Page 84 of When You Were Mine

No wonder she’d never loved anyone else. No one wanted her the way he did.

But is this real? Or is he just carried away in the moment?

They were different people now. She was so afraid of diving in, only to discover they had nothing more in common than a shared childhood in Riverton.

First love was so powerful.

But it was too late. Because a knock on the door was accompanied by a commanding, deeply masculine voice. “Elzy?”

Her body jolted as if she’d heard a car backfiring.

“Elz?”

Oh, dammit.She stared at the door.War raged inside her mind. As badly as she wanted him, she was also scared to death.

No, that’s not true. This isn’t fear.

It’s excitement.

And that was terrifying. Because they’d have sex, and then, what would happen when she woke up in the morning? She couldn’t go back to that Vegas motel room and watch him walk away. She couldn’t be devastated all over again.

No, no. You were blindsided. That’s why it hurt so much.

This time, you know what’s going to happen. You’re going to have one night of passion. And then, you’ll be free of him. For good.

“Elzy, dammit. Open up.”

Could she though? It was easier said than done.

Because the moment she let him in, she’d be in for it. There’d be no holding him back.No holdingmeback.

She was starved for him. Desperate.

And that was all she really needed to know. For just one night, she needed to be loved by him.

She flipped the security lock, lowered the handle, and then…

He burst into the room, crowded her against the wall, tipped her chin with his big hand, and kissed her.

This man wasted no time licking into her mouth and claiming her.

And it was just so overwhelming. It was pure relief to let go, to submit to desire?—

To stop being in control of everything.

His hands cupped her face, as his tongue coaxed hers into play, and his muscular body caged her in against the wall. His dizzying kisses short-circuited her mind and blew out her grid, and when he shoved a thigh between her legs, the friction ignited her desire.

She scraped her fingernails across his scalp and hitched a leg up to his hip. She needed to feel him everywhere. He knew that. Of course he did. No one read her like this man. He dragged his hands down her body, over her breasts, around her rib cage, until he clutched her ass and lifted her.

As he carried her to the bed, he never pulled his mouth away, never let up his wordless plea to forgive him, want him, love him. He held her tightly as he put a knee on the mattress and walked her up to the pillows.

He set her down like a treasure, like a feast, and then, pulled back to take her in.

The adoration in his eyes sank deep, restoring her, healing her. At the same time, it kicked up a pulse between her legs that demanded relief. She held her arms out for him, and he grabbed her hands, kissing each palm in turn.

“I’ve imagined this moment every night for thirty years,” he said. “And I can’t believe I’m living it. I can’t believe I found you again and that you want me as much as I want you.”

Of course I do. The longing never went away. I just got really good at masking it.But she swallowed the words. She could tell herself it was because she needed his body on top of hers, that she needed his touch, but deep down, she knew why.

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