Chapter 18

• Annabelle relishes that kiss as much as he does, for all of her pent-up frustration over him from the past few days explodes within her. She is caught up in the hurricane that is Nicholas. She takes as he is taking. She curls her arms around his torso, running her hands up his back, enjoying the firm delineation of his muscles as he moves with her. She nips at his bottom lip, aroused by the low moan that comes from the back of his throat. They press into each other, unable to get enough of each other's touch—the only thought running through her head is that she wants more.
• She's suddenly shocked back to reality like an angel losing her wings when she hears the boys cheering loudly in the family room at something to do with the basketball game. She pushes Nicholas back with two hands against his chest. She tries to catch her breath and her bearings by placing her hand against the wall and trying to steady herself. What the hell is she thinking? She's making out in the doorway at work. For the second time. What the hell is this guy doing to her? When she's around him, it's as if she's lost all sense of reality. She can't do this. She just can't. She's shaken. Really shaken. No one has ever elicited such a blatant carnal reaction from her, and it scares her.
• Nicholas stands across from her, calm as can be, keenly watching her. Why does she feel as if she has just run a marathon and he looks like he is an uninterested bystander? He exhibits no indication beyond his mussed hair of what has just occurred.