that sizzled like chain lightning, an awareness that pulsed in time to the beat of her heart, making her forget everything but the look in his eye and the sudden, fluttery feeling in her stomach.
"Micah?"
She whispered his name, afraid to cross the invisible barrier between them, knowing that once she stepped into his arms, she'd never be able to turn back. She would be his then, body and soul, and she had vowed never to let another man wield that kind of power over her again. It was too traumatic when it was over, too painful to look back and think of what might have been.
Resolutely, she took a step backward and crossed her arms over her breasts in a decidedly defensive gesture.
Micah looked at Lainey, at her rigid stance, at the wary expression on her face. Only a few feet of carpeted floor separated them, yet he felt as if a chasm had opened between them.
Overwhelmed by a sharp sense of loss, he took a step toward her. "Lainey, let me hold you."
"I don't think it's a good idea."
"Please." The look in his eyes spoke more eloquently than words. "Just for a moment."
She went to him because she couldn't resist the pleading in his gaze, the need in his voice.
She went because he was hurting and far from home.
She went because she wanted to.
Lainey rested her head on his chest, felt his arm circle her waist. As before, she was flooded with a sense of peace, of coming home after a long absence.
Micah held her for a long while, saying nothing, doing nothing more than holding her close while he lightly stroked her hair. She made him feel strong, invincible, and yet strangely vulnerable, continually arousing emotions he had never experienced, making him question the habits of a lifetime.
"You can tell me," Lainey said quietly. "Whatever it is you're running from, you can tell me."
"I wish I could."
She heard the regret in his voice, the need to share his troubles with someone who would listen and understand. "Don't you trust me?"
"With my life,cominza ."
"Cominza?"
"It means my lovely one."
Lainey tilted her head back so she could see his face. "You trust me with your life, but not your secrets?"
"It's for your own good," Micah said. And mine.
"Okay, okay, I give up."
"Lainey, if you only knew... if I only had the words to tell you..."
"Tell me what?"
"How you make me feel. When I hold you like this, I feel as though anything is possible, anything at all."
"There's nothing wrong with those words." Deeply touched, she resorted to humor as she frequently did when she was genuinely moved or embarrassed.
"Lainey..."
"I'm sorry."
"No. I've never felt anything like this before. It scares me a little."
He wasn't like Drew at all, she thought. Drew had always been self-confident, assured, secure in his charm, in his ability to say just the right thing. A real macho jerk.
Lainey let her gaze meld with Micah's. He might be hiding all kinds of secrets about his life, his past, but there was nothing secretive about the look in his eyes, those amazing silver-blue eyes that revealed a vulnerability and a yearning that went straight to her heart.
"I'm a little scared myself," Lainey admitted. "But it's a wonderful kind of fright."
"Yes," Micah agreed. "Wonderful."
She was so beautiful. Her dark brown eyes were guileless; her skin was smooth and clear. Her hair curled around her face like a soft black cloud. And her lips... those full pink lips that beckoned and tempted...
Slowly, unable to stop himself, he lowered his head and covered her mouth with his. Her lips were warm and soft and pliant. He kissed her, gently, tentatively, and then he kissed her again. A moment could have passed. An eternity could have passed.
Her lips parted and his tongue touched hers. Tiny flames of fire ignited in his groin, heating the blood that flowed through his veins. Driven by a need more powerful than any he'd ever known, he let his arms tighten around her, drawing her up against him so there could be no doubt of what he felt, what he wanted.
Lainey surrendered to the hunger he aroused in her. Her head fell back and she shivered with pleasure as his lips burned a path along her neck before returning to her mouth. His tongue danced with hers, his hands caressed her back, her belly, the curve of her breast. She felt a tremor of anticipation when she felt the unmistakable evidence of his desire.
"Micah," she murmured breathlessly, "you