Concentrating on his words wasn’t easy with his finger teasing her clit. Summer tugged his hand free and pushed at his chest. He stepped back, albeit reluctantly. She counted to ten before she felt confident enough to speak without stuttering.
“Why me, Gage? How can you be sure I’m not just a passing fancy? What if you realize you’ve made a terrible mistake after a few months?” Her heart twisted just thinking about it.
Gage rubbed a hand over his scalp. God, she loved his shaved head. It was just so damn sexy. “Nothing in life is set in stone, sweetheart. All I know for sure is I’ve never felt this way.”
Fear kept her from leaping into his arms. “I loved Seth. When I lost him, it tore me apart. I can’t go through it again, I can’t.”
He looked at her with such overwhelming compassion, tears sprang to her eyes. “My guts are churning here. I’m terrified you won’t give me a chance to love you.” He held his hands straight out, palms up. “My damn fingers are shaking because I want to touch you, feel you, hold you in my arms and never let go.”
Gage closed the gap between them and took her in his arms. Oh God, it felt so good to be there. So right. After all the worrying she’d done throughout the week, Summer wanted only to curl up in his arms and stay there.
“I know you’re scared,” he said against the top of her head. “How you lost Seth. You’re afraid of going through that again. But don’t you think you deserve a second chance?” His voice was so soft, so tender, and Summer melted as she listened. “I’m falling for you, Summer.”
Her heart sped up, and tears began to trickle down her cheeks, soaking the front of his shirt. Everything he’d said was true. She’d tried to take the easy way out, but that road led to heartbreak. “I care about you,” she admitted, laying her own heart on the line. “I’ve thought about you every second since you left.”
“I missed you too. And soon I’ll be back for good.”
She pushed backward so she could see his face. “But what about your business? Your family?”
He pressed his lips to hers briefly before saying, “I already talked to Aunt Bev about you. I think she’s planning our future even now. As to the business, I’ve set things into motion. I’m going to get a New Jersey license, open my investigation business here. Unless you’d rather I didn’t?”
She frowned. “That’s a huge decision. Are you sure this is what you want?”
Gage cupped her cheek in both palms. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life, but I need to know this is what you want too.”
Summer wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him hard. “It’s what I want. God, this week has been pure hell.”
Gage tugged at the hem of her blouse. “Take these clothes off, baby. I need to feel you.”
Summer pushed out of his arms and slowly undressed. Gage’s intense gaze ate her alive.
“Mmm, my sweet Summer treat.” His voice was a rumble of sound in the quiet room.
In that moment, Summer knew she’d always have a warm place in her heart for Seth and could see that moving on didn’t necessarily mean forgetting about her past.
“Gage?”
“Yeah?” he ground out.
She reached out her hand and stroked it over his cheek. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what we did in the hot tub. I’d really like to do it again.”
Summer watched, transfixed, as Gage stripped out of his clothes. She nearly drooled as he took her by the hand and led her to the glass patio doors. “Come on, Summer. It’s time I showed you how fun a spanking can be.”
Her pussy creamed. “A spanking?”
His answer was a grin and a wink.
About the Author
To learn more about Anne Rainey, please visit www.annerainey.com. Send an email to Anne at [email protected] or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Anne! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/threewickedwriters
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Haley’s Cabin
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