you.”
She followed him to the door.
“I’m sorry if I messed up.”
“I told you. It’s okay.” She waggled her eyebrows. “It was a great weekend.”
He made a face. “Good, but I really don’t want to know.”
She laughed. “Don’t worry. I didn’t plan to tell.”
“Hey, Dan.” They both turned to see one of Dan’s friends, Steven, hurrying down the hallway toward them. “Are you coming to the lab?”
“Yep. I was just on my way.”
Steven turned a wary look on Leanne.
She wanted to laugh. The guy was scared to death of her. She often wanted to say boo to him just to see if he’d run. Dan shot her a warning look, so she restrained herself.
“I’ll see you tonight, Dan.”
As she watched them walk away, she heard Steven say, “Olivia was asking me why you hang out with Leanne so much. She thinks there’s something going on between the two of you.”
Olivia was Steven’s sister, and she was a little bitch as far as Leanne was concerned. She was half tempted to go and grab Dan and kiss him. That should stop Olivia from trying to get her claws into him. She had a sneaking suspicion that Dan liked her, though. So, much as Leanne would rather run the girl off, she stayed out of it.
Chapter Ten
It was almost ten by the time they left the library. Ryan had debated whether he should come once he knew for sure that Leanne was going to be here. He’d debated for all of two seconds. There was no way he’d be able to stay away. She kept invading his thoughts. And despite his reassurances to Callahan that it was over and wouldn’t be happening again, he’d spent every spare moment trying to figure out when and how he could make it happen again.
After class this morning, he’d left as quickly as he could, because if he hadn’t, he would have asked her to go with him. He’d been considering suggesting a cup of coffee, but he’d known that if he did, he’d end up trying to talk her back to his place.
The three of them stopped at the top of the steps and Dan gave him a quick smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Dan.”
He surprised Ryan when he leaned in and gave Leanne a quick hug. “And I’ll see you on Friday, right?”
She looked as surprised as Ryan felt. “Yeah, but—”
Dan trotted down the steps and didn’t turn back until he reached the bottom. “Sorry, guys. I have to run.” And he literally did run.
Ryan knew he should do the same, but his feet were rooted to the ground. He forced himself to watch Dan cross the square, but he had to turn when he felt Leanne turn toward him.
The second his eyes locked with hers, he knew he was fighting a losing battle.
He’d never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her. He should just get over it. He was a disciplined guy. He knew how to … Before he knew what he was doing, his hands were on her hips. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
She sucked in a deep breath—making her chest rise and fall. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”
He drew her to him, and her arms came up around his neck. Her lips tasted just as sweet as he remembered. Maybe sweeter. She felt so soft in his arms. He held her close to his chest as his tongue explored her mouth. She kissed him back eagerly, everything about her telling him that she’d missed him, that she needed him just as much as he did her.
When he came up for air, he cocked his head to one side. “Do you want …?” He shouldn’t ask. He was ready to break the rules, to go where he wasn’t supposed to. What he didn’t know was whether she was prepared to do the same. Whatever they might be, she had her own reasons for not wanting to get involved with him.
She understood the question. She bit down on her bottom lip, making him want a return visit to their first encounter on his sofa. “I shouldn’t.”
“Me neither. But I will. If you want me.”
She closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, the honesty and desire he saw there took his breath away. “I want you.”
By midnight, they were sitting up in his bed leaning back against the headboard, his arm around her shoulders, her head resting on his chest.
“You really are the best, Leanne. You’re amazing.”
She