you’re worried, but you’re doing all the right things. The things you can control.”
She nodded, her chest aching. How could pulling away from him hurt as much now as it had ten years ago? “What if there’s somewhere else I should’ve looked? Someone I should’ve called?”
“Don’t question yourself like that, Kit. It’s not productive.”
She rubbed her arms against the urge to step into his arms.
After a quick, impersonal glance, he turned in one lithe movement and started for the exit. As she followed, she felt the warmth of his body drain out of her.
Already she felt an emptiness inside, one that she’d felt for a lot of years after leaving Rafe. The only reason she was with him now was Liz, and for the first time, she felt anger over her sense of family responsibility.
Could she have done things differently ten years ago? She didn’t think so. Sliding a look at him, noting the tight jaw, the smoldering anger in his eyes, she wondered how she’d ever been able to walk away from him.
Rafe flipped over in bed, punched his pillow for the fourth time and closed his eyes. The faint rise and fall ofher voice down the hall told him she was talking in her sleep again, which served to trigger a flash of images through his mind—Kit’s sweet face turned to him this afternoon, her lips parting to meet his before they’d both realized what was going on and stepped back.
He’d wanted to kiss her. With the same mind-burning intensity he’d always associated with wanting to fly. And she’d pulled away. Damn it.
Even now, hours later, her soft floral scent taunted him. Rafe could still feel her lush breasts pressing against him and the itch in his palms to touch them, peel those clothes off and do more than kiss her.
He hadn’t been the one to call it quits ten years ago. She had always been the one to pull away, and she still was.
What reason did Kit have to pull away from him? He was the one who should’ve put at least the width of a shooting stall between them.
Feeling the tension in her shoulders, knowing she was more than distracted by waiting for Liz, he hadn’t been able to stop wanting to reassure her, wanting to reach for her. So he had.
Stupid. Stupid.
He slid out of bed, went to stand in front of the window. Moonlight showered down on the patio. A fickle breeze played with the shrubbery and potted plants ringing the pool.
When she’d turned to him after that false-alarm phone call, sheer surprise had held him immobile for a half second. She seemed so damn self-sufficient, always had. But the feel of her in his arms had caused something inside his chest to shift. She was where she belonged, and it had been natural to draw her close.
She was concerned about Liz.
He wanted to wring her sister’s neck.
He didn’t see how things had changed much. He still wanted Kit, wanted her in his bed, but after that, then what?
They could become lovers again. After today, he knew she wouldn’t take much persuading, but she’d cut his knees out from under him the first time. He couldn’t survive that again.
He wasn’t going to, period. His body had throbbed for her at the shooting range. It had been all he could do to hold her while he battled the urge to press her against that flimsy wall and strip her clothes off, push into her with all the fury and lust pounding through his body.
But there had been more than lust. A hollowness he felt deep inside, a hollowness only Kit could fill. And he knew that because he’d tried over the years to fill it with other women.
He’d wanted her, yes, but he also needed her. He’d only ever needed Kit. Rafe slapped a palm against the wall and pushed away, disgusted.
Need? What he needed was to keep a clear head and get a grip on his raging hormones. Employ some of the discipline he’d learned in the Air Force, for crying out loud. For once, he found himself wishing Dizzy Lizzy would interrupt them. Pathetic.
One phone call from Liz would start a
She nodded, her chest aching. How could pulling away from him hurt as much now as it had ten years ago? “What if there’s somewhere else I should’ve looked? Someone I should’ve called?”
“Don’t question yourself like that, Kit. It’s not productive.”
She rubbed her arms against the urge to step into his arms.
After a quick, impersonal glance, he turned in one lithe movement and started for the exit. As she followed, she felt the warmth of his body drain out of her.
Already she felt an emptiness inside, one that she’d felt for a lot of years after leaving Rafe. The only reason she was with him now was Liz, and for the first time, she felt anger over her sense of family responsibility.
Could she have done things differently ten years ago? She didn’t think so. Sliding a look at him, noting the tight jaw, the smoldering anger in his eyes, she wondered how she’d ever been able to walk away from him.
Rafe flipped over in bed, punched his pillow for the fourth time and closed his eyes. The faint rise and fall ofher voice down the hall told him she was talking in her sleep again, which served to trigger a flash of images through his mind—Kit’s sweet face turned to him this afternoon, her lips parting to meet his before they’d both realized what was going on and stepped back.
He’d wanted to kiss her. With the same mind-burning intensity he’d always associated with wanting to fly. And she’d pulled away. Damn it.
Even now, hours later, her soft floral scent taunted him. Rafe could still feel her lush breasts pressing against him and the itch in his palms to touch them, peel those clothes off and do more than kiss her.
He hadn’t been the one to call it quits ten years ago. She had always been the one to pull away, and she still was.
What reason did Kit have to pull away from him? He was the one who should’ve put at least the width of a shooting stall between them.
Feeling the tension in her shoulders, knowing she was more than distracted by waiting for Liz, he hadn’t been able to stop wanting to reassure her, wanting to reach for her. So he had.
Stupid. Stupid.
He slid out of bed, went to stand in front of the window. Moonlight showered down on the patio. A fickle breeze played with the shrubbery and potted plants ringing the pool.
When she’d turned to him after that false-alarm phone call, sheer surprise had held him immobile for a half second. She seemed so damn self-sufficient, always had. But the feel of her in his arms had caused something inside his chest to shift. She was where she belonged, and it had been natural to draw her close.
She was concerned about Liz.
He wanted to wring her sister’s neck.
He didn’t see how things had changed much. He still wanted Kit, wanted her in his bed, but after that, then what?
They could become lovers again. After today, he knew she wouldn’t take much persuading, but she’d cut his knees out from under him the first time. He couldn’t survive that again.
He wasn’t going to, period. His body had throbbed for her at the shooting range. It had been all he could do to hold her while he battled the urge to press her against that flimsy wall and strip her clothes off, push into her with all the fury and lust pounding through his body.
But there had been more than lust. A hollowness he felt deep inside, a hollowness only Kit could fill. And he knew that because he’d tried over the years to fill it with other women.
He’d wanted her, yes, but he also needed her. He’d only ever needed Kit. Rafe slapped a palm against the wall and pushed away, disgusted.
Need? What he needed was to keep a clear head and get a grip on his raging hormones. Employ some of the discipline he’d learned in the Air Force, for crying out loud. For once, he found himself wishing Dizzy Lizzy would interrupt them. Pathetic.
One phone call from Liz would start a
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