A Time for Us - By Amy Knupp Page 0,62

an age-old intimate knowledge of each other. Her body began to tingle and burn in no time and their pace quickened, became more urgent as he slid in and out of her. She clung to him, her mind stopping, letting the physical sensations take over. Taking, giving, needing...finally tumbling over the edge in a climax that turned her inside out. Her senses were overwhelmed as she held on to him for all she was worth. Moments later, he thrust into her a final time, a sexy groan of ecstasy rumbling from his chest.

Rachel closed her eyes and slowly regained her senses, came down from the ecstasy bit by bit. Her breathing slowed, as did his, and her heart rate gradually returned to normal. The sheen of sweat on her body eventually made her shiver in the chilly room.

He rotated to his side, pulling her with him and drawing the blankets back around them.

He kissed her forehead as if she were the most precious thing in the universe. “Rachel,” he said in a growly, gravelly voice.

An alarm went off in her dazed, satiated mind when Cale spoke her name.

Cale.

He was beautiful with his sleep-tousled hair and his stubble-rough chin. Tender and caring in the way he touched her, caressed her face, pressed sporadic kisses to her temple and eyelids as if he never wanted their connection to end.

He was so off-limits. Not supposed to be in her bed.

She pushed against his chest and turned her head when the crash of realization pierced her, bringing with it the black, suffocating guilt. “No.”

She was the worst sister ever. Had betrayed Noelle in the most fundamental way.

Cale lazily raised his head and stared down at her, confusion in his green eyes. “What’s wrong, baby?”

She sat up and pulled herself toward the headboard, away from him, feeling the stupid plastic Yoda jab into her back until she turned and leaned against the cold wall. She located her shirt and put it on in an attempt to feel less exposed. Blindly, she shook her head desperately from side to side.

“What is it, Rachel?” Cale asked, rolling onto his side at the edge of the bed. “That was...good. Wasn’t it?”

God, it was world-shattering good. She nodded absently, sadly. “That’s bad. Really, really bad.”

He sat up, studying her, as if afraid to ask too many questions, afraid of this hot-and-cold basket case who’d just pretty much seduced him.

“You should go,” she said in a rough voice. She leaned past him and fumbled around in the blankets for her shorts then pulled them on.

“I’ll go after you talk to me. Let me help.”

“You can’t help me do anything. I...can’t believe I did that.”

He was quiet as he absorbed her words. “We. Pretty sure there were two people involved in that.”

The regret closed in on her, squeezed the air from her lungs, blackened her vision around the edges. Her skin felt like someone else’s, as though it didn’t quite fit. She wanted to crawl out of it. She had to settle for scrambling off the bed and standing in the middle of the room, but that gave her no relief.

Cale stared at her almost fearfully as she ran her hands through her hair and pulled, wishing she could make this awful guilt go away simply by yanking every last strand of hair out of her scalp.

He put his shorts back on and then approached her, but she spun around, throwing her back toward him. Stopping a foot away from her, he said, “Rachel, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.”

Not. Even. Close. It would never be okay.

Guilt was burning a hole in her chest and she yelled, a pained, frustrated sound, but she didn’t care what he thought, what anyone thought. She was on the verge of being crushed by the awful feelings and only wanted relief. Even though she didn’t deserve it.

“You need to leave, Cale. Please.” She whirled around and dared to look him in the eye.

He sized her up, his eyes searching hers, and she stood strong, defiantly, not against him, but against her own self-loathing. If he saw that, he might stay and try to make her feel better—as if that were possible.

She so needed him gone, so she could fall apart—again—this time in private.

Cale swallowed and nodded once, the look in his eyes so sad—as if she’d let him down, too.

Rachel turned away again to try to get that look out of her mind. Behind her, she could hear him step toward the bed and pick