Page 40 of Twister

Rejection wasn’t the end of the world, and she was finally getting it that some people just wouldn’t like her, and that was starting to feel okay…it didn’t diminish her in any way. But this man was so special, and she knew it in her bones. She loved that he was the opposite to her with his admirable tenacity, his high volume of energy, strong opinions, and direct communication.

Yes, he’d been clear about how he felt about her cleaning his gear, but what she had overlooked in his statements were the compliments mixed in with his response.

She swayed a bit, hammered by this welling of feeling that sprang up in her like a rushing river after a rain…love. The real kind, not the kind she had fantasized about getting when she was too terrified to even search for the substantial, messy, vulnerable, and unpredictable kind that was happening between her and Twister.

That’s when it hit her like a ton of bricks. Twister was right. She was beginning to realize that she’d spent her adult life as if she was still under her parents’ thumbs. It didn’t have anything to do with fitting in. She fit in damn fine. But her old way of thinking had run roughshod over her, and she thought she had to pick up any slack, do all the work, and sacrifice herself to duty. Not true, not after experiencing intimacy with Twister, something she’d never allowed herself to do with any man, buthe was overwhelming her senses, and she was finding herself in all that emotional upheaval. She had a right to find happiness and balance, and she definitely had the right to say no and stand up for herself.

“Didn’t you tell me that I could say no?” She was trembling at the revelation that swept over her like a rush of heat. She was truly in love with Shane “Twister” Reeves, and it had come on the heels of his reaming her out, not because he was rejecting her, but because he cared about her.

He huffed out a short, wry laugh. “You know that only turns me on…a feisty woman throwing my words back at me at the opportune time.”

She walked to the door and pulled it open. God help her. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. He always looked…dangerous, not just that warrior quality about him, but that intensity that radiated from him in a tangible sense of heat and power. A man who thrived on risk and adversity. His tousled black hair and the dark stubble shadowing his lean jaw only added to those tantalizing qualities. But to her, he was so much more, emotionally honest when she sensed that was something he struggled with, strong and determined to do not only what needed to be done no matter the personal cost to him, but doing the right thing in all matters, and the way he stood up for her and supported her, silently, vocally, and intimately.

Those stunning, piercing, burnished eyes of his had the ability to read her, tempt and arouse her, and soothe her.

Sadie sighed, and as if he knew exactly where her thoughts had traveled, a slow disarming, now not-so-rare smile tipped up the corners of his sensual mouth, punctuating that awareness that coiled low and deep in her belly and her heart. Her attraction to this man was undeniable, like nothing she ever experienced before.

I love him, she whispered so quietly to herself, marveling at what that meant, the richness, the wholeness of her feelings nearly overwhelming her.

“This is the opportune time,” she said, moving back as he crowded her into the room, then nudged the door closed with one broad shoulder.

He caught her under the chin and forced her to look at him. He winced when he saw her face, then caught her by the neck and pulled her into his embrace—a warm, safe embrace. Sadie turned her face against him and fought the feelings of rejection, of fear, of loneliness.

Twister tucked his head down against hers and tightened his hold, then slowly rubbed his hand up and down her back. “I’m sorry, Sadie. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just can’t stand it when people take advantage of others. It makes me crazy.”

He just held her, his face tucked against hers. His warmth and physical closeness diffused the negative emotions, and Sadie clung to the solidness of him, her eyes tightly closed, and her jaw clenched.

“Thank you for being so tough on me. I needed it.”

“And the opportune time?”

“I’ve just discovered that I’ve been so locked up regarding my upbringing and having to do everything for my family because they needed me, and I easily, willingly, and unconsciously carried it all over into my adult life. I would probably be doing everything the same if it wasn’t for you pointing out my flaws.”

“Sadie—”

“No, that’s what they are, and I should understand and embrace them. They’re part of me, part of who I am…was…evolving into. I always felt so?—”

“Trapped.”

Of all the things he could have said, nothing could have been more devastating, more wrenching. It was as if he knew exactlywhat kind of emotional trauma she was experiencing right then and was there to lift her out of that morass. She shivered and pressed against him, her arms caught against his chest, and Twister tightened his hold.

“I know what it feels like to not have an outlet for all those pent-up feelings of having no choice in how you spend your time, and always giving and giving until you feel there’s nothing left for you, and somehow you can’t help feeling selfish and unworthy.”

Her teeth clamped against the well of unshed tears, and she nodded her head, getting lost in his support and empathy. She looked up at him then, and he met her gaze. The intent look in his eyes was like he was touching each piece of her and examining her with great care and tenderness.

“There’s freedom in letting go of what everyone expects of you, babe, including yourself. Focus only on your internal dialogue about who you want to be. Fuck everyone else.”

Fighting against the swell of tears, Sadie pushed free of his chest and slipped her arms around his neck, a soft sob wrenching loose when he gathered her up, holding her just as tightly. Neither one of them said anything as she worked her way through the pressure now releasing inside of her, and she was starting to understand what he meant about that freedom.

“Look, we’re getting a few days off schedule to get rid of this nitrogen build-up in our bodies. What do you say to a trip into the city? We could get a hotel room, go snorkeling around these amazing reefs, and just relax and talk.”

“Talk?” He was trying to be so open and accessible, and she loved that about him, unable to resist teasing him just a bit.

“Yeah, like bond and stuff.”

“Bond and stuff?” She giggled.

“What’s so funny?” he said with a sweetly dangerous edge to his tone, the look on his face was so startlingly vulnerable,though he swiftly masked it, she immediately felt bad for teasing him. It was difficult to think of this man as remotely vulnerable, and the idea that he was, with her, flustered her, even as it stirred everything sweet and wonderful for him inside her.

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