Page 50 of Whisper of Temptation (Whisper Lake 4)

CHAPTER 16

Sara closed the bedroom door behind her and stood still for a moment, soaking in the silence. She’d just watched her munchkins drive away with their dad. The kids were gone. For the next two days, there would be no one needing her help to go potty. No fights to stop. No tummy aches. No scrapes to bandage. No bad dreams. It was only for forty-eight hours, and she had been looking forward to it, but still… It was an unsettling feeling.

She crossed to the bed and sat down on the edge. No, that didn’t feel quite right. She lay back against the pillow and picked up her Kindle. She scrolled through to find Exclusively Yours, the first book in Shannon Stacey’s Kowalski series. She loved Keri and Joe’s story and hoped that like Calgon, it would take her away. After reading and re-reading several paragraphs she knew that it wouldn’t. She grabbed her iPhone and earbuds and figured she’d listen to some music. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had uninterrupted time to enjoy some tunes. By the second song she tugged the earphones out of her ears.

Nope. Not gonna work. She sat back up.

Just relax already.

Yeah, that didn’t work either. Hmmm. Apparently, the quickest way to achieve a state of Zen-like bliss wasn’t actually to scream at yourself impatiently that you should do it. Who knew?

Pressing her eyes shut, Sara tried to slow her breathing and quell the anxious tide rising in her chest. She had a long list of activities stored in her mind that she was always wishing she had time to do. Do her nails. Take a long, leisurely bath. Watch an entire season of something on Netflix. Actually, sign up for Netflix, for that matter. Now was her chance to chill out and do all of that…only, she couldn’t. She was too jittery.

I’m sure it’s just that I’m not used to having no responsibilities. Being untethered is a little scarier than I imagined it would be.

She snorted. Not a pretty sound, but descriptive. “Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that,” she muttered under her breath.

If she were honest, she knew the reason every inch of her skin was jumping and her heart was racing—and that reason was staying in the room right on the other side of her bathroom.

Now, with no kids in the equation, she was anxious, wondering what was going to happen. Because…something was. That was the one thing she was sure of. Something was going to happen. And she didn’t know how to feel about that, or how to manage the situation. Butterflies filled her stomach as scenarios filled her mind.

Her X-rated thoughts were interrupted by a firm knock on the door. She gasped and closed her eyes, surrendering to the light-headedness that threatened to overwhelm her at the knowledge of who was on the other side of the door. It was a good thing she was already sitting on the edge of the bed so there was no danger of falling if she passed out.

A head injury? Yeah, not a good look.

After taking a deep, fortifying breath, she stood and crossed the room, her knees shaking beneath her. As much as she tried to inhale and exhale evenly, she was finding it difficult to catch her breath.

Hyperventilation was probably not the sexiest either.

She tried to remain calm, but the knowledge that this was a defining moment of her life swept through her. She was sure of it—as sure as she was of her own name. Tonight was going to change everything in some big and fundamental way. She’d had the same feeling the night that Shelby had graduated high school and Sara had celebrated by going out. That had been the night she’d met Jack, one thing had led to another, and six weeks later, she was peeing on a stick.

That exact sensation washed over her now, but thankfully, she was older and wiser and knew that being on antibiotics can affect the effectiveness of the pill, so there was no danger in tonight’s scenario ending the same way.

A picture of Austin standing in a nursery holding their baby flashed in her mind.

What the F?

Where had that come from? She didn’t want more kids. She had two, one for each hand. That was enough.

Trying to shake the scene that should’ve had her running, screaming, in the other direction, she found herself reaching out and opening the door instead. As she grasped the knob, she saw that her fingers were shaking. She hadn’t even been aware of that until she saw it.

Inhaling through her nose, she steeled herself, and pulled the door toward her.

Just as she had suspected, Austin stood there in the hallway, a knowing half smile on his face. She opened her mouth to speak, to try to take control of the situation, but nothing emerged from her rubber-band-tight vocal chords. This made his smile grow to full-strength, and her heart, which she’d thought had flown away, fluttered in her chest.

“I just stopped by to say goodnight,” he spoke in a low, husky voice that bordered on a whisper.

She nodded. It was all she could manage. Her entire body was raw with awareness of not only his nearness, but also that there were no buffers to disturb them. She knew what she wanted to happen, what she’d felt like she’d been waiting for her whole life to happen, but she couldn’t form the words to express it.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” His eyes grew dark and his tone left no room for argument.

Yep. That’s it.

She nodded again, trembling from head to toe. Austin leaned in slowly, and Sara closed her eyes, every cell in her body alive with anticipation. They hadn’t even touched yet, but she could already taste him on her lips and feel him pressed against her, like the memory of a delicious meal she could still conjure up the flavor of. Only the meal in front of her right now was one she had yet to sample.

Rather than feeling his sweet lips press against hers, or his strong arms around her waist, she was treated to the sensation of his sensual, hot breath on her ear as he whispered, “Don’t worry. I’ll drive.”

Oh damn.

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