Don't Let Go by Sharla Lovelace

Author:Sharla Lovelace
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: Beyond the Page
Published: 2014-04-09T16:00:00+00:00

• • •

Everything froze.

Our eyes locked as the song played out, neither one of us moving a muscle, like that would hide us from the woman behind it. As it fell silent and reality seeped into every breath, there was a five-second moment when harsh awakenings landed hard. Noah closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine, letting go of my leg as I pulled his pants back up and let my arms fall to the sides.

I was mortified.

We broke our own rules. I had given in, heart, mind, body and soul—again. To a man who wasn’t mine to give it to.

“I’m sorry,” Noah said, under his breath, not lifting his head. His skin was hot against mine, or maybe that was just me projecting my own shame.

My body still ached with frustration and didn’t want him to get up. I wanted to stay wrapped up in him. But more than that, my heart ached over the walls I’d let him knock down.

“Oh, my God,” I whispered. “I am not this person. I’m not this woman.”

Noah lifted his head from mine and rolled to the side, making me instantly chilled and vulnerable. I sat up and pulled my tank top down, scooting backward to lean against the back of the couch and pulling the afghan into my lap. Noah watched my movements with a narrowed gaze, leaning on one elbow.

“What woman would that be?” he asked, his voice low and controlled.

I covered my face with my hands. “One that sleeps with a pregnant woman’s future husband.” I shook my head. “I don’t do this. I don’t even almost do this.”

He sat up facing me and pulled a hand away, holding on to it.

“Is that all it felt like to you? Sex?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because I was in a very different place.”

I closed my eyes and clenched my jaws tight to fend off the hurt in my chest. Remembering the connection we’d just had and the total surrender of my heart, the tender places in there that hadn’t been touched in twenty-six years. My hand fisted at my stomach like I could hold it all in if I pushed hard enough.

“Yeah, that,” he said, putting his hand over mine, making me open my eyes to look into his. “That right there.”

“Noah,” I said, my voice choking on his name.

“I know.”

Minutes that felt like slow motion passed as we sat and breathed and wallowed in misery.

“She’s become my friend, Noah,” I said, wiping my face with the afghan.

“I know,” he said again. “And I feel like the world’s biggest fucking prick right now. But it doesn’t change—” He closed his eyes and ran his free hand over his face, squeezing mine tighter. “It doesn’t change that I’ve thought of nothing but you since I got back to town, Jules. Last night, it was everything I could do not to pull you out of his arms on that dance floor.”

The memory of his eyes on me, raw and angry, made me swallow hard.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.