Leaning over her, he studied her for a long, breathless instant before he lowered his face to hers, his lips soft but persuasive. “This is all we have to do. It would be more than enough to have you sleep in my arms.”

“Why don’t we see what transpires and try not to worry too much about anything?”

“That sounds like a good plan to me.” He kissed her again, more insistently this time, his tongue seeking hers in deep thrusts that made her want so much more of him.

She took advantage of the opportunity to touch him, to learn the planes and textures of his muscular chest and arms.

Her touch seemed to inflame him, and he ended up on top of her as one kiss became two and then three. She couldn’t get close enough to him, even with her arms and legs around him, her fingers pressing into the muscles of his back as his lips and tongue continued to devour her. His arousal pulsed against her, hard and insistent, a reminder of where their heated kisses could be leading if she wanted to go that far.

It had been so long, so very, very long, since she’d wanted anything the way she wanted this man. With desire strumming through her entire body, setting her on fire with an almost painful need for more, she moaned against his lips.

He gasped as he broke the kiss. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lose control. It’s too much.”

“It’s not enough.”

Looking down at her, he appeared stunned by what she’d said. “Sarah…”

“I need you. I need more.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Charlie. Yes, I’m sure.”

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

After sneaking away from Carolina and Seamus’s wedding, Grant and Stephanie went home to their cozy cottage on Shore Point Road and talked for hours about all the things that had been on Stephanie’s mind for months now. With the floodgates open at last, the words poured out of her in a steady stream of worries and fears that she’d kept from him for so long that she was afraid he’d be hurt by her reluctance to share them with him.

“I can’t tell you how badly I wish you’d let me go through this with you, rather than feeling like you had to keep it from me,” he said when she finally ran out of things to say. They were curled up together on the sofa with lit candles on the coffee table casting a warm glow over the small room.

“You’ve had your own stuff to deal with, after the accident and everything. You were so undone by what happened that day, how you couldn’t save Dan and Steve, too, all while you were trying to finish the screenplay. I didn’t want to add to your burden.”

“You’re never a burden to me.”