Summer of Love by Marie Ferrarella (easy to read books for adults list .TXT) 📕

“What do you have to do?” Clint asked.

If he was smart, he’d say his goodbyes right now before he got caught up in some kind of sentimental voyage that would end with him dragging her back to his place.

“I thought we might go back to my house for a little while.”

He waited for her to tack a valid reason on to the end of that phrase. But she didn’t. Instead, she simply waited for him to respond to the request. One that had come right on the heels of her other shocking comment.

He should end it right now. Cut her short before she could say anything else with a brusque, “Not a good idea and you know it.”

Right. He could no more bring himself to say something like that than the moon could grow an oxygen-rich atmosphere. Or maybe it could, because right now he was having trouble catching his breath and his head felt like it was ready shut down.

He glanced back at the markers, Larry’s name biting deep into his senses and grinding them into something he no longer recognized. Needing to get away before it took another chunk from him, he said, “Sounds good. Are you ready?”

“Do you want to follow me back?”

Honey, I’d follow you anywhere, if I could.

Maybe things weren’t as dire as he’d painted them. Would it be so bad if he and Jessi somehow tried to make a go of things?

That paper on his desk came to mind. He could just tear it up and dump it in his waste can, and no one would be the wiser.

The thought grew as they walked to the parking lot together. With no one else around, Clint took her hand again, gripping it with an almost desperate sense of reverence. This woman did it for him. She met him right at his point of deepest need. And she had no idea.

And if she wanted to go back to her place and discuss Chelsea’s case, he was going to be crushed with disappointment. Because he wanted her. In the past. Right now in the present. And in the days that stretched far into the future.

Whether or not any of that was possible was another matter. But maybe he shouldn’t worry about leaping right to the end of this particular book. Maybe he should turn one page at a time and savor each moment as it came.

Because who knew how long anything in this life was going to last? Wasn’t today a reminder of that?

He saw her to her car and smiled when he did the exact same thing young Paul had done. Opened her door for her and then leaned across it. Only instead of saying something, he kissed her. Right on the mouth. Right in the middle of a public parking lot.

And he didn’t give a rip who saw him.

One page at a time. And he was loving the current chapter because, instead of a quick peck and retreat, Jessi’s lips clung to his for several long seconds. When he finally forced himself to pull back, she gave him a brilliant smile. “I think we’re on the same page.”

A roll of shock swished through him. Coincidence. It had to be. Unless Jessi had suddenly become a mind-reader.

Then again, he found it pretty damned hard to hide his feelings from this particular woman. They bubbled up and out before he could contain them. That’s what had gotten him into trouble when they’d been in high school and again a couple of weeks ago. It was impossible to be near her and not want to touch her. Hold her. Make love to her.

He didn’t respond to her words, just said, “I’ll meet you at your house.” Because if he was wrong, if she wasn’t feeling the same deep-seated need that he was, he’d end up eating his words and feeling like a fool.

The fifteen-minute drive seemed to take forever, but finally she pulled into the driveway of her house. They got out of their cars and stared at each other for a minute before coming together.

Then he was reaching for her and dragging her into his arms, kissing her with a fervor he had no business feeling. But she kissed him back just as hard, her hands winding around his neck, going up on tiptoe so she could get closer.

Her tongue found his, leaving no doubt in his mind where her thoughts were headed. And that was fine by him, because his had been there for hours … weeks.

“Keys.” His muttered words were met with a jingle, then he swept her up in his arms and strode to the front door. “Unlock it.”

It gave him a thrill to note that her hands shook as she twisted around to do as he asked, because he knew his were trembling just as hard, along with every other part of his body. Half in anticipation of what was to come and half in fear that somehow it was all going to fall apart before they got inside … before he got the chance to strip her clothes from her body—in her bedroom this time—and drive her to the point of no return.

Because he was already there. There was no turning back from the emotions that were throbbing to life within him. He couldn’t bring himself to say them, so he would show her instead. With his mouth. With his hands.

With his heart.

And hope that somehow she’d be able to decipher their meaning.

He kicked the door closed, trying not to trip when Cooper suddenly appeared, barking wildly and winding around him. He let Jessi down long enough for her to let the dog out into the backyard before hauling her back up into his arms. This time he lifted her higher so that his mouth could slant back over hers, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of her thighs, her waist. Right on cue, her arms went back around