I sense a shift in him; I see it in his eyes, I feel it in the length of him when he thrusts into me again and again until I’m nearly weeping with pleasure.
“Yes!” I cry out, arching so hard, meeting his thrusts with a power of my own.
Until finally, when I’d swear my body couldn’t take any more, I feel that moment I know he’ll let go. And after one last look at him as he does, my eyes press shut, and my own climax finally reaches its apex until I feel my soul floating downward back to earth.
Gentle again, he lowers himself onto me, and we enjoy the last shudders of passion with our bodies fused together.
Our bodies… and nothing more. I remind myself that.
Because it’s too easy to feel more than I should for him right now with this surge of hormones coursing through me—the kind that make me want to cling to him and all that he’s just offered me. It’s too easy to believe that my body isn’t the only thing that melded with this man. Yet despite myself, I feel a glow inside of me—my heart, my soul—as though I’m his forever.
Even though I can’t be.
Hecan’t be.
Oh my God, what have I done?
I know the reason. I’ve just never experienced sex this good. I might have thought I had. But this was different, speaking to something primal—something deep inside of me, the side of me who can’t resist wishing that I could have this level of heat and passion andconnectionwith a man for the rest of my life.
But every woman who sleeps with him must feel that way. He’s just that good.
We’re silent for a few minutes, both of us seeming to catch our breath until I hear a low chuckle from him as he rolls to my side.
“You know,Inormally end my runs with orange juice or Gatorade.” He kisses me lightly on the lips, just a whisper against my skin. “I like your way better.”
I find myself smiling, despite the reservations taking over my brain. “AndIwould have taken up jogging a long time ago if I knew I could have this afterward.”
“Good. So maybe tonight we can—”
The harsh ring of my phone makes him stop.
I wince, hearing it, loathing the reality that it seems to bring.
“Ignore it.”
I’m so tempted to. “I never do when my brother’s deployed,” I tell him, hating the reminder that those words bring. Hating the way that oneDword seems to shift everything about this morning, as though to prompt the memory of why this thing between us can’t last.
“You’re right,” he whispers.
I reach for it. “Let me just make sure it’s not my sister-in-law.” I pull my phone from my nightstand. “It’s just—” A chill shoots up my spine. “—Harriet! Oh crap! This is our biggest weekend of the year and I’m—”
I don’t even finish the sentence. I can’t bear to—not when I see the time on the display of my phone. I answer the call. “Harriet! I’m so sorry. I’m running late.”
“Don’t worry about it. Janet just called me and told me we’re still locked up tight. Wasn’t it your morning to open up?”
I groan. It’s always a madhouse on Fourth of July weekend. Andthisis when I chose to have this lapse in judgement? “It was—it is. I’ll be right there.” My eyes widen, realizing I’m in desperate need of a shower. “In fifteen minutes, I swear.”
“No worries. Bo will be there in five anyway. Just wanted to make sure you’re all right. It’s not like you.”
“I’m so, so sorry. Tell Janet I’m on my way.” I end the call, guilt shrouding me.
“Late for work?”
I should hate the sly grin he gives me. But he’s too damn cute to hate. “I’ve gotta go.”
“You can’t take the day off?”
I laugh, tugging the throw blanket off the bed and wrapping it around me. Somehow, with the mood broken, I’m feeling way too exposed as he looks at me. “It’s the Fourth of July. They’ll be lining up out the door in a matter of minutes.”
I head into my bathroom and then, before I shut the door behind me, I turn to him. “I—we… it was…” My voice trails, at a loss of words.
“Worth repeating, I hope,” he finishes for me.
I feel myself smile. Because even with all the worries that have managed to break the surface, I can say without reservation, “Definitely worth repeating.”
I shut the door and allow myself a moment to lean against it, catching my breath.Definitelyworth repeating.
But do I dare to?