“Is this the Harley Barton-Ash who stole my heart last night?” I bantered. “I was just asking the face staring at me in the mirror where the old Aerin Palmer had disappeared to, because there’s a stranger inhabiting her body this morning.”

I was rewarded by her light laughter. I cannot wait until the day I get to wake up in the morning, lying next to her, hearing that laugh. And hearing her moaning after, which would probably be as sexy as everything about her.

“I’m sorry I tried to force things last night, when you were clearly not in any shape to …” she started to apologize.

“Umm… Harley, the day you have to apologize for giving me a soul-shattering kiss is the day that …” I cut in, and then faltered as I tried to imagine exactly what kind of day that would be. I couldn’t imagine it. I was afraid to think about it.

“A day that doesn’t, cannot, will not, exist, ever,” I continued lamely.

“All the same,” she tried again.

“Actually, I was thinking before I slept last night that maybe we should amend our agreement to take things slowly,” I interrupted in a mock-serious voice.

“Amend how?” she asked. “ Oh, and in order to amend any serious, life-changing agreement like that, I’d advise you to seek counsel first,” she added in a faux-lawyerly voice. I could almost see the naughty smile on her beautiful face.

“I thought that that’s what I was doing at this moment?” I asked innocently. “I’d heard from well-regarded sources last night that you were a highly-respected legal talent.  “Crackerjack,” I believe, was how you were described.”

“Hmmm….alright, I’ll allow it,” she answered after another light laugh that made my empty stomach dance around. “What were you thinking of changing, Miss Palmer?”

“I propose allowing either party to this agreement to kiss the other party whenever a party wanted to. But just kiss. Otherwise, both parties would need to keep things under control,” I said. I realized that even if we were talking in a teasing manner, I was serious about this. And more than a little nervous about floating the idea with her. Keep things under control? How…

She finished that last thought for me, “How in the hell do you propose to keep things under control, Aerin?” Her voice had also abandoned the flirty tone she’d been using.