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"I don’t want to live without you"

He reached for her, bringing her onto his lap, hisshe’d planned to say was caught between two hungryhearts

Fourteen

Several months later a storm, a Seattle cloudburst, woke Charlotte Daas on the horizon, but very little light filtered through the gray clouds The wind beat hard against the s, rattling the aside the covers, she cliins was sleeping there, looking worried She patted his head and offered hi-roo rip apart the night For an hour or so afterward, s creep across the sky Her life, inside and out, was everything she wanted it to be Jason had moved into her apart She was taking a break fro course Eventually she’d handle all of his bookkeeping and maybe look for a few other clients, too Yes, life was full of new possibilities

"Charlotte?" Jason murmured when she returned to bed He reached for her and without a second’s hesitation she slipped into his embrace

"There’s a storm," she whispered

His shtened?"

"Not anymore" There’d been a ti past She felt intensely alive, coone fro rain, the boo her in his ar close to her husband, suffused with a feeling of profound joy

"I love you," she whispered

"I know," he said without opening his eyes "Believe ht her mouth to his He welcomed her kiss, which was slow and deep Hot exciteer slow, but hungry, needy

Charlotte felt Jason’s chest lift with a shuddering intake of breath

"I want to ainst his lips

Jason went still His hand, which was sliding up her thigh, stopped at her hip

"You’re sure?"

It was the first time she’d ever made the request, the first ti briefly brightened the rooainst the walls, followed by the roar of thunder The bedroom vibrated with sound

Jason, ever-sensitive to her moods, paused, but she refused to allow any hesitation She drew his mouth down to hers and they kissed, until Charlotte’s whole body seehtgown, pulling it over her head He’d awakened her to an entire world of sensual pleasure in the e, a world she wanted to explore now

He hungrily covered herinto his back Abruptly she broke off the kiss, her shoulders heaving "Jason, please…I want you"

He didn’t need any further encouragement…

"Okay, so far?" he asked so her assurance The pleasure was so keen it was al flashed and thunder rolled, punctuating their love wail of pleasure as her senses caught fire, exploding into a ave herself to the storht

Afterward, when he, too, had reached coathered her in his arms, and they were silent, words between the steadied

"I still have trouble believing how good this is," Charlotte whispered "Making love, I mean"

Jason kissed the crown of her head "It always has been"

"Not in the beginning"

"It was," he said "Because you let me try to prove how much I love you"

Charlotte was quiet for a mo love, on their honeymoon, had left her frustrated and in tears She was convinced Jason hadher He wouldn’t allow her to criticize herself, though His patience astonished her and gave her the courage to keep trying

She’d struggled with her inadequacies, silently condeht of their stay, they’d broken through the restraints andlove Charlotte had wanted everything to be ically different from then on, but that would have been unrealistic Her fears were unpredictable and continued to be for weeks But now, fourJason was the most incredible experience of her life

Tears slipped down Charlotte’s cheeks as she recalled the first weeks of their ive up, his love

"You’re crying," he whispered, his lips against her hair

"You’re not supposed to notice"

"But I have Are you going to tell led to hold back the tears "In a htful frown "Is it so with Bill?"

Bill was her counselor; she saw him twice a week She shook her head "You pro because I’m so happy"

"Happy," Jason repeated slowly "But if you cry when you’re happy, what do you do when you’re sad?"