Page 110 of When We Were Young

I smile back. Leaving one hand on her waist, I raise the other to cup her cheek. I hope she can feel all the tenderness and affection I have for her. There’s plenty of physical desire, too, but it’s amplified by how I feel about this woman.

I love her.

I’ve hinted at it. Implied it. But not yet said it outright. I’ll have to soon. I won’t be able to restrain myself much longer.

I place a soft kiss on her lips, then pull back slightly. “Is that okay?” I ask.

“Mmhmm.”

I lower my mouth to hers again. The kiss starts slow and soft. But when I touch my tongue to her lips, she opens her mouth to me, and I’ve lost what little control I had left.

The kiss deepens, and it’s not just me. She’s matching my energy. I become overwhelmed with emotion.

I pause. “You still okay?” I pant.

“I will be if you quit taking your mouth off mine,” she says. She moves to reinitiate the kiss, but then looks into my eyes and halts.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” she asks.

“Nothing.” I sound rushed.

She frowns.

I can’t bear the thought of her thinking something is wrong. That I don’t love every second of kissing her.

“Our kiss at the lake was the first time I’ve kissed someone with feelings attached since college. I expected the surge of emotions I feel kissing you would have faded, but that didn’t happen. I forgot how each kiss with you is like my heart and soul trying to speak to you with my body.”

She sucks in a breath. “Really? That’s true?”

“It’s absolutely true. I love kissing you. Touching you. It’s not... It’s not just a physical experience.”

I kiss her on the corner of her mouth, then press my mouth to her neck just below her ear. The taste of her, combined with the low moan of pleasure she releases, is my undoing.

I want my mouth all over her. To taste her everywhere. For now, though, it becomes my mission to kiss every part of her slender neck as she stretches to give me access. Within no time, she’s writhing against my body, and I don’t know how much longer I can resist the desire to move my mouth lower and explore other areas of her.

Areas I’ve never gotten to see or taste before.

I pull back and rest my forehead against hers. I can hear the strain in my voice when I speak.

“I should say goodnight here and let you get to sleep.”

“You promised to check my house for me, since I left the door unlocked.” She draws her lower lip between her teeth, and it’s so damn sexy. She’s watching me expectantly, waiting for my next move.

Without taking my eyes off her, I reach for the brass handle and push the door open.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Lizzie

Holden takes my hand and guides me into my house, and it fills me with so many emotions: happiness, love, anticipation, and peace. Peace I haven’t felt in so long that it’s almost overwhelming.

He makes a show of looking around, but I’ve had enough of that, and I lead him right to my bedroom.

He stands there staring at me. He looks on… nervous.

He’s going to need a little push to know that I’m serious. That I’m choosing him. I’m choosing not just the boy I fell for in college, the one who made me feel the most treasured I’d ever felt and, eventually, the most devastated, but the man he’s become—a man who has been healing my heart even when he didn’t realize it.

I reach down and grasp my T-shirt by the hem, then pull it over my head. I’ve never been this bold, but I’ve never felt for anyone what I do for this man. I’ve never wanted someone like this.