohol?”
“I’m pretty much a lightweight,” she admitted as she took a sip. “I don’t metabolize it rapidly enough. Makes me a cheap date, though.”
Again, he raised his glass, his gaze hooded as he stared at her. “There’s never been anything cheap about you, Aria. You’re a class act all the way.”
The unexpected compliment startled her. Was that arousal she saw in his eyes? Hunger she heard in his voice?
She’d only had a glass and a half of champagne. She was in complete control of her choices and her behavior. But her emotions were something else entirely. Suddenly, an almost overwhelming yearning crashed over her like a tsunami, carrying everything away in its path.
For a moment, she was sixteen again. That was the age she had been when she’d first fallen in love with Ethan Barringer. Her parents had told her it was puppy love and that she would grow out of it. Her friends had told her he was older and too sophisticated to ever think seriously about a girl like her.
But Aria knew Ethan. She knew his caring and his protective chivalry, for lack of a better word. She knew his honor and his devotion to his mother. And she knew the way he looked at her when he thought she wouldn’t see.
All the way through the remainder of high school and the four years she’d spent away at college she’d carried her love for him. When she’d returned to Royal, Ethan had been back, as well. A man...no longer a boy.
It had seemed like the time might finally be right for her and Ethan to get together. But she’d been too bashful to make a move, and Ethan had never given any indication he was interested in her romantically. He’d been friendly. But distant. He’d kept any softer emotions he might possess locked away.
His new, blunt-edged masculinity put a wall between them. He wasn’t approachable anymore. For several years, she’d mooned after him, and then he was gone to Houston.
It had been a difficult time in her life. She’d had to take a long, hard look at herself. Eventually, she’d made peace with the truth. Ethan wasn’t for her. Maybe he never had been.
In the intervening years she’d dated several men. Nice guys with steady jobs and no apparent aversion to settling down eventually. But something had always been missing. Only two boyfriends had made it into her bed. The sex had been nice. Pleasurable. Not earthshaking. She’d finally decided that she had let herself be brainwashed by books and movies.
There was no such thing as a soul mate.
Now, a chance encounter with a man she had known since she was nine years old threatened to shred her hard-won peace.
Ethan poured himself one last glass. The bottle was almost empty. He held it up with a question on his face. She shook her head and said, “The rest is yours.” He outweighed her significantly. It wouldn’t hurt him to drink the last of the champagne on his own.
She set her empty crystal flute on the coffee table and watched as he finished the sparkling golden liquid. Moments later, he abandoned his glass, as well.
Ethan was here. In her house. In touching distance. The attraction they had danced around for more than a decade could be explored without interruption. Could she do it? Could she seduce this man? Before she lost her nerve, she launched herself at him. Her arms went around his waist. Her lips found his, and she kissed him recklessly.
He tasted like a dream come true. She had imagined this moment a million times. Now here she was. Nestled against his hard, warm chest.
Scant moments later, reality intruded with a sickening thud, dragging her back to earth.
Ethan had gone rigid. His lips didn’t move beneath hers. His arms were stiff at his sides.
She staggered backward, her face hot with mortification. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as if she could erase her incredible faux pas. “Oh, damn, I’m sorry. I misread the signals. My bad.”
She was babbling, but she had never been so embarrassed in her life. And so hurt.
Ethan had actually gone white beneath his year-round bronzed skin. “Aria?”
She held out a hand, palm up, staving off any unexpected movement on his part. “Just go. Please. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
The urge to flee was almost overpowering, but they were in her house. What if he tried to follow her? She couldn’t bear it. This was far more dreadful than any reaction she could have envisioned on his part.
Ethan wasn’t attracted to her. She had let a stupid infatuation blind her to that fact.
Tears welled in her eyes, tears she was determined not to shed. A woman could only endure so much humiliation.
He took a step forward. Only one. But she froze. “Go,” she begged. “Don’t make this any worse.”
His jaw was like iron. His eyes blazed with some strong emotion she couldn’t decipher. “Damn, Aria. Give me a minute to catch up. I’ve spent most of my adult life trying to stay away from you. You surprised me. That’s all. Lord, yes, I want you. I’ve wanted you for years. But I’ve always known that touching you would be a mistake.”
Her stomach knotted. “Why?”
He came to her and cupped her face in his hands. “Because once I start, I won’t want to stop. Is that clear enough for you?”
“Oh.”
He kissed her hard, his groan reverberating through both of them. “Are you sure about this?”
She was trembling so hard, she felt sick. “I want you to have sex with me, Ethan.”
There. She’d said it out loud. A confident woman who went after what she wanted.
He cursed beneath his breath, then took her mouth with drugging sensuality. His lips made love to hers. The man was one hell of a kisser. His thumbs caressed her jaw on both sides. Though he kept a relatively chaste distance between them, her body arched toward his, desperately trying to tip the scales in her favor.
When he finally gave in and pulled her close, his unmistakable erection pressed against her belly. He nipped her earlobe with sharp teeth, his breath hot on her neck. “You were a delectable teenager, but you turned into one hell of a woman.”
“You never said anything.”
“Because you weren’t for me.”
“And now?”
“You still aren’t, honey. But if this is really what you want tonight, I’m your man.”
Something about his words bothered her, but she was too distracted to read between the lines. Ethan was looking at her the way she had always dreamed that he would one day.
“Yes,” she whispered.
His chest rose and fell sharply. “Are you protected?”
“Um, no. I haven’t been seeing anyone recently.”
He nodded curtly. “I have two condoms in my wallet.”
Some of the shimmer and shine of the moment wavered. She wasn’t sure what to do next. “Okay.”
His features softened. “You can still change your mind, Aria. I didn’t come over here expecting anything more than a glass of champagne, I swear. I took your invitation at face value.”
“That’s