Page 22 of Relentless
“Because you know where I stand. You’ve known for months.”
Her chest shuddered as goosebumps spread across her skin. “I’m kind of a…not a mess. Not completely, anyway. But there are a lot of changes in my life right now.”
“I know.” And he did. But spouting platitudes and telling her they’d figure it out was a waste of precious breath. Sheknewthey could sort it out if they put their minds to it. Sheneeded tobelieveit, though. In the same way he believed it.
“I might decide to keep working for the aid agency.”
“I know,” he said again. They’d talked enough over the past ten months that he knew this. She’d started the job to stay under the radar, but she’d grown to love it. He wasn’t enamored of the idea of her traveling to some of the places she traveled. But he was hardly one to talk. He didn’t doubt she felt the same about a few of his assignments.
“You’d be okay with that?” she asked.
He wondered if she noticed that she’d leaned forward again. Her body pressed tightly against his and her lips inches away.
“I’d miss you while you were away. And it would be hard at times. But it’s not as though you’d be asking anything of me that I wouldn’t be asking of you. So would I be okay with it? As long as you loved it and came home to me, yeah, I’d be okay with it.”
He barely got the words out when her lips touched his. Without thought for his computer, he slipped a hand behind her head and pulled her closer, deepening their contact. This kiss, this first intimate touch between them, was everything he’d thought it would be and more. His lips moved over hers, learning her, savoring her, worshipping her. And he felt the same wonder, the same desire toknow, flowing off her.
They hadn’t laid all their cards on the table yet. But her questions told him enough to know this moment wasn’t just a moment. It was a beginning, a promise. A promise of honesty. A promise of openness. A promise of opportunity.
And it tasted sweeter than he could have ever imagined.
He managed to move the computer to the side table and haul her onto his lap as their tongues tangled and their hands sought each other. She felt so right tucked against him. With her fingers scraping through his hair and her body flush with his, he wondered how he’d gone this long without her. He didn’t want to go a day without kissing her ever again. In less than two minutes, the ten-month wait was nothing but a distant memory. One he’d consign to the past and never revisit again.
“Ethan,” she breathed his name as his lips trailed down her neck. She tipped her head to the side, urging him on as she spoke his name again.
Only this time, it registered that her tone wasn’t quite as needy as he’d thought. He steadied himself then nipped her earlobe before pulling back.
“Is there a problem?” he managed to ask. He had one hand on her back and the other at her waist, under the hem of her shirt. Her fingers were now intertwined at the back of his neck.
She bit her kiss-swollen lips. “I think someone is here,” she said.
It took longer than it should have for the words to sink in. “Here?” She nodded. “Did they knock?”
She shook her head. “I heard a car and two doors slam.”
As if to give credence to her words, the doorbell rang.
“Ignore it?” he asked hopefully.
She smiled then dipped her head and placed a lingering kiss on his lips. “I would. But chances are, it’s my sister and your cousin. If we ignore them, they’ll walk right in, since they know the code. Or they’ll come around the back and find us. I might be able to sneak away, but you, my dear, could never be so stealthy.”
He sighed. She was right. “Can we pick this up later?”
She smiled and dropped another quick kiss on his lips before swinging her legs around and rising from his lap.
“Count on it,” she said, before disappearing into the house to answer the damn door.
CHAPTERNINE
Chad’sand Sabina’s voices filtered through the house as the couple greeted Kara. A minute later, they stepped through the sliding door and out onto the screened-in porch.
Sabina paused, then smiled as her gaze skirted over the view. “It’s so lovely here, isn’t it,” she said, before leaning down and kissing his cheek.
Edged with tall pines, the lush lawn stretched a hundred feet to the lakeshore. Early-morning boaters, eager to miss the afternoon crowds, dotted the water. From the porch, they had a clear view to the eastern shore where mountains shot skyward. It was a special place.
“Where’s Kara?” he asked.
“We brought doughnuts from Bun Times so she’s making more coffee,” Chad answered. “Want another cup?” he asked, gesturing to the empty mug sitting on the side table. Ethan nodded, and his cousin swiped it up and headed inside.
