Page 51 of Fire and Rain
She rested her head against his chest in a way that was unmistakably intimate, unleashing an answering pull inside him.
God, he wanted her.
Worse, he was beginning to think she wanted him, too.
He rested one hand on the curve of her hip, splayed the other across the bare skin of her upper back, the contact setting him on fire. He nuzzled her ear, breathed her in, felt her shiver.
What thehellwas he doing? Eden was Justin’s wife.
No, she was his widow. She was alone now.
Justin is gone.
And just like that, Sean found himself balanced on a razor’s edge, torn between past and present, right and wrong, duty and desire.
Did she know what she was doing to him?
All too soon the music ended, and she took a step back and looked up at him. There, in her eyes, he saw the same desire, the same need.
She took another step back, stood on her tiptoes, and pressed a timid kiss to his lips that he felt down to his bones. “Thanks for the dance.”
Thinking he’d walk her back to her table, he took her left hand in his. Then he felt the warm gold of her wedding set. He raised her hand, turned the white gold band with his thumb, the sight of it bringing reality back into focus. “I remember handing this to Justin to slip on your finger at your wedding. Thanks for the dance.”
Then he released her hand and walked back to his table, leaving her on the dance floor.
* * *
Eden settledMaverick in his crib, drew his blanket up to his chin. Spending an evening at his Baba’s house with his cousins had worn him out. She turned off the light, left his door open a crack, and walked to the kitchen to pour herself a drink.
What had she done?
She hadn’t known Sean was going to be there, and she certainly hadn’t gone to his table to ask him to dance. But the way his gaze had moved over her had been as intimate as a caress. Desire had been written on his face so plainly that her sisters had seen it from across the room. Eden had found it hard to breathe, her belly in flutters. And so, she’d asked him to dance.
She knew now that Sean cared for her. She knew he was attracted to her. Any doubts she’d had about that were gone.
The way he’d held her… The heat in his eyes afterwards...
It had left her shaken—and wanting more.
Had he meant to touch her engagement ring and wedding band, or had that been an unhappy accident?
I remember handing this to Justin to slip on your finger at your wedding.
Afterwards, she’d stood alone on the dance floor and watched him walk away, wanting desperately to call him back or go after him. But she’d known better. Asking him to dance, kissing him in the middle of the pub—she’d pushed him.
You’ll be lucky if you see him again this summer.
She took off her heels, mixed herself a rum and coke, and sat at the table, her gaze falling on her rings. She’d melted when Justin had surprised her at the beach with the half carat oval solitaire. The moment he’d slipped the wedding band on her finger had been one of the happiest of her life. She’d sworn in the days after his death that she would never take the rings off her finger. But she hadn’t known she’d one day have feelings for Sean.
She set her drink down, drew a breath—and slipped the rings from her finger. Maybe she could wear them on a chain or put them on her right hand. “I love you, Justin, and I miss you so much. But I have to keep living. I know that’s what you’d want.”
She set the rings down, blinked back her tears, and got to her feet, suddenly needing air. She carried her drink outside to the front porch. The air was rich with the scent of the sea, a light rain beginning to fall. She took one deep, slow breath after the other, her emotions in turmoil.
The rain fell harder, fog concealing the mountaintops.
It’s raining as hard as a cow pissing on a flat rock.
That’s what Justin would’ve said.
