Page 72 of When You Were Mine

Space had opened.

God, all these years, she’d carried a whole bushel of anger and pain, dragged it from one home to another. It weighed her down and left her struggling for breath.

She’d known about the deprivation and neglect of his childhood. Of course she had. She’d not only witnessed it, but she’d tried to compensate for it.

But she’d been an outsider looking in.

For him, it was a belief system wired into his very being. At the time, he couldn’t have made any other choice.

He wanted to be with her more than anything, but he couldn’t have her until he made sure everyone else was happy and settled.

Yeah, she got it now. She did.

He took a step closer, his hands lightly cupping her hips. “You want a drink?”

His deep, sexy voice in her ear sent a flash of heat across her body. With her defenses down, she was all soft and gooey inside. She wanted him to wrap his big, strong arms around her. She wanted to bury her face in his chest. She wanted… God, she wanted so much with him.

All she could do was shake her head.

The melody picked up, and more people swarmed the dance floor. The crowd pressed closer, forcing her to take a step back. She wound up flush against Trevor’s hard, hot body.

A yearning crawled up from the depths and swamped her. She needed to be closer, but at the same time, she couldn’t have that. Because…

Darby.

Remembering his fiancée doused her with cold water. “We should go.” Her voice got lost under the crushing noise, but she didn’t care. He’d either follow or he wouldn’t. But she was going to the hotel. She’d gotten what she wanted, and spending more time with him was just going to hurt.

Aiming for the coat check, she threaded through the crowd, grabbed her belongings, and pushed through the doors. The abrupt shift from hot to cold shocked her body and cleared her mind.

“Hey.” He caught up with her. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. I have a busy day tomorrow.” Her hotel was just across the boulevard, situated snugly against the harbor. She started for it.

“Elzy, wait. Talk to me. You’re angry. What did I do?”

Not only was he right, but he hadn’t done anything wrong. “Nothing. I promise. It’s just time for me to go to bed. I’m here for work, remember?” She couldn’t take one more minute with him. His scent, his extreme masculinity, hisdesirefor her—it was all too much for her system to take. But she knew him. Knew his persistence, so she stopped and faced him. “We’re good. I forgive you. I really do. But that’s where it ends. I forgive you, and now, we carry on.”

He let her get several feet away before he shouted, “After everything I said, you think I’m going back to a life sentence without you? I don’t fucking think so.”

She whirled around to him. “You’re getting married, Trevor.” On the brink of losing control, she spoke in a harsh whisper. “So, just stop it. Stop pretending there’s a future when you’ve got a fiancée whose father might be in the hospital. You haven’t even checked in with her.”

“Because he’s not hurt. I told you that. She only said it to buy me time with you.”

“What?” Okay, now, she was totally confused. “Why would your future wife want us together?”

He stalked over to her and got right up in her face. “I’m not talking about her. I’m talking about us.”

“There is no us.”Dammit. He had to stop this. It was too much. He was too much. His energy surrounded her, engulfed her. “Get that through your thick head. There’s no us anymore, and there never will be.”

“Bullshit.” He hauled her up against him and planted his mouth over hers.

My God.Instantly, she melted into the soft, wet, heat of his mouth. He clutched her to him, his hands digging into the flesh of her ass. And suddenly, she lost all sense of time and place.

She was heading to class, and Trevor was pulling her into a dark corner, pressing her against the wall, and kissing her until she was a hot mess of lust.

Their sweaty bodies were tangled in the back of her Pontiac. The frantic thrusting, the desperate need for friction. His breath at her ear.I love you. I love you so much. I have to have you.

That night in LA, when he’d come home from his shift at the diner and tried to be quiet so he wouldn’t wake her. She’d thrown off the covers, run down the hallway, and leaped into his arms. His big hands cradled her bottom, as he walked her to the couch, bent her over the arm, and thrust into her.

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