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anything other than the arrival of a certain someone in Vernazza. Jake Alexander was the only one who could affect her in such a way.
    “Well, if you say so.” He tucked his cell back into his pocket, looking at her finally.
    “I’m fine. I’ll have a shower and get breakfast as soon as you leave and then I’ll phone the doctor. Now scoot so I can fill my empty tummy.”
    Carlos leaned over and kissed her chastely, appearing to buy into the lie before he stood.
    He grabbed his jacket and bag, which both sat up against the far wall. “Be good while I’m gone and call me if you need me. I’ll contact you later to see how you are.” Blowing her a kiss, he left quietly.
    Kate watched him leave, suddenly insecure about her actual feelings for Carlos. God! It was all so complicated. She liked him but she was starting to wonder if they were really suited. Over the last week, he’d shown a side of himself that made her uneasy. Something was niggling like a worm and it wouldn’t go away.
    Lying alone on the comfortable bed, her thoughts turned to someone else.
    She pulled the quilt higher just like her mother used to do when she was little. Right now, she needed the security it brought. Her head sank back into the feather pillow.
    “Where are you, Jake? What are you trying to do? Please stop. I can’t go through it all again. I’m stronger now. I won’t let you get close to me again.” Her eyes closed.
    Defiant of the pledge and as if separate from her body, her mind was lost to memories she’d fought to contain.
     
    “You do things to me, Kate, that I’ve never felt before. Your very presence drives me mad with longing. When I look into your eyes I see you. I really see you. It’s more than lust. It’s more than love. It’s bigger than both of us.” His hand fisted in the back of her hair as his full lips crushed hers, not asking but taking, driving her to the edge.
    “Ooooh, Jake!” The force of his mouth on hers left no room for anything else. This man that had stolen her heart with such speed and vigor was the other half of her. He was her world. Her lips felt bruised as she clung to him, needing more. There was no start and no end to them. His body felt an extension of hers.
    As Kate broke the kiss to look at his perfect face, she melted at the sight of him. Eyes glazed and half shut, breath raspy and ragged, lips swollen from the pressure of the kiss. He was every bit the Adonis. She loved how much he wanted and needed her.
    “I couldn’t bear to ever lose you, Kate. We belong together.”
    His vibrant blue eyes sent riveting ripples of pleasure into her.
    Kate’s finger traced his juicy bottom lip as he nipped the pad with his teeth. His hot breath tickled the tip. “You’ll never have to find out, my love. It’s you and only you. I’ll never love anyone else the way I love you. I’ll never leave you.” She truly meant it. How could she ever love another this way? Most people would never experience what they had together. It was a gift. She would never take it for granted.
     
    Spiraling back to reality when a door in the adjacent villa slammed, Kate found herself wet with perspiration and aroused. Had she gone back to sleep? It was hard to know the difference when Jake infiltrated her thoughts.
    Pulling the covers off she walked a little unsteadily to the ancient window and opened it wide, letting aromas from the restaurant on the corner seep in. Suspiciously, she took in the entire length of the street below the apartment, wondering if Jake was watching and waiting.
    Broken promises tugged at her heart. She gripped the window ledge.
    “I won’t let you do this to me. I won’t! You need to get out of my head. More importantly, you need to get out of my body!”
    As if drifting in with the fresh smell of tortellini, four little words formed in her mind that had her slamming the windows shut and storming into the kitchen to make that coffee that Carlos had intended to get before she