Afternoon Delight - By Mia Zachary Page 0,69

I’ve held myself back, too, never letting anyone inside because I knew they wouldn’t stay. When you asked me to leave that afternoon—”

Rei touched her fingertips to his mouth, stopping his words. Her dark gaze compelled him to look into her eyes and see what was in her heart. There he saw tenderness and uncertainty and infinite depths of emotion. “There’s something I need to tell you, Chris. But I’m a little afraid to, even now. I’ve never told any man this before in my life.”

“You ought to know by now that you can tell me anything, that I won’t judge you.” When she still hesitated, he chuckled softly, pointing to his computer. “Do you want to type it into an e-mail and then step aside so I can read it?”

She laughed along with him and he saw some of the tension leave her, though her face was still set in serious lines of doubt. Rei took a breath and huffed it out again. “I’m not sure how you feel, but I love you, Chris. And I’m finally willing to risk being vulnerable, because I’m more afraid of losing you than I am of getting hurt.”

Chris swallowed the lump in his throat. “Like I said before, there are no guarantees in relationships. But if I offer my heart, and all of the love I so badly want to give, and you walk away again, I don’t think I’ll ever get over the loss.”

“I’m not asking you for any promises, Chris. I’m asking you for some time.” Rei cupped his cheek in her palm and tipped his head until he met her gaze. Tears spilled from her eyes and her voice was hoarse with emotion. “Because time is the only way I can prove to you that I’m fully committed and that I’m not going to leave. I’ve spent so many years believing I wasn’t worthy of love, convincing myself that I didn’t need it in my life. But I do, Chris. I love you and I need you.”

He felt the truth of her words touch him all the way to his soul. Maybe Jeanna was right and some times you just had to have faith. “I didn’t get the chance to tell you—the man my mom’s been dating is my dad.”

She laughed in surprise. “You’re kidding!”

“If they can work things out, so can we.” He stood up and gathered her into his arms, knowing he’d never again let her go. “I love you, too, Rei, and I always will.”

Rocking gently from side to side, he pressed his lips to her temple and stroked one hand over the dark silk strands of her hair. Rei reveled in the strength of his embrace, the warmth of his love and the emotional connection that she hoped would bind them to each other from now on.

She tightened her hold on him in happy silence, expressing by the purity of touch her joy at being together with him again. She felt as if time had stopped, like they’d never parted. Rei marveled at her newfound feelings of tenderness, intimacy and love. Chris had unlocked her heart with his quiet strength, integrity and courage.

He picked her up and turned so that she sat on his desk, putting their faces at a closer level. She slipped one arm behind his neck while he hugged her and nuzzled her cheek. Her other fingers skimmed his brow, touched his cheeks, traced the contours of his mouth. She placed her hand on the side of his face and pulled him forward until their lips met.

The kiss was warm, sweet and heartbreakingly tender. Chris tilted his head down and teased her lips apart with his tongue. She opened to him, to the tenderness of his slow, healing kiss, and slid her tongue over his in slow exploration. Heat, warm and penetrating, increased the need arcing between them until the kiss became eager and urgent.

Chris’s big, hot hands pushed at the hem of her skirt, raising it to the apex of her thighs. Then he nudged her legs apart and pulled her to the edge of the desk. His mouth slanted over hers again, and again the kiss was raw and lusty and left her gasping for air. It was hard and hot and hungry and in less than a minute, so was he.

Desire sang in her blood as she felt the hard evidence of his lust through the thin cotton of her panties. She unbuttoned his shirt, kissing his jaw, the

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