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His intake of air was audible in the quiet rooed was more like it When he reached her, he touched the uninjured side of her face with one hand and placed his other hand on her waist He didn’t have to draw her to hi with the first kiss

His ainst hers Her mouth parted for him im and achingly faainst her thighs Her brsts flattened against his shirt Wanting heated her blood andfor him to touch her everywhere She tilted her head and wrapped her arainst hers She closed her lips around hiroan When he did the sa clear down to her belly Her brsts swelled, as did that place between her legs

He dropped both hands to her waist, thenover bare skin He explored the curve of her hps before slipping around to graze his fingertips along the curve of her butt The sensation was as ticklish as it was exciting and she shivered

He kissed his way down the side of her neck Warm, damp lips teased her skin He licked the skin just below her earlobe, then nipped and asp Then he bent lower and took her left nipple in hisher into his h her whole body She had to hold on to Ethan to stay standing Over and over he sucked and licked and then blew on her damp skin She shuddered in response As he s and found her das Hethat one swollen spot over and over Then he dropped to his knees, parted her with his fingers and kissed her intiht amount of pressure The steady rhyths shook and she could barely stand When he thrust a finger inside her, she had to bend over and put her hand on his shoulders to stay upright

Stop He had to stop They could go to the bed and lie down and then she would…

Only she didn’t want hi about the moment was so perfect Not when her rew and she knew she was closer and closer There was only the man and how he made her feel There was only the sensation and pressure and tension and need He closed his mouth over her cltand sucked At the sahtly and stroking the very center of her body

She caasp his name Shudders of release claimed her He touched her until she had drawn the last drop of pleasure, then caught her as she collapsed into his arht," he whispered into her hair

"Easy for you to say," she e that"

She looked into his dark eyes and set to her feet and walk to the bed, he had pulled off his clothes Together they drew back the covers, then she patted theto do to ht with hu"

LIZ AND ETHAN ARRIVED BACK AT her place about eight the following ht, she didn’t say anything

"Everyone slept fine," she relayed as she collected her purse

"Did you?" Ethan asked

"I did okay I wanted to check on theht, just to ht Maybe I didn’t exactly gethoood practice for when I’m old"

Ethan kissed her cheek "You’ll never be old"

"I wish"

"Thanks for staying here," Liz said, hugging her

"After what you’d been through, you needed a break I’ around town, followed by lunch and aout with them Liz did her best to act normal so none of the kids would suspect that she and Ethan had behaved likeabout sex meant she didn’t have to think about her attacker

Since she didn’t knohatlove with Ethan had meant, there was no reason to talk about it Not that she would anyway But it was difficult not to think about it or try to assign various ether It was a bit stressful, so by Monday she was ready to have her life back

Unfortunately, the town didn’t cooperate She spent the day fielding visitors who stopped by to check on her About ten-thirty, after her doorbell rang for the fifth tiet any work done At least not that day

She already had a collection of casseroles in the freezer, salads in the refrigerator and enough cookies to make the kids do the happy dance for weeks When the doorbell rang again, she braced herself for yet another visit where they would discuss her stalker fan, relive the attack, her rescue and crow over the fact that because she’d been in Fool’s Gold when it had happened, all ell She wasn’t expecting to find Dakota and Tyler on the porch

"What’s going on?" she asked

Dakota held up a hand "Don’t panic Everything is fine I was heading into tohen Tyler said he wanted to come home and talk to you"

Liz looked at her son He staredabout the set of his shoulders that made her worry

"Okay That’s fine" She opened the door wider

Dakota looked curious, but only said, "You can take him back to camp later if you want or have him stay home Just phone the office and let us knohich"

"I will," Liz promised

Dakota waved and left

Liz followed her son into the living roo he turned to face her

His dark eyes, so like Ethan’s, were bright with e his thoughts, then spoke

"You should have roan Not exactly a turn she expected the conversation to take, and not a concept she looked forward to explaining

"Is this about what that wo her best to sound calet lared at her "I wanted to knowand you wouldn’t tellIt’s not fair" His voice escalated exponentially

"Okay, if we’re going to have this conversation, we’re going to sit down and we’re going to speak cal to you"

"Fine," he grumbled and collapsed on the sofa, his arms folded across his chest

She sat on the coffee table in front of hi each other

"When I found out I was pregnant, I was terrified I was only four years older than Melissa Do you think she’s ready to be a mom?"

He shook his head but didn’t speak

"I cairl And I was hurt and confused, so I left"

"You should have stayed You should have tried harder"