What Might Have Been Read Online Free PDF Page B

and fingers, had stolen the joy from the moment.
    It was almost as if her body had been lying dormant all these years, waiting for him to return and spark her pilot light.
    She resented it.
    And yet, she’d take it as a sign that her life was finally starting up again, as well.
    Tears rolled down her face, plopping quietly onto the ground at her feet. She cried for what they’d had, what they’d lost and the future they’d never had the opportunity to explore.
    She was alone and she let them go. Better here, now, surrounded only by the orchard, than later with Gran. Or Luke.
    At least she thought she was alone, until his arms came around her.
    She knew immediately that it was him. Her body responded in the primitive way only he seemed to force from her.
    Even as her shoulders strained toward him, she pulled her spine away.
    â€œWhat are you doing?”
    â€œHolding you.”
    â€œI didn’t ask you to.”
    â€œYou didn’t have to.”
    His strength was more than she could fight. Giving in, Ainsley let herself go slack in his arms. Their bodies collided, shoulders to chest, breasts to abs, knees to thigh. She let him take her weight, her arms lax at her sides.
    His heat enveloped her, warmth surrounding her. It should have been uncomfortable in the oppressive air. It wasn’t.
    Twisting her head, she laid her cheek on the swell of his chest. She realized her tears had stopped almost as suddenly as they’d started.
    His chin rested on the crown of her head. She could feel the brush of his lips against the strands of her hair. She shouldn’t be able to feel such a minute sensation, but somehow everything the man did registered in her brain. On her body.
    She sucked in a heavy breath. He smelled of the night. Dark. Different. More wild in a way, and yet somehow still the same.
    â€œTell me why you’re crying.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œIt’s private.”
    He paused and shifted against her.
    â€œThere was a time when you could tell me any thing.”
    â€œThere was a time when I didn’t have to. You already knew. That time is gone.”
    She began to push back, leaning more heavily into the tree behind her.
    And yet, he wouldn’t let her go. Instead, he followed her, this time pressing his body into hers instead of the other way around.
    His hold had changed, gone from comforting to wanting in the space of a few breaths. She could feel it in the tension of his muscles, the edge of leashed anticipation that coursed beneath the surface of his skin.
    The same sensation surfed through her own blood now.
    He reached down and wiped a single finger across the blade of her cheekbone. It came away wet with the traces of her tears.
    At his touch, a shiver rocked her from her scalp to the soles of her feet, leaving lightning licking across her skin.
    He didn’t wait for her response; instead, he leaned in and placed his lips on the point his finger had just traced, at the edge of her hairline.
    His breath was warm on her face. She could smell the bitter dregs of coffee and the sweet tinge of sugar. He’d taken a cup upstairs with him after dinner.
    She sucked in a breath as the tip of his tongue darted out to trail the smallest line across her cheekbone and straight to her lips.
    She could taste the salt of her tears on his tongue as he followed the line of her closed lips.
    She couldn’t help it. She opened for him, gasping in anticipation and denial.
    He moved immediately, taking more than she’d ever thought to offer. In one fleeting moment his kiss went from gentle and soothing to hard and demanding.
    His hands wrapped around the nape of her neck, bowing her up and bringing her closer to his body. She could feel all of him. The powerful, lean muscles beneath his skin. The strength he hid behind his corporate facade. The proof of his desire, long and hard between them.
    He fused his mouth to hers, pushing in and taking