A Subtle Tenderness Read Online Free PDF Page B

Heath won two out of three games.  Heath had set a small fire and put on some instrumental music before promptly losing a game of scrabble to her.  Ophelia had warned him that scrabble was her game before she properly trounced him. 
    They joked and teased with each other throughout the games . Then something changed in the atmosphere between them.   Perhaps her guard was down, or she just needed to laugh, but she was having fun.  That awful tightening around her heart that she had harbored since her breakup was lifted.   Ophelia felt free and for the moment content.
    Sitting at the table facing each other, they both howled with laughter at something Heath said and then it happened.   Heath leaned in and kissed her.  Timidly at first, then again more aggressively and she wantonly kissed him back.  The kiss lingered and then ignited into passionate groping while Heath assaulted the tender recesses of her mouth. 
    It wasn’t until she heard herself moan with such desperate need and longing that she pulled away from him shocked.  Ophelia looked into uncertain eyes and she knew if he kissed her again she wouldn’t stop him.  She wanted him.  Her mind was asserting that she shouldn’t and all the hurt and disappointment that had clouded her heart for the last few months rushed back in. 
    “I can’t …. I …can’t do .. this.”  Ophelia stood up and moved to leave and he stopped her.
    “Ophelia, don’t go, let’s discuss this, I’m sorry I just…” Heath pleaded. 
    Shaking her head no she rushed into his bedroom and closed the door.   Ophelia remembered how good it felt to lay in his bed with his male scent surrounding her.  She thought of him just a few feet away.  Heath was a fine specimen of a man.  He felt so solid and strong when she fell into his embrace. 
    She had been in a drought for affection and being in his arms last night had awakened a need in her she thought Darnell had destroyed.   Best to keep her distance from Heath less chance she’d do something foolish.
      Ophelia was scared, confused and lord help her but she was aroused.   She could feel her sex weeping for the type of male attention Heath could provide.  Ophelia had never felt this magnitude of passion for Darnell.

Chapter Five
     
    Deciding to let Ophelia run away had been difficult.  He needed a second to think and sort out his own feelings.   Heath wanted her, needed to feel the warmth of her touch.  The sweet scent that he’d begun to recognize as her special fragrance surrounded him while they played chess and may have clouded his judgment. 
    He wanted to taste her lips and when the opportunity presented itself he did.  He couldn’t fight his feelings. Heath had been trying most of the day to get to know her and for her to learn more about him.  He wanted to impress her with his cooking and building skills and for the most part he felt he succeeded.
    It had been years since he tried to court a woman.  Most of the women he met were willing offerings to a man in uniform.  Ophelia was different, he wanted the sex with her but he felt an emotional connection to her.  Heath enjoyed talking with her, she was a very bright woman and she read him well.  More importantly he was interested in getting to know her. She was more to him than just a woman that would satisfy his manly needs.
    He ath heard the shower start which did not bode well for his imagination.  He could literally picture Ophelia sliding her soapy hands up and down her plump thighs.  He wanted those hands to be his; he wanted it bad. Heath walked to the kitchen and leaned against the fridge knowing it wasn’t a drink he wanted.   It was who he wanted that mattered.  The scent hit him as she opened both doors to the bathroom releasing the steam that was laden with her scent.  The gentle aroma of her scented soap called to him. 
    He ath had missed the subtle tenderness of a woman but he was not hardened to it. Heath had spent numerous