The Purple Heart Read Online Free Page B

couldn’t with most other people. It was
one of the reasons why I was so good at my job.
    When dinner was finished, he thanked me
for a home-cooked meal, offering me a bit too much praise, which
made me blush again, and then we proceeded to clear the table
together.
    I grabbed our glasses and an unopened
bottle of wine, and we moved over to the couch in my family room. I
was really enjoying having company. This might actually turn out to
be beneficial for both of us.
    I thought it might be a good time to
work with him, now that he seemed to be much more at ease. He was
still work, no matter how much I was enjoying spending time with
him.
    “ So, can you tell me more
about what happened?”
    “ You mean, why I’m not
still over there?”
    I nodded. He immediately tensed up and
sat straight back against the couch. He looked like a
mannequin.
    “ Not yet. I’m not ready to
talk to you about that. Is that okay?”
    “ It most certainly is. This
is on your timeframe. So when you feel more comfortable.” I smiled
and placed my hand on his to let him know I meant it. We had plenty
of time to talk, so I certainly didn’t need to rush him. I didn’t
want to. I needed to take things slowly with him. I wanted him to
trust me.
    Before I even realized it was
happening, we had begun gravitating toward each other on the couch.
I’m not sure if it was the wine or the company. It was probably a
little bit of both.
    He became quiet, and just looked into
my eyes. I just couldn’t look away. I was lost there. The pull
towards him was unstoppable and I felt myself start to lean in his
direction. He gravitated back. My breathing became shallow as we
inched closer and closer. Soon, we were so close that I could feel
his breath on me, and smell the sweet scent of him. I took in a
deep breath with the hopes of being able to taste him. He reached
up and cupped my cheek.
    “ You’re quite beautiful,
you know.” I had no words; I couldn’t speak and just waited, hoping
he would lean in and kiss me first; and he did. His soft lips
pressed against mine, and I felt the familiar humming that happened
every time we touched, along with the now fluttering stomach I had
recently acquired. I stayed perfectly still; afraid to let myself
go. He pulled back and looked at me.
    “ I’m not going to break,
you know. You can kiss me back, if you want to, of course. I can’t
remember the last time I actually kissed someone. I’m sorry. I
don’t mean to be so forward and don’t even know if you’re already
spoken for. Hope I’m not overstepping any boundaries.”
    That was all I needed to hear. I
reached up, twisted my fingers into his hair, and pulled his face
slowly back to mine without ever breaking eye contact. I kissed him
deeply, darting my tongue between his lips. He responded in kind
and our tongues began to swirl together. I felt light-headed, but
at the same time, I felt completely comfortable. I loved when a man
kissed the same way I did. We were completely in sync.
    We became lost in our kiss, his hands
encircling the back of my neck, holding my face to his; holding us
in our kiss. I was in heaven. I moved closer to him so our bodies
were touching more. It felt like we had been together for years
instead of just having met. We spent some time locked in this
embrace, the rest of the world forgotten.
    I couldn’t believe I was letting this
happen, but I had no strength to do anything about it. I wanted it.
I wanted him, all of him. I hoped I could find the restraint to
stop, since there was just something about this man that made all
my defenses and common sense dissolve. Was there truly such a thing
as love at first sight? I was teetering on the edge of
falling.
    Our kisses became deeper, more
passionate, and I felt him start to lean me to a more horizontal
position. I didn’t resist and allowed him to shift me so I was flat
on my back. He crawled on top of me and we started to become more
aggressive. He began to grind his hips into