Page 76 of The Strength Of A Woman

I move my eyes to her plate.

“Are you done eating?”

“Yes, I am,” she says, her hand still in mine.

She looks at her plate, then at me, and quickly ponders something before she shifts in her seat, leans closer to me, wraps an arm around my neck, and presses her lips against my cheek, this time dangerously close to mine, sending a flash of heat through my body.

She stays there, lips next to mine, her breath searing my face, her body oozing heat against mine.

My arm snakes around her, and through the delicate cotton fabric, I feel her body pulsing with life.

Warm and eager to know more about me and this life.

I’m almost afraid to move my fingers. For fear of arousing her and myself, and ending everything in a way that both of us might regret.

But she still lingers…

And I relish her proximity and how she wraps her soul around mine like an ivy of tenderness.

She’s so starved for attention and love that I’d surely burn under her touch if she unleashed that blaze onto me.

“Thank you for everything. I love you, Callum. I always have.”

She breaks away from me and rises, her eyes connected with mine, while I stare at her, stunned.

A smile curls her lips as she says a few more words.

“I’ll be ready in a minute.”

Smoothly, she spins around and lets me enjoy her barefoot walk, her naked body barely visible through the long nightgown.

It’s still more than enough to awaken the type of raw craving I never thought I had in me.

Her hair almost touches her waist, and when she steps through the next door, the light highlights the gap between her thighs.

My blood starts howling, pooling fast between my legs, making me watch her with a full hard-on, which also makes me feel guilty and hungry for her.

This could be the greatest thing of all.

It could also be the end of us.

13

LEILANI

I’m soemotional when I leave the dining room that I can’t push down the lump lodged in my throat.

These things that have happened to me have changed my life in such a dramatic way that I have a hard time adjusting.

I slept like a baby last night.

And I never felt more rested in the morning.

One of his men informed me that Callum was out, and I should wait for his return.

The same man brought me breakfast from a nearby restaurant.

The food was delicious. Fruit, coffee, pastries. I asked for eggs, and they ordered them for me. Freshly squeezed lemonade, my favorite, and mineral water.