Page 96 of Rush of Jealousy

“Yes.”

“Over to each other’s places?”

“Yes.”

“Remember birthdays and holidays?”

“Yes.”

“Then it was a fucking romantic relationship, Graham.” How can he be that obtuse?

“There was no love, Angie. I care about her welfare. But I do not love her romantically. Never did.”

“Does she love you that way?”

“No.” He runs his hands through his hair. “Maybe?” A frown forms on his lips. “I don’t know. Can we freaking get back to the game?”

I want to close the door to my heart that I was just starting to open. “I feel like I’m competing with her for you in an invisible game of Tug-of-War. I’ve heard it in her voice and seen it in her eyes. She is not over you, Graham. Are you really that dense to not see the signs?”

He scoots closer to me and holds my cheeks in his palms. His thumb passes over my bruising skin. “I never wantedmorewith her. I never took her to meet my family. I never took her to this lake house. She never tied me up in knots. She never made me see into the future.” His eyes soften. “You do. Angie, you make me think about the future. You make me delirious with all of my overprotective tendencies. You bring out the best and the worst in me. You blur the line between right and wrong.”

“That last part is not a compliment.”

“It isn’t meant to be. It is the truth. I should let you live your life freely. But I can’t let you walk out of mine without a fight. You are my weakness and my strength all rolled up into one overarching emotion of obsession.”

“I’m just scared,” I whisper. “Scared to get my heart broken.”

“I know, baby.” He moves me on top of his lap and kisses my forehead, then my nose, and ends at my lips. He pulls back to study my face. “I am scared too. I don’t want to break yours or get my own shattered. I love you so much.”

He hasn’t tried saying those words in so long that I wondered if he didn’t feel them in the first place. My lips press against his as I snuggle in closer to his warmth. “I love you too.” I can’t keep them contained inside any longer. It is the first time telling him. Maybe all of this time apart and all of the time I had to discern my emotions has brought the realization to the forefront of my mind.

“Say them again,” he whispers so breathlessly that I struggle to even hear him.

“I love you.”

His mouth swoops in and captures mine. I am held prisoner to his binding arms and melt into his hold. He feels warm and safe. He is my home.

He releases my lips and stands up. Within seconds I am airborne and carried to the row of windows that look out over the lake. He places me gently onto the furry irregular shaped rug and pulls my shirt off over my head and then unsnaps my bra. He strips down to nothing and settles himself between my parting legs. I don’t need much buildup because I am already primed and ready for him. Staring into my eyes, he pushes into me and rocks his hips back and forth to stretch me and get me reacquainted with his size. I love the feeling of fullness and how we fit so well together. It is like our bodies were designed with each other in mind.

“You are so freaking tight,” he whispers out a moan. “I want to lose myself inside you.”

I thrust my own hips upward, trying to get more of him inside me. I wrap one ankle around his ass and grind my hips in a circle.

Graham holds his weight up on his elbow and pushes my hair off my forehead. The sun is coming through the windows and warms my skin. We get lost in each other’s eyes as we make love slowly. It is different from the other lustful times when we were intimate. And for some reason, I needed this moment more than I realized. We both have our release and bask in the afterglow as we come back down to earth.

18

“Do you forfeit?”

I lean up on my elbows to look at Graham’s hungry eyes. “Never.” Plus, I am pretty sure I am close to winning.

“Have it your way.”

His tongue trails down my neck, over my breasts, and then down to swirl around my navel. Expert fingers pull my pussy lips apart, and the hypersensitivity of my freshly fucked sex causes me to tremble.

“Graham,” I gasp. “What are you doing to me?”

He ignores my question and thumbs my clit, while scooping up the product of our arousal and pushing it back inside. It is such a territorial move and one that makes me melt even more.

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