talk about wanting to leave Wyoming. To travel to every state. To go to school in California…”
“Yeah. I wanted to leave. Didn’t we all? But I knew in my case it was all talk. I’d be stuck here forever. I would just have to make the best of it.”
My heart twisted.
I’d had such a wonderful experience at school. Dorm life. Friends. Parties. I was sure I’d never forget it. Now I realized how much I’d taken that opportunity for granted. So many people never had the chance to go to school, to be wild and free. I was lucky. Very lucky. “I’m sorry.”
“Now, don’t go feeling sorry for me. That’s not why I told you.” Rolling onto his side, and propping his head on one hand, he cupped my chin. I turned my head toward him, and his thumb grazed my lower lip. The air seeped from my lungs and a pulse of heat throbbed through my body.
The wanting was still there, and as strong as ever. How could that be, after what he’d done to me? How?
“Clay,” I whispered, my voice low and husky. It sounded more like an invitation than what I’d intended—a warning.
He dipped his head lower and brushed his lips across mine. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve tasted this mouth. I’ve been hoping, waiting, wishing I would have a chance to taste it again.”
A tiny groan rumbled in my throat.
Resist. I had to resist. I couldn’t fall for his charm again. Could not.
I pressed both palms against his chest. It was so hard. And broad. Deep crevasses cut between the bulges of his muscles. My fingertips traced them, meeting in the center. His heartbeat thumped beneath my hands, fast and hard, just like mine. “Clay, we can’t.”
“Can’t what?” He sealed his mouth to mine, and the world spun. Memories flashed in my head.
Lazy summers.
Kisses.
Longing.
Love.
His tongue slipped into my mouth, exploring, claiming, conquering. He rolled, one leg resting across mine, his body leaning heavily on mine. His heat seeped into my pores and thundered through my body. Blazes ignited. My nipples hardened. My center burned.
I wanted him. His kiss. His touch.
No, I needed it. God help me, I needed it.
But if I let myself trust him again, would he finish what he started all those years ago? Would he take my fractured heart and crush it into a million fragments so tiny I’d never be able to patch it back together again?
Chapter 6
The western sky was aflame, much like my body. At the horizon clouds stained brilliant salmony pink and dusty lavender arched overhead as my skin simmered, a blush creeping up my neck and over my face.
Clay’s kiss was a natural force, as dangerous as the wild, thrashing Colorado river. As wicked and powerful as a category five Texas tornado. And as beautiful as a Hawaiian sunset.
His kiss made me forget.
It made me surrender.
My body grew heavy and warm. I flung my arms around his neck. I had to or I’d spin off into outer space. The world around us vanished. And then it was just us. Male and female. Two bodies, entwined.
He left my mouth to nip the sensitive skin of my neck and I shivered. Goose bumps prickled my arms, shoulders, chest and back. I tightened my hold on him. Was I making a huge mistake? I didn’t know. I didn’t care. All I knew was I was in his arms and he was in mine and I was burning and gasping and trembling.
“Please,” I whispered, not even sure what I was asking for. Did I want him to stop? Did I want him to kiss me again? Yes. And yes.
“Damn, I love that sweet little voice of yours. I’ve missed it since the day you left.” He pushed up my top and kissed the swell of my breasts, and my back arched, lifting my chest higher. “I missed these too. Every inch of this body.” Pulses of heat blazed through my body with every racing thud of my heart. It was at a full gallop, shoving white-hot blood racing through me.