Last night Trent had said that she’d have no boundaries. Had he said it because he remembered that about her? Because he sure remembered how to kiss her.
There were kisses you wished had never happened. There were kisses that left a woman feeling no different from the way she’d felt before she’d experienced the kiss. There were kisses that made a woman’s skin go hot and her stomach flutter with anticipation. But Trent’s kisses?
Trent’s kisses had always melted Reese’s clothes right off, from the first time he’d pressed his lips against hers.
She sank down to the grass, sketching fast and furious as thoughts of Trent crashed over her like violent waves, then rolled back with soothing familiarity. Early on in their relationship, he had been able to take one look at her and know if she was sad, happy, confused, or longing to touch him. He’d lost that ability once they’d moved to New York City, but last night she’d felt him looking at her the way he used to. Really looking, as if he wanted to know everything she was thinking. Everything she was feeling.
Once upon a time, she’d known him that well, too. But she’d deliberately tried not to look that deeply into his eyes last night, had been trying to keep some distance between them. Which was why she hadn’t seen the kiss coming, though she’d wanted it so badly she could taste him before their mouths even touched.
Once their lips touched, her mouth remembered the beauty and the magic of kissing Trent, and her heart had been right there with it, wrapping itself around him.
He’d surprised her and confused her with the kiss, but something told her he knew that, too. Just the way he’d noticed everything before they’d moved to New York. One sigh, one smile, one lift of her eyebrows, one crook of her finger toward the bedroom. There was nothing he hadn’t noticed. Nothing he wouldn’t do for her back then.
Her pencil swirled and skated over the paper, creating dark streaks and contours, mimicking the emotions that coursed through her.
Ten years ago, in the span of a few weeks, he’d made her his world—but then in the span of a few days in New York, he’d replaced their beautiful, sensual, loving world with work. He’d left at the crack of dawn each morning and returned long after she was asleep. Weekends weren’t spent holding hands as they walked around the city or snuggled up together by the beautiful fireplace in their apartment the way she’d thought they’d be. Instead, they’d spent their days and their nights on separate planes.
She should have learned her lesson by now, should be able to look back at history and easily keep the walls around her heart thick and strong. But the truth was that last night, while she’d craved Trent’s kisses, she’d craved so much more, too.
She’d wanted back into the depths of his heart. Because she’d never met a man who knew how to love so completely.
Only he didn’t, did he? Or, if he did know how to love completely, was it simply that he just hadn’t chosen to give his entire heart to her the way he’d promised?
The day they’d said their vows, she’d thought they were supposed to become one in a way that would last forever.
But forever had never come.
The sound of footfalls on pavement pulled Reese from her reverie. She squinted against the morning sun as Trent jogged along the sidewalk, closing the short distance between them. His muscles glistened from his run. One look was all it took to send her whole body aflame.
“Good morning, Reese.” He set his hands on his thighs and drew in several deep breaths.
Her heart went a little crazy from being this close to him, when she could see so much delicious skin and hard muscle. She didn’t dare try to stand after how wobbly her legs had been last night. Instead, she tried to play it cool and remained sitting.
“’Morning.”
“I was wondering if you still enjoyed painting early in the day.” He glanced at her drawing. “Do you mind if I take a peek?” Before she knew it, he was reaching for her hand and pulling her to her feet. “You look beautiful today.”
“I do?” Kiss me.
No, no, no, the rational, protective side of her brain chimed in. Don’t do it.
He moved closer. “You do. Even more beautiful than you used to be, Reese.”
Why, oh why did he have to make her name sound like an invitation into his bed? Lust snaked through her insides, filling all of her empty places, just as it had when they’d first met.
“You look good, too,” she said just above a whisper. Not only did her mouth have a mind of its own, but so did her hand. She couldn’t help but reach out to touch him. The feel of his taut abdominal muscles beneath his T-shirt made her brain hiccup...and her entire body explode with heat.