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He gently stroked my hair, saying nothing. I held on to him in a fierce clench. He was so hard, so solid…like a rock in the midst of a stormy hurricane at sea. I sobbed into his shoulder, soaking him, but still he stroked my hair, murmuring gentle sounds.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Whatever it is, it’s okay.”
Oh, if he only knew.
He moved backward, trying to release my hold on him. At the thought of him leaving, I grabbed him, wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled his mouth toward mine.
Unprofessional, yes, but that was my last thought when his firm lips opened beneath mine.
He returned my kiss, swirling his tongue into my mouth. He tasted of sweet mint and cloves—so perfect and so right. I had dreamed of kissing him when I saw him at that hotel bar months ago. He was so out of my league, but right now he was responding to me. He pulled me closer, ground his hardness into my belly. My God, is he as attracted to me as I am to him?
When I pulled away, taking a needed breath, he bit my earlobe.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you like that since I first saw you,” he whispered. “And today, sitting across from you, I could hardly think of anything else.”
I melted against him. He wanted me? Truly wanted me the way I wanted him?
No more talking. I drew in all the oxygen I needed and pressed my lips back to his. He kissed me with fervor, passion, so deeply—more deeply than anyone ever had.
The kiss was trance-inducing, as if I’d never been kissed before. As if all the men who had ever kissed me were just leading up to this—the ultimate kiss, the only real kiss I’d ever been given.
I poured everything inside me into the kiss, wanting desperately to escape all my troubles. Jonah Steel was alone. Alone like I was. Struggling with responsibilities he felt he had neglected.
But no kiss, not even one this amazing, could make up for those neglected responsibilities. I was a therapist. I knew better than to be seduced into a physical break from reality. I forced my mouth from his, whimpering at the loss.
I stumbled backward, nearly losing my footing, but he caught me. I looked into his dark gaze. Fire burned within those eyes. Fire that I wanted to stoke with more kisses, more…everything.
“I’m so sorry.” I touched my lips, so tender from his kiss. “I… I don’t know what came over me. That was completely unprofessional. Please believe me. I’ve never done anything like—”
His lips came down on mine again, and all the sense I’d just had a moment before fled out the window. Again I opened for him, and again I took his tongue into my mouth. My nipples tightened against my bra, threatening to poke through the cotton fabric. Again his hardness nudged my belly. If only this could be. If only I could take what he was offering and escape—escape the responsibility for Gina’s death and everything else that had gone wrong in my life. But again, reality prevailed. I knew better, better than anyone, that I couldn’t run away from my problems.
Still, my body was ready. I throbbed between my legs, my nerves on edge. My senses were heightened, and I inhaled. He smelled of leather and musk, a little like the outdoors. He ravaged my mouth, taking and giving. And I gave back. I poured everything into that kiss, even though I knew it was wrong.
When I had to pause for another breath, he dragged me to him, whispering, “My God. Melanie, my God.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said again. “So very sorry.”
He pulled back slightly again, and I met those blazing dark eyes.
“Why are you sorry? I’m sure not.”
I took advantage of my position and pushed him hard, so his back hit the wall by the door to my office. I gasped. The office door was still open. Where was Randi? I looked out the door toward the reception area.
“No one’s out there,” Jonah said. “That’s why I knocked on your door.”
Randi had a dental appointment this afternoon. I’d forgotten. “Right. She left early.”
Jonah smiled at me. God, he was gorgeous.
“I, for one, am glad she’s not here.” He came toward me.
I held up my hand. “No.”
“Why? Aren’t you enjoying it?”
I’d never enjoyed a kiss more. That wasn’t the point. “It’s unprofessional. I’m your therapist.”
He smiled again, and my heart nearly melted right onto the floor.
