Page 63 of Embrace
“Okay, I’ll think about it.” I closed my eyes. I really gave it a go, picturing the shower from that morning. I saw myself lying on the bench, two strong arms curled around my thighs. The biceps weren’t extra large, but they were muscular. Wet skin against skin. The softness, heat, stimulation against my clit. The tingling in my inner thighs. Extreme pleasure expanding through my pussy. I whimpered and sucked air. One sensation built on top of the next, bringing me to a full blast of orgasm. And when I looked up, steadying my breast, gazing into the eyes of the one who made me feel that way, I saw a color as blue as the Caribbean Ocean as seen in a travel brochure and just as alluring.
“I love him,” I said finally. “I love his face, his voice, his gait, his smell, his intensity, the way he handles a scalpel—that’s sexy. He’s fun. We like to dance and laugh together. He’s promising. When I think of loving Asher Christmas, I can give it all up for an apple farm and babies.” I opened my eyes again. “I love him.”
Greg cleared his throat. “Then he’s a lucky man,” he whispered.
Chapter Eighteen
Penina Ross
Greg and I were in a rented SUV. I had never gone from an airplane to a rented car so fast in my life. When we’d disembarked, we walked down the ramp into a private terminal and out the door. Since we had no luggage, we went straight to the big black Suburban that was waiting for us.
I looked up at the sky before we got in. The clouds were thick, gray, and foreboding. Streaks of lightning raced through the air, and I jumped when I heard a boom. The dreariness added to the fact that I felt as if I were living in the world of a video game or a bad futuristic film in which everyone died in the end. What was happening didn’t feel real at all.
Greg asked me to program the address into the navigational system. He turned the air conditioning on full blast. Even though the evening was dark, it was hot and muggy too. As soon as the address was in and Greg pulled away from the curb, the heavens opened, and it started to pour. Water crashing down onto the roof intermingled with the pop music that Greg turned up way too loud for my taste.
I bit down on my back teeth to keep my chin from trembling. Watching the trees as we passed them by, I wondered what in the hell I was thinking. It wasn’t too late to abandon my mission. It seemed Greg had quit flirting after I passionately revealed how much I loved Asher. He was quiet, and I liked not having to converse with him or anyone else at the moment.
Taking the opportunity to bargain with myself, I decided that all I needed to see was the house—or maybe only her face. I didn’t want to see the kids or her respectable husband.Is she still fucked up?
Suddenly, the music was turned off. “So, how are you feeling?” Greg asked.
Hugging myself tight, I turned to him. His gaze was distant, yet he seemed to be searching for something in my expression—something lost.
“Scared,” I mumbled.
“We can go get a hotel room, and you can do this tomorrow.”
“No,” I said emphatically. “I have to be back in New Orleans by tonight.” I wanted to call Asher again, but I also didn’t want to hear how angry my decision had made him. I wasn’t ready to admit I was wrong for taking off without thinking it through. And with Greg Carroll too.
“You do see the weather, don’t you?”
“Yeah. What about it?” I asked, clutching my stomach.
He glanced at me then did a double take. “Are you okay?”
The navigation system told Greg to take a right on Cherry Street. I remembered the address by heart—1298 Cherry Street. We were near.
I opened my mouth to answer him but found that I couldn’t breathe—no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t.
“Penina?” he asked, trying to watch the road and me.
I clutched my throat. “Pull over,” I strained to say, tugging at my shirt and ripping the buttons open. I needed air, fresher than what was coming out of the vents.
“Okay, okay, okay,” Greg said, sounding panicked.
As soon as I could feel the car was no longer in motion, I shoved open the door. Falling onto my knees on a stranger’s lawn, I gasped for air. But the humidity and heat made my breathing worse. My head was spinning, and my body was tense. I thought I might die.
It didn’t take long for Greg to be right by my side, coaching me to calm down and breathe. I tried to come to the awareness that I was having a panic attack so that I could stop myself. The next thing I knew, I broke down sobbing.
“I can’t,” I kept repeating. “I can’t see her.”
“You don’t have to,” Greg said, holding me tight. “We can get back in the car, get back on the airplane, and get the hell back to New Orleans. You like that?” He looked me straight in the eyes, trying to get me to hold eye contact with him.
Calm yourself, Penina.
I didn’t nod or say yes, because I didn’t know if I truly wanted to abandon my mission. Something inside me still had to see her.
“Could we sit for a moment?” I asked.
