“Of course I understand, Amelia,” I said, handing her a tissue. Her eyes were rimmed with red and swollen. There’s not a woman alive who doesn’t understand the kind of sadness she wore on her face, and my heart ached for her. She hadn’t given me the whole story, but then she didn’t need to. I could see the details in her eyes. A husband who had hurt her… simply because he couldn’t control his baser desires…

“But I’ve ruined your dinner with Chris,” she said, her voice catching with emotion. “He said you two had plans tonight… and I…, and I…”

“And Chase is the kind of man who has his priorities straight,” I said, as comfortingly as I could. “You haven’t ruined anything. We can go out some other time. Right now, I’m glad to know he’s the kind of man who knows his place is here with you tonight.” I smiled and put a kettle of water on the stove for tea. “If you like, I could whip up something for you two right now, before I go. I’m pretty good in the kitchen,” I added, trying to tease a smile from her too.

She reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. But instead of letting go, she held on. “I can’t remember the last time Chris had a date,” she said kindly, taking a deep, shaky breath. “I’m glad he found you. He’s a good man,” she added, squeezing my hand again. “And he’s needed someone like you for a long time…”

She wiped her eyes and stood up, sniffing, but doing her best to smile. “Now, I think I’ve got some chops in the fridge… and a bottle of wine… I know how to throw a pretty decent salad together, if you can handle the rest.” She smiled even though her eyes were still bright with shiny tears. “Then we can all have dinner together.”

“I think she’ll finally sleep now,” Chase said quietly, coming up behind me as I ran a sinkful of water for the dishes. “I can’t thank you enough for being here with her… for making dinner… for understanding…” I added soap to the water and watched the silky lather build beneath the rising steam. Chase’s warmth was close behind me and I could feel a delicate shiver run up my spine.

“It was lucky we’d made the appointment,” I said, wiping a plate with the sponge and handing it off to him for rinsing. His wet fingers brushed mine. “I’m just glad you were already on your way. She needed you,” I said. “And you were really there for her. She seemed so much calmer by the time she went to bed.” He shifted his weight and his shoulder brushed mine. It was heavy, solid… comfortingly strong against mine.

“She’ll be fine,” he said softly. “Better still, once she’s divorced that asshole husband of hers. He told her he was willing to try to save their marriage. He’d promised he’d never touch another woman again… and then that fucking story comes out…”

“All the more reason she’s so lucky to have you,” I soothed. “She needs to know all men aren’t like Cliff.” I dried my hands on a terry cloth towel, screwing up my courage. Then I turned to face him… and put my hands on his chest. I could feel smooth, hard muscle under his shirt and it made me bolder. “Good men like you give all of us hope,” I said, looking up into the depths of his turbulent grey eyes.

“Emi…, I…”

“I know, I know…” I stood up on my tiptoes to press a kiss along the stubbled edge of his jaw. “You told me you weren’t exactly an angel,” I whispered. “But everyone has a past.” I ran one fingertip along his bottom lip and felt my legs go weak underneath me. “You’re a better man than you give yourself credit for… You wouldn’t be so kind to your sister if it wasn’t already there inside you…”

He took me in his arms and crushed me, flattening my breasts against his chest and shaping his hands around my waist… the curve of my hip. He stared into my eyes with his own, his face in shadow, his eyes dark and intense. “You make me want to believe,” he said, his mouth inches from mine, “when I touch you like this…”

He took me, kissing me until there was nothing left inside me but the single, burning need for more. One huge, powerful hand cupped my ass, holding me while he pressed his erection into my belly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave in, pressing back, tilting my hips to get closer… his fingers moved down, between my cheeks to brush the most tender flesh of all…

“This shouldn’t happen…,” he said, breathing softly into my mouth as he spoke. “You think you know me…”

“I know what I want,” I whispered back. His tongue touched mine and it sent a jolt straight to my core. “This is all I’ve been able to think about…” I gasped as his hand found my breast and squeezed.

“We started something we didn’t finish…,” he said in a voice that set me trembling in his hands.

“I know this isn’t the time… or the place. Your sister’s house…”

He pulled back, pausing for a moment and leaving me straining against him. His eyes were hooded and dark with a meaning I didn’t fully understand, but he smiled, and my heart pounded in response.

“No,” he said, running one hard fingertip over my sweater, over my breast… down to the waist of my jeans. He flicked the button open with a deft movement and unzipped me. His hand slipped inside… in my jeans… under my panties and curved around my sex, cupping me warmly. My breath was catching hard and fast and he put his other hand over my mouth. My eyes shot to his… He was still smiling.

“You’re right, honey girl,” he said, his voice quiet, but sinfully intense. “This isn’t the time or place.” He moved his fingers until he could slip two of them inside me and he smiled wider. “And you’ll have to be quiet if you want me to give you what you’re aching for.” He stroked a spot inside that made me want to cry out. I was already wet, but what he did made me flood and his slippery fingers worked even faster…

“You’ll have to wait for my cock, Emi,” he said in my ear. His mouth was hot, his breath making me even needier. “I won’t fuck you here… as much as I want you. Not here…,

But soon.” He took my lip in his teeth and held me, silencing me with his mouth when my breath got too loud. His cock ground against my hip, straining for freedom… the way I was aching to take him… His fingers were relentless and I could feel my panties, soaked and hot… “But if you can stay quiet now,” he went on, “I can give you enough… just enough to make the wait nearly bearable…” He knelt down in front of me and smiled up from my open jeans. “Quiet, but just for tonight… Not next time…

Not next time…”