Crazy in Love (Blue Lake #3)(52)

Her eyes fluttered closed and her stomach dropped.

“I’d say that it was hard to say goodbye,” he went on, “but that’s what had to happen. That’s what was best.”

As he cupped her chin in his hand and grazed his thumb over her cheek, Rachael bit back a whimper. They couldn’t be together. She’d known it all along. Too bad the knowledge couldn’t stop the pain.

“So this is goodbye?” she whispered, heart leaping into her throat.

“Not quite.”

He brought his lips down to hers and kissed her softly. Pinching her eyes closed, Rachael stood up on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck. And then she kissed him back. Really kissed him. Thanking him for showing her what she was missing in her life. Tenderly stroking his worries away with gentle sweeps of her tongue against the inside of his mouth.

She would be all right after this. After him.

She’d just have to make a solid break in her life. Pre and Post Cole Turner.

He pulled back, resting his forehead on hers. “That’s goodbye.”

She struggled to catch her breath and wrap her head around the fact that she might not ever see him again after tonight. He ghosted his hands over her hair, kissed the tip of her nose, and then released her from his grip.

He left. Turned away and walked out of the room.

Seconds ticked by in slow, thudding heartbeats.

“Wait!” she said.

He spun and they collided, their arms tangling as their mouths met. He wrapped his arms around her waist and bent her against him. She whimpered, melting into him and the bone-scorching heat of his kiss. As the blanket covering her shoulders fell to the hardwood, he cupped her chin and stroked her neck with feathersoft caresses. She still wore the dress from the concert, and as his hands dipped to her breasts, the spaghetti straps fell off her shoulders. He guided them down her arms, until the dress dropped to her waist, revealing her bare chest.

“Remember when I said before that I liked the color of your bra?” he mumbled, one hand palming her lower back and the other massaging her breast. “I did, but I prefer the color nude much better.”

The next few moments were a blur of senses. She feasted on his mouth, and shivered when he nipped at her bottom lip. She lost herself in his touch, the way his hands roamed over her body, awakening every nerve. She closed her eyes and breathed deep, awash in the rich, spicy smell of him. Fumbling close to ecstasy, she gripped fistfuls of his hair and crushed his mouth to hers.

His own passion must’ve been rising, because as their mouths parted, he yanked the shirt over his head, kicked off his shoes, and stepped out of his pants. To her surprise, he was naked beneath the denim.

“Do you always go Commando for concerts?” She found him hard and long and stroked the soft skin over his shaft.

He groaned into another kiss. “Not always.”

“Why this time?” She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“I thought I’d surprise you.” Grabbing her dress in both hands, he pulled and stretched the fabric until it shimmied down her hips and fell to the floor. When he saw that she hadn’t worn underwear either, he smirked. “What’s this?”

“Looks like we had the same idea about the concert’s after-party.”

He plunged his tongue into her mouth and kissed her with wild abandon. And as he tilted her head back, sliding his mouth over her neck in a heated rush, she took a mental snapshot of the moment. The two of them, naked, their bodies pressed together in the middle of the living room. Moonlight streaming through the windows. An empty hearth beside them and a fuzzy red blanket strewn over the chilled hardwood floor.