Echoes Of The Past (Fermosa Bay #1) by Iris Blobel Read Free Book Online Page A

were spectacular, clean and magic, no dust or fumes interfering with Mother Nature’s gift.
    The soft steps told him she came up beside him. He turned and placed a finger under her chin, pushing it up to meet his gaze. Her green eyes were beautiful, expressing the innocence of a woman growing up in a protected environment amongst friends like Jack and Ethan.
    “I know we’re on different platforms here. You’re dealing with the fact that your childhood sweetheart is back and turned into someone who’s not what you imagined him to be.”
    She laughed. “Just to make sure, we’re talking about you, right?”
    He chuckled, but then said, “I’m dealing with an attractive woman who makes me laugh and who I feel comfortable around. I can be myself, not someone coming from a rich family with a few pounds in the bank account.” He shook his head. “I’d never use you, Emily.”
    Her dark green eyes looked up at him from underneath her long eyelashes.
    “It’s something new for me to be attracted to someone within such a short time,” he said, “but hey, apparently I kissed you twenty years ago. There must be something about you that I cannot resist.”
    Her brows shot up. “What do you mean apparently ?”
    He smiled as he slid his hand to the nape of her neck and, placing the other around her waist, gently pulled her closer. Tenderly, he kissed one side of her mouth and then the other, before he slowly licked her lower lip with his tongue.
    He sighed and said, “I’d better go before I get carried away.”
    What he didn’t expect was Emily placing her hands on his chest, causing a wave of lust to rush over him. Rising to her toes, she touched his lips with hers and whispered, “Please let me have a happy ending to my crush.”
    Looking away for a moment, considering the consequences of his decision, he closed his eyes and tried to sort this feeling inside him. He’d no intentions to have sex with Emily because she wanted something that she’d created in her head. It’d end in trouble, not only for him, but for her as well. The burst bubble would haunt her for the rest of her life.
    Yet, there was something inside him he couldn’t ignore. Something which wasn’t simply lust. It was more. So much more. He liked Emily and felt completely at home around her. The safe harbour.
    Hesitating, he opened his eyes and stared right into hers. Her smile so beautiful, hoping for him to make a decision. The right decision, whichever way right was.
    And then he leaned in for another kiss, yet this one was deep and wanting. The taste of her, the sound of her little moan was the final straw, and he broke the kiss, took her hand, and gently tugged her into the house.
    “Where’s the bedroom?” he heard himself asking.
    When there was no answer, he looked over his shoulder. Emily blushed, pointing down the hall.
    “You want this, right?”
    She nodded.
    “What’s with the red cheeks and the silence?”
    A coy smile spread across her face, and with a shrug of her shoulder, she replied, “I’m nervous, I guess.”
    He cocked a brow.
    “I don’t know. I mean. After all these years, you arrived last week, and now we’re—”
    Connor let go of her hand and cupped her face. “Sunshine, I don’t…this is not…” Letting out a long breath, he leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m not the seven-year-old Connor anymore.”
    She laughed. “I most certainly hope not.”
    Caressing her cheeks with his thumbs, he said, “I’m not having sex with you. I don’t do one-night stands, but I need you to know, there’s no us at the end of this story of yours. My life is in London.”
    As soon as he’d spoken the words, he closed his eyes, wondering whether he’d said them for her sake or his own. Yes, his life was in London, but within only a week, he’d had so many occasions where he’d felt envy for Jack, Ethan, and her life here in Fermosa.
    Had it just been a matter of novelty?
    “I know,” she finally