Rekindled Read Online Free PDF

of delight flared through her when he slid his hand into her dress. Surrounded, her breast was warm, full, and straining against his hand. His thumb and forefinger met at a nipple, driving her higher. Did reason exist? At that instant she knew of only one road to satisfaction.
    “Come upstairs with me,” Ross said in a voice thick with need. “Let me love you. It’s been so long, princess.”
    Princess. It struck her that he had done the same thing she hadformed an image and held it through the years. In his mind she was still one step removed from royalty. But not in hers.
    She strained away from his hands. “Please stop, I can’t do this.”
    Aroused still and upset with herself, she trembled.
    “Can’t?” he challenged hoarsely.
    “Won’t,” she amended as she clutched at threads of composure. Eleven years ago she hadn’t refused him. Her virginity had never had a chance. But things were different now. She was different.
    “Why not, Chloe?”
    She heard hurt, but it didn’t make her relent. “I wish I could explain.”
    “Why can’t you? I’ve seen that pained look in your eyes. At those moments-at this moment-you do look unhappy. Is it something about me?
    Something about what happened eleven years ago?”
    For all of those eleven long years, Chloe had hidden a world of inner feelings from everyone around her. They were locked in tight. He could prod all he wanted, but they weren’t getting out.
    He spoke more gently. “Here. Sit down. I’ll make us some coffee. You can talk.”
    “I don’t want to talk. Some things are best left dead and buried.” She shuddered at her own choice of words.
    “Sit.” He nudged her into the chair she had left, and she sat, if only because her legs were unsteady. He proceeded to clear the table, rinse everything, and perk a small pot of coffee. She watched almost incidentally, her thoughts far off in a world of what-it’s. What if Crystal had won that toss of the coin? What if Crystal had set out to seduce Ross and been seduced herself.? What if Crystal had died anyway? Would Chloe feel the same guilt now?
    “How do you take it?” Ross asked, placing a steaming mug before her.
    “Black. Thank you.”
    After lacing his own with milk and sugar, he returned to his seat.
    Chloe tried to control her thoughts by speaking first. “You’ve come a long way in the business world since I saw you last, Ross. How did you manage it?”
    He smiled. “You mean, how did I manage the transformation from’far out’ to ‘far in’? The fact is, I never was all that ‘far out.’ I went my own way for a while. I avoided money. I grew a beard because there wasn’t modern plumbing where I was in Africa, and I didn’t want to have to shave at dawn by the riverside. I wore jeans because they were comfortable, same with loose shirts. I’d grown up in a world of rigid discipline. I wanted my freedom.”
    ““Rigid discipline’?” She realized again how little she knew of Ross.
    He eyed her with something akin to amusement. “Y’know, considering you slept with the man the first time you met him…”
    “That’s not fair,” she argued. “When we were together, I couldn’t think straight.”
    “History repeats itself,” he drawled, referring to what had happened moments earlier with a mischievous grin.
    Chloe didn’t like being ribbed. “You didn’t know any more about me that night.” But rather than turning the tables, she was more deeply incriminated.
    “Neither of us did much talking, did we?” Ross asked, clearly enjoying himself She shook her head. The only talking they’d done had been in soft moans and caresses. The attraction between them had been overpowering. “I want you to know that I don’t do that as a rule. I mean, I don’t make a habit of-“
    “-jumping into bed with every guy that comes along? I know that, Chloe.” He smiled gently. “I told you that we had something special. Do you think I sleep with every pretty woman I