Night Heat (Forged of Steele 2)

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not leaving and I’m not going to let you put distance between us. I understand the barriers you’ve put up, but I won’t let it stop me from proving something.”

“Proving what?”

“That to you I’m not a regular guy, Leah. I’m the man you loved and by your own admission, the man you still love. Somehow I’m going to remind you of that and break through those walls you’ve erected. I’m going to be the one man who’ll make you want to be touched again.”

She hugged her arms to her breasts and glared at him. “You’re pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

He smiled. “Yes, and I’m pretty sure of you. You could never resist me when I laid things on thick.”

No, she couldn’t, but things weren’t the same anymore. “But that was then.”

“And it could be now if you let it. I want us to get back together. I want to marry you, give you babies we’ll both love, and I want to be there for you until the day I die.”

The sincerity in his words touched her and she couldn’t help the tears that formed in her eyes. Whether he knew it or not, he was offering her a chance to reclaim her dream. But still…

“It won’t work, Reese,” she said quietly, again trying to make him see reason.

“How do you know if you won’t give it a chance? Give us a chance. We can take things slow, start off by going out to eat, to the movies, take walks…and I promise to keep my hands to myself. In fact I will keep my hands to myself until you say you’re ready for something more.”

She lifted a brow. “No kisses?” She remembered how much they’d liked to kiss.

He smiled softly. “And as much as it will probably drive me crazy, no kisses.”

They stared at each other for a long moment and Leah thought about his words, his offer. She met his gaze, studied the expression on his face, looked into the depth of his eyes. “Why do you want to do this? There are other women in town who’d jump at the chance to—”

“You’re the one I want, Leah. You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted. You spoiled me for anyone else.” He chuckled quietly. “I didn’t know just how messed up I was until you left. I haven’t been able to get involved with anyone else and it’s been a long time.”

For him it was a long time, since she knew just how passionate he was. “Why?” she asked.

“Because I couldn’t imagine making love to anyone but you.”

Leah wondered if he knew what that admission meant to her. But then, if he was putting all his hopes in her, he still might not be making love to anyone. “Reese, I—”

“No. Just say we can make a go of things again, Leah. We’ll take thing slow but we’ll still make a go. Although we enjoyed the time we were together, for us it was never just about sex anyway. Remember?”

Yes, she did remember. The sex had been good, but they had shared a special friendship, as well. “And you’re sure you want to do this?” she asked, needing the reassurance.

“Yes, I’m sure. Let’s start off tomorrow. Early. Invite me to breakfast. I miss your pancakes.”

She couldn’t help the tiny smile that touched her lips. And with the memory she recalled a time when she had prepared pancakes at his place one morning, and how they’d got sidetracked and ended up with more batter over them than in the skillet. Of course they’d had to shower together and she remembered what had happened after that….

Leah blinked. That memory had been totally unexpected. It was the first time she’d been able to recall a man touching her body and not get sick at the thought. And on that particular day Reese had touched her all over.

“So are you going to feed me pancakes in the morning?”

His question reclaimed her thoughts. “Yes, I think I can manage that.”

“Good. Well, I’ll leave so you can go on to bed and get your rest. See you in the morning, Leah.”

After Reese left, Leah felt an inner peace for the first time in a long while.

Chapter 15

Jocelyn gazed down into her coffee before taking a sip and smiled. It didn’t seem possible but two weeks had passed since that night she and Bas had spent together and now they were definitely an item. They continued to do a lot of things together. Fun things.