Page 14 of Love Me Sweet

CHAPTERFOUR

Sylvie had never had an out-of-body experience. But as she lay on the bed with Andrew’s warm, naked body pressed against hers, she wondered if she was having one. For the first time in months, she was at peace. If this was what an out-of-body experience felt like, bring it on. For now, she would relish the comfort it brought to her.

Gently she glided her hand down his silky hair then stroked his neck. Sylvie had always loved his body with the broad shoulders and tight abs, the lean hips and muscular legs. The slight patch of chest hair now tickling her breasts was familiar and comforting.

She’d missed him. She’d missed this closeness. She could admit that now. What was the harm? After all, this wasn’t really happening so she could indulge without guilt. He was her personal two-pound box of chocolates.

She planted a kiss against his neck and sighed. There had been only one man before Andrew, a boy in high school. That mistake had steered her away from intimate relationships for many years. Until Andrew had strode into the bakery where she’d been working.

Sylvie remembered that day as if it had just happened. The second she saw him the air that had smelled of cinnamon and yeasty goodness had begun to sizzle. She’d been so taken aback by the unexpected sensations flooding her body that she’d barely spoken. He came back the next day and the next. After a week they’d been conversing easily and indulging in some flirting.

When he asked her out to dinner, she’d said yes. It had been the beginning of a freefall she’d been powerless to stop.

If she’d only known then what she knew now, would she have had sex with him that night?

She started to sigh then realized she couldn’t quite draw a deep breath.

“I’m crushing you.” The deep voice sounded near her ear and suddenly the pressure against her body was gone, along with the comforting warmth.

Sylvie’s blood turned ice cold. She blinked once. Blinked again. Those piercing grey eyes remained focused on her face.

With a hand that trembled slightly, she reached out and touched his bare shoulder. Only then was she forced to accept he wasn’t an apparition but a flesh and blood man.

I slept with Andrew.

Desperately needing to put some distance between them, she placed both hands against his chest and gave a hard push. To her amazement he tumbled off the bed and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

She’d forgotten the size of the bed and hadn’t considered that the only place for him to go was off the side. Lifting herself up on one elbow, Sylvie leaned over.

A wry smile lifted Andrew’s lips as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. “If you’d wanted me off the bed, you could have just asked.”

“You are really here.”

He smiled. “As opposed to…?”

Warmth flooded her face. “This.” She gestured with one hand between her and him. “It felt like a dream.”

A look she couldn’t quite decipher--and wasn’t convinced she wanted to figure out—crossed his face. Before saying another word, he rose to his feet and began pulling on his clothes.

She took the opportunity to do the same.

“The sex was always good between us.” He tossed out the comment and finished buttoning his shirt.

She tugged on her shoes. No point denying the obvious. “It was.”

As if wanting to relax the suddenly tense atmosphere, Andrew took a seat on the rickety chair and gazed unsmiling at her. “Tell me why you left.”

Though he hadn’t come right out and said; tell me why you leftme, the accusation hung in the air between them.

Feeling already a little weak in the knees, Sylvie plopped down on the edge of the bed and turned to face him. “I sent you a text—”

“We were engaged to be married and you sent me a text.” Despite his calm demeanor ice cold fury underscored the words.

Sylvie resisted the almost overpowering urge to wring her hands. And her second impulse, which was to flee.

You’re getting really good at running, he told her. The words—and her fear they might prove true--had her staying put.

“Leaving that way was my only choice.” She lifted her chin, met his steely-eyed look with an unflinching one of her own. “I was concerned if we spoke face-to-face, you might change my mind.”

---