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

a couple of brief affairs before she had met him, but nobody had ever made her feel as loved and as cherished as Daniel did. When his hand began its upward journey, retracing the route it had taken, she closed her eyes, relishing the touch of his fingers as they glided over her skin. She knew that she had given in to temptation and that she might regret it later, but at that moment it didn’t seem to matter. All she wanted right now was to feel: his hand on her thighs, on her belly, her breasts….

Desire shot through her, red-hot and urgent, when his hand was replaced by his mouth as he took her nipple between his lips and suckled her, and she gasped. She had forgotten how intensely Daniel could make her feel, how he could carry her to a peak of need and then take her even higher. No man had ever done that apart from him. No man ever would.

Pain lanced her heart at the thought but there was no time to dwell on it because his mouth had moved to her other breast. Once again there was that surge of desire that made her stomach muscles clench and her senses reel. When he raised his head, Emma was no longer capable of thinking, only feeling, and he must have realised that. His mouth skimmed up her throat and captured hers in a kiss so raw, so filled with passion that it seemed to consume her totally. She could barely breathe when he drew back but, then, neither could he. They looked at one another for a long moment and she could see the same wonderment in his eyes that she knew must be in hers.

‘Emma, I …’

He stopped and shook his head, although whether it was because he couldn’t find the words to describe how he felt or because he was reluctant to say them, she wasn’t sure, and maybe it was for the best. Even though she had no idea what would happen later, she knew that this wasn’t the start of something more. Passion was one thing but love was something completely different and she knew for certain that Daniel didn’t love her.

Tears filled her eyes but she blinked them away. She refused to cry. The past was over, the future unknown; it was the here and now that mattered. When Daniel stood up and stripped off his clothes, she focused on the moment, nothing more. And when he lay down beside her and took her in his arms, she let their passion sweep her away to a place where nothing else existed except her and Daniel and the magic they were creating together.

The air was cool when Daniel awoke the following morning. The central heating hadn’t switched on yet and the temperature had dropped considerably through the night. Leaning over, he carefully drew the quilt over Emma’s shoulders, resisting the urge he felt to kiss her awake. They had made love several times during the night and it wouldn’t be fair to wake her when she needed to sleep.

He sighed as he swung his legs out of bed and stood up. Had it been fair to make love to her in the first place? Last night he’d been carried away by his desire for her but now it was time to face up to what he had done. He had made love to Emma when he had known in his heart that it was the last thing he should have done. It made no difference that she had been as eager and as willing as he’d been; he should have had the strength to resist temptation. He would never forgive himself if he ended up hurting her through his selfishness.

Daniel’s heart was heavy as he made his way to the bathroom. Switching on the shower, he let the hot water pound down on his head and shoulders. However, if he’d hoped that it would wash away some of the guilt he felt then he was disappointed. Last night shouldn’t have happened and there was no excuse for his actions. All he could do now was to try and lessen the damage he may have caused.

He went to his room and dressed then made his way to the kitchen. As soon as the kettle boiled he made himself a cup of instant coffee and sat down at the table while he tried to work out how he should handle things. So much depended on how Emma felt about the situation, of course. Would she be stricken with guilt too? He hoped not. Emma wasn’t to blame for the fact that he had been unable to control himself!

‘Stop it, Daniel.’

The sound of her voice brought his head up. Daniel’s heart gave an almighty lurch when he saw her standing in the doorway. She was wearing a thick towelling robe and he knew without having to be told that she wasn’t wearing anything under it. Heat scorched along his veins and he cursed soundlessly. He couldn’t afford to dwell on thoughts like that when he had to make sure that Emma didn’t come to any harm.

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ he said, his voice sounding unnaturally gruff as he tried to work out how to salvage the situation.

‘Of course you do.’ She came into the room and stood in front of the table. ‘You’re sitting there, wallowing in guilt because of what happened last night, and it’s so typically arrogant of you.’

‘Arrogant?’ His brows shot skywards and he looked at her in surprise.

‘Yes.’ Resting her hands on the edge of the table she bent so that she could look straight into his eyes. ‘You didn’t coerce me into bed, neither did you have your wicked way with me. I made love with you because I wanted to. If I hadn’t wanted to, it would never have happened. Is that clear?’

‘Yes.’ He was so stunned by her forthright approach that he couldn’t think what else