“It’s amazing. It’s like I could reach up and touch the sky.”
“I told you it was worth the effort. I come up here as often as I can.” He squeezed her hand tighter.
She lifted her chin to look over at him. A piece of her hair had fallen over her cheek and without a thought he reached and slipped the tendril behind her ear. Her mouth curved into a smile and her eyes were like windows into her soul. Had she felt the surge of electric that passed through them?
Her hand came up and she wrapped her slender fingers around his wrist, staring at him with a host of emotions that he couldn’t quite read. “You shouldn’t touch me like that, Creed.”
“Why? You said yourself that there’s something left between us.”
She lifted her chin slightly. “That’s why you shouldn’t. You and I always had a problem with being impulsive and we’re not those dream-filled kids any longer. We’re adults with responsibilities. We can’t just think of ourselves and satisfying a need.” Her deep brown eyes burrowed into him.
“Won’t you ever give love a shot again? Will you allow responsibility and excuses to keep you from being happy?”
“Are you asking for personal reasons?”
“Well I’m not asking for another man,” he huffed.
Several seconds floated by. “My divorce was only final six months ago.”
“But you said yourself the marriage was over long ago.”
The tip of her tongue came out to sweep along the plush curve of her bottom lip. He wanted to help her with that, but he held himself steady. He swallowed the urgency to kiss her, flooded with all the other desires he’d felt since she’d arrived in town. The bond between them came in pulsating waves of need and urgency and growing stronger by the minute. An undying ache lingered in him, from guilt to wanting her back in his life. How had it happened so suddenly?
He knew the reason. The love had never left.
It was like a fire that had been left blazing all these years.
She swallowed audibly. “What are we doing, Creed? We’ve been here and done this before and look where it got us? Do you even understand the depth of sadness and hurt I’ve endured?” Tears filled her eyes.
Pain swept through him. “And you don’t think I’ve felt my own pain? Do you think it was my choice that we’d spend so long apart?”
“For a man who speaks about pain you certainly couldn’t prove it by how long it took you to find someone to fill the void.”
He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, wishing he could erase all the baggage. When he opened his eyes he saw one tear slip down her cheek. He swiped it away with a fingertip. “You have to forgive me at some point, just as I have to forgive you.”
“Forgive me?” Her bottom lip trembled.
“You did leave, Mindy.”
She breathed in, all vulnerability gone. “I came back.”
“I hear that, but why? If it was for me why didn’t you speak to me? I had no clue you were in town.” He swiped off his hat and pounded it against his thigh.
“You’re right.” Her voice shook. “I should have. I didn’t know what to do though. I didn’t want to ruin what I thought was your happiness with Melody.”
Confusion filled his head. What the hell? “Are you that daft? Do you think a couple of months could rid me of my feelings? Or even nineteen years. I loved you, Mindy. I might have been an idiot but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love you. When you left I told myself that it’d get better. That you and I weren’t meant to be. Hell, I might have even had myself convinced for a while, but the second you came waltzing back into Cooper’s Hawk I knew I’d been lying to myself. I might not deserve to have you as a lover, but damnit I want you as my friend. Can’t we find some stable ground to build us again?”
“Creed…,” she whispered, bowing her head.
“Mindy?” he said on an exhale of breath.
“There’s a lot you don’t understand.”
“Do you believe I chose not to come see you when you came back?”
Hurt filled her eyes. “All these years I believed you chose not to show up.”
She did that little move again, the tip of her tongue swept over her bottom lip. He growled as he tried to keep himself in check, but he couldn’t hold back any longer. He pulled her into him and lowered his mouth over hers, reveling in the way her soft lips felt under his searching touch. She tasted like fresh strawberries and smelled like heaven. He thrust deeper, exploring her with his tongue. She made a throaty moan as if she was submitting to the whirlwind of emotions. He wrapped his arm around her waist bringing her closer. She still wore his coat and it was an intrusion on their intimacy.
He intensified the kiss, seeking something in her that he couldn’t quite understand but it was more than needing satisfaction.
Her fingers dug into his arms, clinging to him, and then she moved her hands upward until they wrapped around the back of his neck. He could feel her ease into his arms, submitting to the desire she could no longer hide, and he could no longer ignore. Flashes of bright light warmed his blood, settling into his loins that were now gorged with need.
Burying his fingers in her hair, he held her head as he kissed her cheeks, her ears, nibbling the row of diamond studs. She leaned her head back onto one shoulder, giving him access to the length of her neck. He kissed the silken skin, drawing his tongue over her.
The flashlight dropped forgotten to
