‘‘I like to think I deserve you. You made me feel . . . desired. That’s not even the word.’’ She pressed a hand to her still speeding heart. ‘‘Craved,’’ she realized. ‘‘Craved. And now I’m sorry . . .’’ Her gaze flicked away from his. ‘‘I’m sorry for any woman who’s never known what it is to be craved.’’

‘‘I scared you.’’

‘‘For a minute.’’ Mortified, she blew out a breath. ‘‘Damn it, Ethan, do I have to tell you that I liked it? I felt helpless and overpowered and it was so exciting. You lost control, and you have this incredibly unshakablecontrol most of the time. I liked knowing that something I did, or something I am, snapped it.’’

He pulled his hand through his hair. ‘‘You confuse me, Grace.’’

‘‘I don’t mean to. But I don’t think that’s such a bad thing, either.’’

He let out a sigh, then stepped forward just enough that he could smooth her tousled hair into place. ‘‘Maybe the trouble is we’ve been thinking we know each other so well. But we don’t have all the pieces.’’ He picked up her hand, studied it with that thoughtful frown she loved. Then he kissed her fingers in a way that made her lashes flutter.

‘‘I don’t ever want to hurt you. In any way.’’ But he had, and he would.

He kept his hand in hers as he walked her back toward the sunlight. He would have to tell her about those pieces of himself soon. So she would understand why he couldn’t give her more.

FIFTEEN

‘‘ SO, I DON’T KNOW IF I’m going to go out with him anymore because he’s getting way too possessive, you know? I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but you gotta live, right?’’

Julie Cutter crunched into the shiny green apple she’d plucked out of the fruit bowl in Grace’s kitchen. She felt every bit as much at home there as she did next door. Comfortable, she hitched herself up to sit on the counter while Grace folded laundry on the table.

‘‘Plus,’’ Julie went on, gesturing with her apple, ‘‘I met this incredibly cute guy. He works at the computer store at the mall? He wears these little metal-frame glasses and has the sweetest smile.’’ She grinned, lighting up her pretty heart-shaped face. ‘‘I asked him for his phone number, and he blushed.’’

‘‘You asked him for his phone number?’’ Grace was listening with only half an ear. She loved it when Julie came over just to visit. She was always so full of fun and talk and energy. But today it was hard to concentrate. Her mind was so full of what had happened between her and Ethan in those shady woods. What had leapt out of him to devour her—and why it had left him so distant afterward?