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

Emma bit her lip as she slowly sat down on the end of the sofa. She didn’t know how she was going to bear it if Daniel told her it had been the stress of the moment that had made him say that he loved her. People said all sorts of things they didn’t mean when they were under pressure, after all.

‘Emma, about what I said before—’ he began, but she didn’t let him finish, couldn’t bear to hear him say the words that once again would rip open her heart.

‘I understand, Daniel. Really I do.’ She gave a light laugh and saw him frown.

‘You do?’

‘Of course. You were under a huge amount of strain. It’s perfectly understandable if you … well, if you said something you didn’t really mean.’

‘So you think that I didn’t mean it when I said that I loved you?’

His tone was so devoid of expression that Emma found it impossible to guess what he was thinking. She shrugged, not wanting him to suspect how difficult this was for her. She loved him so much, had even planned to tell him that, but now she realised how foolish it would be. She simply couldn’t bear to put herself in the position of having her heart broken all over again.

‘I think it’s perfectly natural that you reacted to the stress of the moment. People say the strangest things when they’re under pressure.’

‘I see. And you’re not angry that I said what I did?’

‘Of course not! We’ve all said things we’ve regretted, Daniel. It’s part and parcel of being human, so please don’t worry about it.’

‘It’s kind of you to take that view,’ he said gruffly.

Emma frowned when she heard the roughness in his voice. He sounded upset but why should he be when she had offered him the perfect escape route? It was very strange but before she could work out what might be wrong, he stood up.

‘I think I’ll try and snatch a couple of hours’ sleep or I’ll be fit for nothing.’

He left the room before Emma could stop him. She followed him into the hall but he had already gone upstairs. She made her way to her room and lay down on the bed, fully clothed. She had done the right thing, she assured herself, given Daniel the let-out he’d needed. He didn’t love her and it would have been a mistake to let herself believe that he did. Tears trickled down her cheeks but she didn’t try to stop them. She needed to cry out all the disappointment and put it behind her if she was to get on with her life.

The sound of the door suddenly opening made her jump. Pushing herself up against the pillows, she stared at Daniel in surprise. ‘Daniel! What is it?’

‘I’m probably about to make a complete and utter fool of myself but there is no way that I can let this go.’ He came over to the bed and glared down at her. ‘I didn’t tell you that I loved you because I was under pressure, Emma—far from it. For the first time in a long while I was thinking clearly. Letting you go five years ago was the hardest thing I have ever done. Not a day has passed since then when I haven’t wished that I could have done things differently. I love you, Emma. That’s the plain and simple truth. It might not be what you want to hear but it’s what I need to tell you.’

He spun round on his heel and strode out of the door but there was no way that Emma was prepared to let him leave after making such a mind-blowing statement. She scrambled off the bed and ran after him, catching up with him on the landing. ‘Daniel, wait! You can’t come barging into my room and tell me that and then just. storm back out!’

‘Better I do that than commit another sin,’ he ground out, his eyes blazing into hers in a way that made a shaft of heat sear through her.

Emma felt her breath catch when she saw the expression in his eyes. It wasn’t anger that had driven him to such extremes of emotion, she realised, but desire, desire for her. Her hand half lifted in a gesture that could have been interpreted either way, as a rejection or as an invitation. Even she wasn’t sure what it meant, but then Daniel took a step towards her so that she could feel the heat of his body burning into hers, and her mind was suddenly crystal clear. She wanted him. Only him.

Her arms wound around his neck at the same moment as he reached out and hauled her towards him so that their bodies collided with a small thud, as though they had been struck by a mini-earthquake. Emma could feel the aftershocks rippling through her, tiny flurries of sensation that made her feel wonderfully alive. As her fingers buried themselves in the crisp dark hair at the nape of Daniel’s neck, she murmured softly—sounds, not words—because forming anything as difficult as a word was beyond her, but Daniel seemed to understand what she meant anyway.

His mouth found hers, his lips parting hers so that he could plunder her mouth, and she groaned. There was nothing gentle about the kiss, nothing tender. It was as though every scrap of raw passion had been distilled into this one kiss, so that she was breathless when it ended, her body throbbing, her mind numb, her heart awash with emotions.

‘Emma, my sweet, sweet Emma.’

His voice was hoarse as he gently laid her down on the carpet and started to undo the buttons down the front of her shirt. Emma would have loved to help him but her hands wouldn’t respond. They were locked around his neck, her fingers still buried in his cool crisp hair, and they refused to let go. She just