Page 26 of Rusty

“Why not?”

He looked agonized. “I wish I could tell you. But I can't.”

Janice frowned. “You’re just making excuses. You stopped finding me attractive and you didn’t want to tel—”

“Janice, you’re the most desirable woman in the entire fucking universe,” Rusty said ardently. He tentatively reached out to touch Janice's face. His calloused fingers grazed her cheek, sending shivers down her spine. “I wish you could see yourself like I see you.”

“How do you see me?” she whispered.

“Like a goddess,” Rusty replied. “Impossibly gorgeous, impossibly sweet, impossibly wonderful. You have this aura, darlin’. Like there’s this blazing white light of goodness around you. Like you’re a damn angel or somethin’.”

“Then why don’t you want to be with me?”

“I do,” Rusty said sincerely, then looked away. “But I can’t.”

Janice felt a teeny, tiny spark of naughtiness rise up in her. “What about kissing?”

Rusty’s head snapped around. “What?”

“What about kissing? Are you allowed to kiss me?”

“Janice, I don’t think that’s a—”

“Prove to me that what you’re saying is true. That you still find me attractive. Please," she croaked, her breath hitching in anticipation.

Rusty’s faze flicked down to her lips. “Holy shit,” he said under his breath. “I want to kiss you so damn much, little one. But I’m worried that once I start, I won’t be able to stop.”

Janice knew she shouldn’t be saying this, but she heard herself say it anyway: “Then don’t stop.”

With a groan, Rusty cupped her face with his large palms. He put his arm around her lower back, pulling her in close to his broad chest, and then he crushed his lips against hers, kissing her hard and without restraint.

In that instant, all the years of separation melted away, leaving only the raw passion that had always burned between them. Rusty’s mouth felt just the same as it always had—even tasted of the same apple pie.

It felt like coming home.

Rusty kissed her without holding back. His tongue led the dance between them, his lips sought to fuse with hers. He pulled her closer and closer to him, until her breasts were squashed up against his chest, and when she reached down to squeeze his muscular thigh, she felt something warm and hard that she knew instantly wasn’t his leg.

Oh, shoot. I just felt his hard-on.

Her hand recoiled and as they pulled apart, breathless and flushed, Janice couldn't help but smile. For the first time in a long time, she felt truly alive.

"Sorry about that," she murmured, her eyes shining with happiness, "Anyway, I believe you now. Youarestill attracted to me.”

“Stop talking, Janice,” Rusty ordered her, taking the lemonade out of her hand and setting it down on the grass. “And start kissing me again.”

Janice squealed with delight as Rusty pushed her back onto the picnic blanket, lying over her and pressing his warm, heavybody against her, kissing her and kissing her until there were no words left in her head at all—just the buzz of lust and pleasure.

Of course, deep down, she knew she shouldn’t be doing this. But she would worry about that later. Right now, this kiss was everything.

CHAPTER NINE

Janice

The sun's rays caressedJanice's face as she knelt on the soft earth, putting sensory plants in the community garden. There were herbs like rosemary, lavender, and mint, along with flowers that smelled good or felt nice to touch: sunflowers, grasses, lavender.

Janice hummed as she worked. Excitement bubbled within her chest, her chapped lips a constant reminder of the passionate kiss shared with Rusty the night before. Their intense connection had awakened something deep inside her, and the memory was enough to elicit a secret smile.

"Looks like I’m turning back into Little Miss Giggles again," she whispered to herself, using the playful nickname Rusty had given her years ago. That was the whole reason she’d bought herself the stuffie of Little Miss Giggles after Rusty had left her—to remind her of the person she had once been.

---