She knew they needed to deal with it, but did it have to be right this second, when her heart was full and her body ached for the closeness they’d shared? Right now all she wanted was for this feeling of goodness and wholeness to continue. She wanted to be with the only man who had ever made her feel truly alive.
She tried to distract herself from her burgeoning desires by telling Tami’s mother, “Your daughter is very talented, and I’m sure with your encouragement she’ll go far.”
As they walked away, Trent said, “You just made her day.” He kissed Reese’s temple as his hand slid to her hip. A moment later his gentle touch felt even more intimate as his thumb stroked it. When his fingers slipped beneath the edge of her sweater and brushed against her skin, heat blazed through her.
Oh God, she didn’t just want to dip her toes into the goodness of them—she wanted to jump in with both feet and submerge herself. To tangle together and drown in the desire swelling between them.
“You didn’t have to buy one of her pieces, but I’m so glad you did.”
“It’s for you to have, Reese.” His voice was low and as thick with restraint as her body felt. “One day she’s going to come visit you, and when she sees this painting among your things, it will mean the world to her.”
The sun was just beginning to set as she turned to face him, giving the chilly evening a romantic glow. “I love that you thought of that. That you even recognize how special something like that could be in the first place.” She couldn’t resist touching his chest, laying her palm over his beating heart the same way she had earlier that day.
Oh, how she’d missed touching him like this. Missed being able to look up into his blue eyes and see his smile. Missed lying safe and warm in the circle of his arms.
“I felt your joy every time someone admired one of your paintings. Even before we were married, when a tourist would stop to watch you paint or sketch on the beach, you would light up. How could I not understand something that was such a big part of my wife’s life?”
Hearing Trent say my wife made her heart skip a beat, but it was the way he was looking at her, as if he still felt their deep connection just as strongly as she did, that had her breath hitching in her throat.
He drew her closer, and she went willingly into his arms as he told her, “I hurt you deeply, and I’m so very sorry. But I never stopped caring about you, and I want to make it up to you. I want to fix everything that I broke. Give me a chance, Reese. Let me show you how I’ve changed. Let me earn your trust again. Let me prove to you that I’m worthy of your love.”
So long. She’d waited so long to hear him say that.
“Please, sweetheart. I never meant to hurt you. I was young and stupid, and not fighting for you ten years ago was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”
His eyes were filled with so much sincerity, his voice laden with so much remorse, that suddenly she could barely think. Her fingers curled in his shirt as she closed her eyes and let her body take over. And boy did it ever take over.
There was nothing tender about their kiss as their mouths came together in a possessive, needful kiss. His mouth was hot and hungry, and her hands were greedy as they roved over his shoulders to the muscles on his back. She wanted to press her nails into his skin and mark him as her own.
God, how she’d missed him. But they weren’t in the past anymore. All that mattered was right here. Right now. And oh how she needed him. How she wanted him. She sank deeper into him, into the kiss, against his hard, virile frame, desperately trying to get closer.
“Car.” She barely got the word out before he took her in another demanding kiss. She’d always loved knowing the effect she had on him, and tonight was no different. Feeling the hard proof of how much he wanted her, too, pulled a moan from her lungs, and she wanted more. More of his emotions, more of his strength, more of everything he had to give her. She hadn’t felt these animalistic urges since the last time she’d been with Trent. She’d almost forgotten his power to transport her to another dimension. To a place where only they existed.
That thought brought her mind spiraling back to the moment—to the fact that they were groping and kissing in the park—and not even behind a wall of boulders this time.