Page 136 of A Soldier's Return

She knew it was in reaction to the wild chaos of emotions storming through her, but she couldn’t tell him that. “I’m fine. My hair’s just a little damp. That’s all.”

“You shouldn’t be out here in the cool night air.”

She was silent for a moment, gazing at the masculine features that had become so dear to her. “You’re probably right,” she finally murmured. “Come inside.”

She knew exactly what she was offering—just as she knew she was signing herself up for even more heartache.

But she loved him. The truth of it had hit her the moment she saw him coming walking up the path. She was in love with Eben Spencer, billionaire hotelier and the last man on the planet a wild, flyaway nature girl from Oregon would ever have a forever-chance with.

This was all she would have with him and she couldn’t make herself turn away now.

She walked up to her apartment without looking back. Over the pounding of her heart, she heard his footsteps behind her but he didn’t say anything as they climbed the two flights of stairs.

Once inside, she frowned. She could swear she had left several lights on when she walked downstairs to let him in, but now only a single lamp was burning.

She had been reading while she waited and watched for him, listening to a Nanci Griffith CD but she must have bumped her stereo on her way out the door because now soft jazz played.

The whole room looked as if she had set the scene for romance, which she absolutely hadnot. Despite her conviction that she wanted this, wanted him, she felt her face flame and hit the overhead light switch.

Nothing happened. The bulb must have burned out, she thought, mortified all over again.

Eben came into the room alone and she looked behind him. “Where’s Conan?”

“I think he went through his door into Anna’s apartment.”

“Ah.”

They stood looking at each other for a long moment and Sage could swear she could hear the churn of her blood pulsing through her body. She didn’t think she had ever wanted anything in her life as much as she wanted him right now.

She opened her mouth to ask if he would like a drink or something—not that she had much, just some wine left over from the other night—but before any words could escape, he stepped forward and kissed her again.

Who needed alcohol when Eben Spencer was around? It was the last thought she had for a long time as she lost herself in the wonder of his strength, his touch.

After several long, glorious moments, he lifted his mouth away and pressed his forehead to hers. “I don’t want to lose you, Sage.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You can’t lose what you don’t have. An astute businessman like you should already know that.”

He laughed, a low, amused sound that rippled over her nerve endings. “You’re very good at putting me in my place, aren’t you?”

She smiled, liking the place he was in very, very much.

“I mean it,” he said. “I have to leave in the morning but I don’t want this to be the end for us.”

She didn’t want to think about his leaving or about the emptiness he would leave behind. “Eben—”

He stepped away from her, raw emotion on his face. He was usually a master at concealing his thoughts. To see him in such an unveiled moment shocked her.

He gripped her hands in his and brought them to his chest, where she could feel the wild pulse of his heartbeat. Had she done that to him? She wondered with surprise.

“I was terrified tonight,” he said, his voice low. “I’ve never known anything like that.”

“You were worried for your daughter,” she said. “That was completely normal.”

“My fear wasn’t only for Chloe.” His gaze locked with hers and she couldn’t look away from the stunning tenderness in the glittery green depths of his eyes. “My world stopped when I saw that wave hit. All I could think was that I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to either of you.”

Sharp joy exploded inside her and she couldn’t breathe around it.

“I care about you, Sage. You’ve become desperately important to me and to my daughter this week.”

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