Page 28 of Journey to You

Before she could blink his mouth swooped and captured hers in a hungry, rash kiss, blindingly brilliant in its savage intensity.

Her senses reeled as he deepened the kiss, stunned by the ferocity of her response as she grabbed at his T-shirt, clinging to him, dragging him closer, frantic with wanting more.

If he’d slowed down, been tender and gentle rather than commanding and masterful, she would’ve had time to think, time to dredge up every rational reason why she shouldn’t be doing this.

Instead, for the first time in a long time, she let go of her reservations and became herself, not some mouse-like woman worried about what other people would think of her for staying in a loveless marriage with a heartless tyrant if they knew.

Her knees wobbled as he pulled her closer, his hands strumming her back, his lips playing havoc with hers as he challenged her with every tantalising sweep of his tongue, with every searing brush of his lips.

It was the kiss of a lifetime.

A kiss filled with promise and excitement and wonder.

A kiss memories were made of.

An eternity later, when the initial blistering heat subsided and their lips eased, lingered, before releasing, the reality of the situation rushed in, the old self doubts swamping her in a crushing wave.

“Don’t do that.” He tipped her chin up and caressed her bottom lip with his thumb. “Don’t go second guessing yourself or what just happened.”

“I’m not—”

“This is me you’re talking to.” His mouth kicked into the roguish smile she loved so much.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she murmured, smoothing his T-shirt where she’d gripped it so hard she’d wrinkled it to the point it needed a shot of steam or two to de-crease.

“Take that kiss at face value, as a first step.”

She was almost too afraid to ask. “A first step to what?”

Brushing a soft, barely there kiss across her lips, he said, “That’s something we’re about to find out.”

Twelve

As far as first dates went, Ethan couldn’t fault this one as he leaned back on outstretched arms and looked up at the monstrous India Gate in the centre of New Delhi.

Though in reality, he could’ve been in a dingy alleyway in the back of Timbuktu and the date would’ve been amazing all the same, courtesy of the stunning woman by his side, looking happy and more relaxed than he’d ever seen her.

“What are you thinking?”

She smiled at him from her vantage point, stretched out on the grass on propped elbows. “I’m thinking if I see one more monument or fort or palace, I’ll go cross-eyed.”

He laughed, reaching out to pluck a blade of grass in her hair. “But this arch commemorates the seventy thousand Indian soldiers who died fighting for the British Army in World War One and is inscribed with the names of over thirteen thousand British and Indian soldiers killed in the 1919 Afghan war.”

She shook her head. “There you go again, swallowing another guide book. You know, all those facts will give you indigestion.”

He winked, before ducking his head for a swift kiss that left her blushing. “Just trying to impress you.”

“You’ve done that already.”

Her praise, the easy way she admitted it, warmed his heart.

How far they’d come in a week, since he first gatecrashed her trip.

And after today, it would be over.

Would she revert to withdrawn once they returned to Melbourne? He hoped not. Crazily, her sudden turnaround had him wary. He wanted this, right? Then why the constant nagging deep in his gut this was more than he could handle.

He hadn’t spelled it out to Tam that he wasn’t interested in a relationship. He hoped to date for a while, have some fun together, explore the underlying spark simmering between them. But that’s where things ended.

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