Page 57 of Forever Mine

Chapter 20

I buried my nose in Scott’s neck and inhaled his scent. His skin gave off that same earthy combination of vanilla, leather, and musk that had grown familiar in the past few weeks. My lips connected with his chin in a sloppy smooch.

He turned his head and claimed my mouth in a heady kiss. Our close contact reminded me of all I'd been without since he left the island on Friday evening. Under the fluorescent light outside the airport, I cupped his cheeks while smiling into his eyes.

Scott stroked my jaw with his thumb and cradled my head. His other hand pressed me to him in a tight hug. “D'you know how much I missed you?” he mumbled into my hair.

“Maybe as much as I missed you?”

We grinned at each other, while I thought this scene was crazy. Butterflies swirled in my stomach and heat raced over my back, where Scott's hands rested. I wasn’t given to public displays of affection, but with Scott everything normal had flown out the window. The persons coming out of the arrival lounge flowed around us, seeking taxis or those who had come to transport them.

“Let's go,” I said, “before people think we've lost our minds.”

“Nah,” he said, swinging his case into the trunk of the Honda. “They'll guess we want to be together, more than anything else.”

His words triggered a tiny alarm in my mind, but I was so exhilarated with having him back, my blood flooded my veins in a heady rush. I felt as though Christmas had come early. What made my reaction so out of character was that we'd spoken every day since he left.

Yesterday, we talked late into the night. He'd shared stories about the mischief he and Rhys got into as boys and how he ended up in hospital with a broken arm after a skateboard stunt.

When he called me at lunchtime to say he'd finished the seminar early and was coming back this evening, I didn't ask him for a reason. I simply agreed to pick him up from the airport. After we ended the call, I arranged for Mom to collect Angel from school and stay at my place until I got home.

On the ride toward Scott's place, I told him Angel had sent greetings, and we discussed how the seminar went. In twenty minutes, we were at his townhouse. He got the travel case out of the car while I opened the door with the key he'd put in my hand.

Scott walked inside seconds after I flipped the light switch. His living room was sterile and neat, with nothing out of place other than a computer magazine left on the center table. A far cry from the way I first imagined he lived. When I first visited, the cream walls, wicker furniture, and potted plants told me the townhouse was a rental. Scott hadn’t stamped his personality on it, which was expected since he wouldn’t be there long. That hadn’t changed.

I turned toward him, smiling.

He dropped the suitcase, shut the door and slid his arms around my waist. “What's so entertaining?”

“Your house.” I said, sliding both arms around his neck.

He frowned and cocked his head. “Huh?”

“It's still clean.” I hid a grin, then continued, “I didn’t tell you before, but when I first saw you, I pictured you in an apartment filled to the brim with empty pizza boxes and other trash.”

He strung kisses from my neck to my forehead, sucking my skin at intervals. “I should be offended, but I know you've learned all about jumping to conclusions just by being here.”

With my lips, I grazed his cheek and downy beard. “Uh-huh.”

Just before our lips touched, he said, “That's not an apology.”

Arching one eyebrow, I said, “Who said I was giving you one?”

He scattered kisses on my cheeks, nipped my earlobe and whispered, “We'll see about that.”

I didn't have a clue what he meant. He was busy sucking on my earlobe and then the skin below my ear, which had my belly twisting and whirling in a way I hadn't experienced in ages.

When I'd had enough of him teasing me, I brought his lips back to mine for a deep kiss. The slight rasp of his tongue against mine had my knees weak.

Scott slipped his hands under the waistband of my jeans and massaged my back. As our tongues dueled, Scott pressed in close and wedged his hardness between us, leaving no doubt about his desire. He raised his head and stared into my eyes, asking a question without words.

My answer was to remove the band that held his hair together and pull his head toward mine. Our exploration of each other went from hard and demanding to soft and tentative. I grasped handfuls of his hair in both hands to keep him in place, while he unbuttoned my shirt with unsteady fingers. He pushed the cotton fabric off my shoulders and dropped soft pecks on my neck and chest.

Impatient for skin contact, I undid his flannel shirt and let it fall to the floor, baring his chest and pressing my face against the soft hairs covering his skin.

Scott tipped my head back with a finger under my chin and met my eyes. “Are you sure?”

My hands massaged his chest and traced the hairs delineating his stomach. He gasped at my gentle touch, and all I could manage was a nod and a soft moan.

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