Passion Never Dies Read Online Free PDF Page B

lamely.
    “Diana, is there something wrong?”
    Suddenly on alert, Diana forced herself to sound more normal. She suddenly decided that now was not the right time to bring up Jake. She needed to see Richard and talk to him in person. She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
    “No, it’s just that I’m kind of tired right now. I think I should call it a night.”
    “All right,” Richard replied reluctantly. “Sweet dreams, Diana. I’ll see you soon.”
    “Good night, Richard,” she said softly and disconnected.
    Diana laid her head back on the sofa cushion and closed her eyes. She knew she was being a coward. She couldn’t bring up Jake for the life of her, but she was determined to tell Richard on Saturday. He was a good man and deserved honesty from her, but she wasn’t sure if she was brave enough to tell him.
    Diana touched her lips with her fingertips. She could still feel Jake’s lips on hers and feel his probing tongue. She had never experienced that kind of pleasure with Richard’s kisses. Jake’s kiss had shaken her to the core and she had ached for more.
    Jake was an obsession that she had subdued so successfully over the years that she had almost forgotten him except in her dreams every once in a great while. Now he was back and she didn’t know how to control her awakened feelings for him. It had been only one night, a snippet of time really, but she knew that Jake had forever etched himself into her memory. Now fate had given her a second chance to find out if he was more than just the man who had haunted her dreams - but was she ready to find out?
    Diana stood and walked down the short hallway leading into her bedroom. She was a firm believer that everything happened for a reason, but she also knew that if she made the wrong choice she would pay dearly and hurt someone who deserved her loyalty.
    Why did Jake have to come back into her life at all? She shook her head as she sat on her bed and sighed. Nine years ago, her teenage self had been frightened by the intense attraction she felt for him. After the encounter at the beach, she had decided to firmly ignore the urge to find him, despite the longing ache that had plagued her the rest of the summer. Two months later, she had moved into her college dormitory, determined to focus solely on her new academic life. She had studied hard and had achieved good marks and had even managed to have a relatively active social life.
    Everything had been going so smoothly in her life until now. She and Jake had a history and history was repeating itself. She was extremely wary of the sexual power he had over her and of the overwhelming attraction that overrode her common sense. It would have been far better and less complicated if Jake had stayed firmly in the past.
    ~
    “Miss Mulroney!!” screamed a child’s voice, “he won’t share!”
    Diana looked up from her crouched position where she was tying a child’s shoes and saw a little four-year-old boy pouting a few feet away from her.
    “Shane, please don’t yell. Jacob, come here,” she ordered firmly.
    A little blond boy with a mischievous smile approached her holding a toy fire truck tightly to his chest.
    “Jacob,” said Diana gently but firmly, “you must share the toys with your classmates.”
    “Don’t want to,” replied Jacob impudently.
    “If you don’t share, you don’t get to play with the fire truck,” said Diana and held out her hand for the truck.
    Jacob shook his head stubbornly. Shane, a dark-haired, four-year-old boy approached Jacob.
    “I wanna play with truck, too,” Shane said, still pouting.
    “Ask nicely, Shane,” instructed Diana.
    “Please, can I play, Jacob?”
    Jacob looked at Diana. Then he looked at Shane. He hesitated for a few seconds and then nodded his head reluctantly. Diana patted Jacob on the head and smiled.
    “Good boy, Jacob,” she said and watched the two boys scamper away.
    Diana stood up and scanned her colorful classroom, crossing