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“It will be refreshing” Georgia paused, biting her lower lip She had a long list of reasons not to ask That she ht lose her temporary job as his nanny came a close third to the fact her brother would kill her But her top reason? Pushing their friendship into uncharted waters ht blow up in her face

He’d always been there for her When she’d gone out drinking for the first tih school and downed one too many, she’d called Eric, not her brother or her parents, for a ride Now

Eric ran a est in the Pacific Northwest Yet he’d taken the time to email her every few days while she’d served overseas

Eric Moore was her friend But she’d been sneaking I-want-you glances at hier She’d drea about hoould look stripped out of his business suits

Co was to walk out the door noithout another word Let her drea Eric could lead to disaster But she’d witnessed tragedy and chaos firsthand, rendering her brother’s de iia, her brother had said But she couldn’t She refused to cal for a man she shouldn’t want Now that she was ho back

“Maybe you should join rab the nal reaches to the pond We’d hear if he woke up”

Heat flashed in his eyes No, she hadn’t i time, more than a year, since a h to touch her Still, she re his head, he returned his attention to his computer screen

“Too e She could hear the longing, the wanting, but kneas holding back because he thought it was the right thing to do Georgia shrugged “Suit yourself”

She crossed the kitchen, heading for the sliding door that led to bluestone patio and down to the pond Her back was to hiaze on her as she slipped out into the night

The cool air danced across her skin as she walked barefoot over the stones, down to the grass, and toward the dock She needed this—the rass between her toes, the cold rush of water on her skin She’d returned ho desire to experience the world around her in short, heart-stopping bursts She craved the adrenaline, the rush that proclaiht feel all those things that threatened to overwhel her friends, the fear that her world would never be right again And she refused to let her experience in Afghanistan engulf the rest of her life

Georgia ran faster, taking co solace fro doas not an option no matter how much her brother wanted her to return to the quiet life she’d led before she’d joined the army She wanted to jualloped across an open field on horseback, and ht She refused to wait, allowing the days to disappear

She’d played by the rules and avoided rolements while she’d served her country, which, put bluntly,inside her And not just any man She wanted Eric

He’d been her brother’s friend since first grade She’d grown up tagging along, and over the years, he’d become her friend too But they’d never had a brother/sister relationship There had always been so hot they’d been too afraid to act on

Not anyhanistan She refused to settle, to stand on the sidelines of her own life She couldn’t do that, not when so er had the chance to live, to swim, to experience the world around them—and make their every fantasy come true

Georgia glanced back at the house With the kitchen light on, she could see Eric standing by the sink, looking out theShe had a long list of fantasies that started and ended with Eric She was dying to strip him out of his business suits and run her hands over the side his crews She wanted to taste him, explore every inch of his body, and witness the expression in his piercing blue eyes when he lost himself in pleasure

But did she have the guts to approach hio to his room, his bed? To push him to act on the desire written all over his face?

She wiggled her toes in the cold grass She was alive She could do anything She had to cling to that, remind herself over and over Otherwise it would feel as if her world had slipped away because she’d been too weak to hold on

Her bare feet touched the dock and she broke into a run, knowing he atching At the end of the wooden planks, she dove into the water The cold shocked her senses Her lungs contracted and her liht it The water was like an ice-cold barrier against herblown to pieces, the feeling of her friend’s lifeless body in her ar him to safety—it all froze in the pond’s cold depths

Georgia swa she required air But part of her needed this , she kicked her way back to the top

When she surfaced, her bikini bottom floated beside her She reached behind her head and pulled on the strings, freeing her breasts frolanced back at the house Eric stood in the atching her, his expression griave a little wave and dove back under

The water felt good, but knowing she planned to go after what she wanted felt even better She swaht turn her away Eric was steadfast and loyal Histo bed with his employee, never mind the fact that her brother was his best friend and the number two at his company Could desire override all of that?

She pushed back to the surface for another breath of air, clinging to the hope that the ansould be yes Either way, she’d find out tonight