"I liked working with the kids today," he said into her ear, his mouth so close to her flesh that the fine hairs on the back of her neck rose. She relished the sweet brush of his knuckles against the side of her throat as he flipped her ponytail over her shoulder.

"I know how hard that must have been for you," she said, doing her best to appear cool on the outside. Inside she was a web of conflicting emotions.

"You're getting me do a lot things I promised myself I wouldn't."

When she pulled back, he met her look with grave intensity. "Like what?"

Then came the silence. The long, long silence. Their eyes met until she dropped hers, her heart thumping faster. Red lights flashed. Stop! Leave! Retreat! But her tangled emotions wouldn't let her wriggle free.

His hand caressed the sensitive spot beneath her chin, and with a gentle pressure, Garrett raised her head until she stared into his deep blue eyes again.

"This."

Without waiting for permission, he brushed his lips gently over hers. Ohhh...a shiver went through her entire body. The gentle caress melted the last of her defenses into a gooey heap.

His fingers slid along her jawline, and the warmth of his touch radiated past her skin and into her bloodstream. Goosebumps rose on her arms and legs, and her ears rang with the staccato thrum of her heart. He slipped his hand from her jaw to cradle her head. His fingers pulled her ponytail loose and tunneled through the hair that fell around her shoulders.

He pulled back slightly, his eyes heavy-lidded. His lips hovered above hers, tantalizingly close. The blood pounded so wildly in her veins that she feared he'd sense the vibration. A magnetic pull took over the small distance between their lips. An energy she couldn't resist. So why was Garrett holding back? Her fingers were wrapped around the back of his neck, running through his hair.

And then it hit her. He was giving her a chance to return his kiss. To show him that she wanted him, and the truth was...more complicated than that. Cold reality doused her, and she leaned back.

She'd kissed Garrett. A player. And worse, a recovering alcoholic who might one day relapse. Someone she could, if she wasn't more vigilant, become addicted to herself. She couldn't let that happen.