Page 18 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 1-4

Mercifully, the sensations in her body were eclipsing the emotion as their movements became faster, more hungry. Sweat slicked their skin. Desperation clawed at Sadie’s insides as the shimmering peak of ecstasy appeared on the horizon, her body quickening and tightening in anticipation.

She vaguely heard Quin mutter something under his breath—some kind of curse... Maybe because he wanted to eke out this moment but couldn’t. Sadie could well imagine that Quin would relish torturing her as long as possible.

But the frenzy was upon them, and Sadie knew from previous experience that all she could do was surrender to it and let it sweep her away.

And that was exactly what happened. Quin thrust so deep that Sadie arched her back and wrapped her legs and arms around him, breaking apart all over and splintering into a million shards of pleasure.

She clung on for dear life as she felt Quin’s big body jerk against hers as he found his own release, before he slumped over her, his face buried in her neck.

In that moment, Sadie felt the first measure of peace she’d had in four years.

When Sadie woke, she felt as if she was climbing up through several layers of sleep. She cracked open her eyes and squinted a little at the bright sunlight. She took in her surroundings—the spacious room, lots of glass, teak.

The guesthouse. Quin.

Instantly she was wide awake and registering that she was alone.

She sat up, holding the sheet to her chest. The bed was very rumpled but there was no dent in the pillow beside her, so Quin obviously hadn’t gone to sleep here.

It all came rushing back. She’d taken a swim and had come back into the house to see Quin standing in the room. He’d switched off the music.

Music that had made her feel emotional as she heard it again, transporting her back to those halcyon days in Sao Sebastiao in their little beach hut, so wrapped up in each other that the outside world had gone unnoticed.

The music that Sol had been born to at exactly the same moment her head had been filled with restored memories and images and a horrific realisation. Two profound things happening at once.

Obviously she’d had to prioritise devoting all her energy into giving birth, ensuring her baby’s safe passage into a world that was suddenly not a benign place any more. But from that moment on she’d been on borrowed time.

Sadie shook her head to free it of the past. She was here now. With her son. Well, not exactlywithhim, but in his world. And last night had just been a conflagration of the tension between her and Quin. Not helpful to their situation. Quite possibly he would resent her for this. Maybe he would see it as a weakness—giving in to the chemistry that was still between them.

If emotion had been involved on Quin’s side Sadie was sure it wasn’t any positive emotion. For her, though, it had been incredibly overwhelming, reminding her of the pull she’d felt as soon as she’d met him face to face for the first time.

Although, as she well knew, she’d felt that pull after spotting him on the porch of his house on the beach a couple of days before that. He’d been a solitary figure. Like her. Tall, compelling. Beautiful. But she’d done her best not to look him, to pretend that he hadn’t caught her eye. Because she hadn’t been able to afford to make connections with anyone. It was too dangerous.

But then he’d walked into the little barber shop where she’d worked, and she’d had nowhere to hide nor time to pretend she hadn’t seen him. Within minutes she’d had his head in her hands. Running her fingers through his hair. Trying her best to avoid those dark, mesmerising eyes in the mirror. That sculpted mouth that had made her press her thighs together to stem the heat rising deep in her core.

He’d asked her out and her heart had leapt. For the first time she’d resented her life. She’d wished she could sayyes, even though the thought had terrified her because he was so intimidatingly gorgeous and sexy. In any case, she hadn’t had a choice. She’d had to say no.

The next day he’d reappeared and asked her out again. She’d said no again, even more regretful.

And then the next thing she remembered was waking in hospital after the surfing accident...with nothing but a persistent fog in her head.

After that they’d never been apart again—until the moment she’d walked away. Out of his and her son’s lives.

Sadie got out of the bed and pulled on a robe. Between her legs she felt tender. She blushed. Ridiculous. She took a shower and noticed the places on her body and skin where Quin’s stubble had made it red, or where he’d squeezed her flesh.

She turned the shower to cold for a second, hoping to shock some sense back into her brain. Last night had meant nothing. Only that the desire between them was as strong as ever. Except...

Sadie shivered a little as she turned off the water. Maybe last night was all Quin had needed to exorcise her from his system.

When Quin returned from work later that day he wasn’t prepared for the sight before him on the lawn. Sadie, in jeans and a T-shirt, battered sneakers, her hair pulled up, was playing football with Sol. She might have passed for a teenager if it hadn’t been for her womanly curves.

He’d walked out of the guesthouse as dawn had broken that morning, telling himself that he wouldn’t touch Sadie again. It had been a moment of madness. A build-up of four years of frustration and pain and anger.

He’d hoped that maybe now he’d feel some kind of peace.

But far from feeling any measure of peace, he’d been tormented by her all day. He’d kept having flashbacks to seeing her naked for the first time in four years. The way it had felt to slide into her body...the moment when she’d looked at him with wide eyes, reminding him of how she’d looked at him when they’d first made love because she’d been a virgin.

A question had buzzed in his head all day. Had she looked at him like that, had her body been so tight, because she hadn’t slept with anyone in four years? Since him?

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