rawness of what he was feeling was rising up, and Kaden ruthlessly drove it down, back to depths he’d never plumbed and had no intention of doing so now.
He crossed the room to where Julia stood. She looked up. Those grey eyes were dark and troubled. A line of pink slashed each cheek, and her lips were full and tender-looking. In a completely instinctive gesture he reached out and tucked some hair behind her ear, only realising as he did it that he’d used to do that all the time. His jaw clenching hard was the only sign that he’d recognised this tell-tale gesture which was at such odds withthe dark emotion seething through his gut.
Jealousy
. He had to distance himself from their past, focus on the present.
“If we had met at any other time we wouldn’t have been available, and yet this desire would still have blown up. It would have made a mockery of the fact that twelve years had gone by. And of our marriages.” He went on, his deep voice mesmerising, “But we’re both free and single now, two consenting adults.”
Julia knew she should run—and fast. Get away and pray to God that she never saw Kaden again. But her feet wouldn’t move. The way he’d casually reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear had broken something apart inside her, bringing with it an onslaught of memories of so many moments when he’d done that. It had been the first physical gesture he’d made to her.
Fatefully, knowing that on some level she was making a momentous decision by
not
leaving, Julia couldn’t seem to turn away. She felt curiously lethargic—as if she’d been running towards something for a long time, only to have finally reached her destination. She wanted this man with a hunger she’d known only once before … for
him
.
She’d fully expected that if they ever met again that he would act as dismissively as he had earlier … and yet here she was. He wasn’t pretending not to know her now. He was looking at her as if she was the only woman on the planet. That elusive feeling of home and connection that she’d only ever found with him whispered to her like a siren song, calling her to seek it again.
Desperately she fought it—going that way again could only end in worse devastation. Clinging furiously to some last vestige of pride, to the illusion that she hadcontrol, she backed away. “Just because we’ve met again, it doesn’t mean anything, Kaden. It doesn’t mean that we have to end up … in bed.”
For a long tense moment they just looked at each other, and then, after another ear-splitting crack of thunder, the electricity went off.
Julia gasped and Kaden cursed. “The storm must have outed the power. Wait here. I’ll get some candles.”
Julia felt Kaden move away from her and took a deep, shaky breath. The darkness seemed to envelop her in a cloak of collusion. It made her want to forget the outside world, forget to remember their history. To give in to what he was offering. She wanted him so badly she shook.
Desperately she tried to remember the awful excoriating pain of the moment when he’d coolly informed her that all they’d shared had been a summer fling, that he had a life of responsibilities that didn’t include her. But it was like trying to hold onto a wispy cloud. All she knew was the exhilaration rushing through her blood, the heightened awareness of desire.
Through the silence of the apartment she heard a crash somewhere and a colourful curse. They were sounds that
should
have been restoring her sanity, making her more determined to leave. But instead they were only firing her desire. She heard a movement and saw flickering light. This was it.
Kaden came back into the room, and in the soft glow Julia could only look at him and marvel at the shadows which made his face seem even more mysterious, his eyes two dark pools. He put down the candle and came closer and closer, until his body was just inches away from hers. His heat enveloped her, along with his exoticmasculine
He crossed the room to where Julia stood. She looked up. Those grey eyes were dark and troubled. A line of pink slashed each cheek, and her lips were full and tender-looking. In a completely instinctive gesture he reached out and tucked some hair behind her ear, only realising as he did it that he’d used to do that all the time. His jaw clenching hard was the only sign that he’d recognised this tell-tale gesture which was at such odds withthe dark emotion seething through his gut.
Jealousy
. He had to distance himself from their past, focus on the present.
“If we had met at any other time we wouldn’t have been available, and yet this desire would still have blown up. It would have made a mockery of the fact that twelve years had gone by. And of our marriages.” He went on, his deep voice mesmerising, “But we’re both free and single now, two consenting adults.”
Julia knew she should run—and fast. Get away and pray to God that she never saw Kaden again. But her feet wouldn’t move. The way he’d casually reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear had broken something apart inside her, bringing with it an onslaught of memories of so many moments when he’d done that. It had been the first physical gesture he’d made to her.
Fatefully, knowing that on some level she was making a momentous decision by
not
leaving, Julia couldn’t seem to turn away. She felt curiously lethargic—as if she’d been running towards something for a long time, only to have finally reached her destination. She wanted this man with a hunger she’d known only once before … for
him
.
She’d fully expected that if they ever met again that he would act as dismissively as he had earlier … and yet here she was. He wasn’t pretending not to know her now. He was looking at her as if she was the only woman on the planet. That elusive feeling of home and connection that she’d only ever found with him whispered to her like a siren song, calling her to seek it again.
Desperately she fought it—going that way again could only end in worse devastation. Clinging furiously to some last vestige of pride, to the illusion that she hadcontrol, she backed away. “Just because we’ve met again, it doesn’t mean anything, Kaden. It doesn’t mean that we have to end up … in bed.”
For a long tense moment they just looked at each other, and then, after another ear-splitting crack of thunder, the electricity went off.
Julia gasped and Kaden cursed. “The storm must have outed the power. Wait here. I’ll get some candles.”
Julia felt Kaden move away from her and took a deep, shaky breath. The darkness seemed to envelop her in a cloak of collusion. It made her want to forget the outside world, forget to remember their history. To give in to what he was offering. She wanted him so badly she shook.
Desperately she tried to remember the awful excoriating pain of the moment when he’d coolly informed her that all they’d shared had been a summer fling, that he had a life of responsibilities that didn’t include her. But it was like trying to hold onto a wispy cloud. All she knew was the exhilaration rushing through her blood, the heightened awareness of desire.
Through the silence of the apartment she heard a crash somewhere and a colourful curse. They were sounds that
should
have been restoring her sanity, making her more determined to leave. But instead they were only firing her desire. She heard a movement and saw flickering light. This was it.
Kaden came back into the room, and in the soft glow Julia could only look at him and marvel at the shadows which made his face seem even more mysterious, his eyes two dark pools. He put down the candle and came closer and closer, until his body was just inches away from hers. His heat enveloped her, along with his exoticmasculine
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