“God, Carls, I’ve even missed your fucking hair.” The urge to kiss her was overwhelming. She licked her lips, and he felt himself leaning closer. “Tell me you haven’t thought of me, you haven’t missed me, and I’ll walk out that door.”
“No you won’t,” she said with a slow shake of her head and a plea in her eyes. “You can’t.”
“You’re right, I can’t. But if you had said it, I wouldn’t do this.”
He lowered his lips to hers, praying she wouldn’t push him away. Their first touch was electrifying. He kissed her rough and greedy, devouring her sweet, sinful taste like a starving man at a buffet. He’d wondered if she would react differently to him after all this time. If she would be as eager as she had always been, battling for control and giving in to submission in equal measure. But she was right there with him, just as she always had been. She rose up on her toes, making hungry noises as she grabbed his head with both hands and opened her mouth wider. He’d missed her so fucking much, he grabbed her ass and held tight. He was hard, and she was soft and perfect. Years of repressed desire surged through his veins, and a growl roared out as he hoisted her onto the counter and recaptured her mouth. He hauled her to the edge, wedging himself between her legs, grinding against her. He wanted to strip her naked, relearn all the dips and curves of her body, pleasure every inch of her until they were too worn out to speak. Somewhere in the back of his head he knew they needed to talk, but he was lost in her. In his Carly. His thoughts fractured, and the world faded away, until there was only the feel of her body pressing against his, her hot, willing mouth kissing him back, and her intoxicatingly familiar taste. He didn’t know if he was dreaming, awake, or stuck in some alternate forgiving universe, but he never wanted to leave.
Then he felt what he feared most. Her hesitation. The gears in his head started churning again as she slowed her efforts, pulling back the slightest bit. He fought the urge to deepen the kiss, to try to get her to fly away with him for just a little longer. He reluctantly drew back and touched his forehead to hers, wishing he’d never have to let go. She clung to his back, her nails digging through his shirt. They’d never needed words, but he felt them climbing out of his heart, clawing up his throat, and tumbling from his lips. “I’m sorry, Carls. I’m so sorry.”
“I can’t,” she said in a strangled voice, and pressed her hands to his chest. “I can’t do this with you. I can’t fall in love with you again.”
He didn’t move with the force of her hand, keeping her close as he said, “You don’t have to. You never fell out of love with me. I feel it, Carls.”
She looked away, and in a thin voice she said, “Just go.”
“Carly—”
She met his gaze, and the anguish in her eyes had him reaching for her again. But she leaned away and said, “Please go, Zevy. I need you to leave.”
She’d let him in, even if only briefly, giving him hope despite her words. He gritted his teeth, wanting to demand she let him stay, or plead if that’s what it took, and knowing he couldn’t do either. “I’ll go,” he relented. “But we’re not done, Carly. You know we’re not done.”
Chapter Five
CARLY FLEW OUT of her pickup truck Monday morning and bolted through the doors of Divine Intervention more than an hour late. She must have forgotten her phone at work last night, which meant she’d had no alarm this morning.
“Good morning!” she said as she darted past Birdie and a customer and headed into the kitchen. She didn’t slow down until she reached her office, where she dropped her bag on the desk and turned on her computer. She was supposed to turn in an order last night, and she’d completely forgotten. Now she’d have to work some kind of magic to have the products shipped in time to make the specialty order for her customer’s baby shower this weekend. She also needed to order supplies for the festival.
She hated to be rushed. She’d run the chocolate shop without so much as a hiccup for years, and in one evening Zev Braden managed to turn