Stacey Joy Netzel Boxed Set by Stacey Joy Netzel Read Free Book Online Page A

knee and brushed the palm of his other hand over the short-cut
blades of grass in the foot or so of space between them.
    “It tickles.”
    She realized he was talking about the grass.
Touching it. Feeling it.
    “And it’s cool,” he added. “I can feel the
moisture.”
    Peaceful . That’s the word. The
sensation resonated in his voice, seeped from his aura into
hers.
    He looked up suddenly and all thoughts of
peace fled from her mind. She’d never seen his eyes darker, and
when he spoke, his low voice soothed her tender heart.
    “It started yesterday when you touched my
arm. I was so startled by your words about the river being cold
that feeling your touch didn’t fully register until after you’d
left with John.”
    She smiled slightly. “It was rather
shocking.”
    His gaze held her captive; started her heart
on a race without a finish line.
    “I want to touch you, Melanie.”
    All she could manage was a nod.
    The muscles in his throat convulsed. “I’m
afraid.”
    “Of what?” she asked softly.
    “What if everything goes back to the way it
was before?”
    Her heart tripped, but she gathered her
courage. “Are you still angry, Andrew?”
    He shook his head slowly. “I feel at peace
for the first time in one hundred and...some years. Time doesn’t
seem to matter anymore.”
    She took a deep breath and said a silent
prayer. “Then I believe, whatever happens, it’ll be okay.”
    He rose to his feet. When he extended his
arm to assist her up, she glanced first at his hand, then his
vulnerable smile. Raising her own hand, she slipped her fingers
into his. The warmth of them curled around hers, gripped, and
lifted her to her feet as if she were a feather. A tingle worked
its way along the length of her arm and spread through her entire
body.
    He raised their hands, fit them palm against
palm, then intertwined their fingers. Their heartbeats pulsed
together in perfect rhythm, gradually increasing in speed the
longer they stared at each other. Melanie realized she held her
breath at the moment Andrew spoke.
    “Forgive me if I am too forward, but…I would
very much like to kiss you right now.”
    She willed her lungs to work, inadvertently
inhaling his musky scent. “I thought you would never ask.”
    His slow, confidence-infused smile took her
breath away all over again. His other hand rose to her face and his
knuckles brushed lightly against her cheek before he threaded his
fingers through her hair at the nape of her neck. He lowered his
head, gray eyes mesmerizing.
    The touch of his lips against hers sent a
jolt clear to her toes.
    He kissed her as a gentleman of 1860. She
closed her eyes and kissed him back as a modern woman who knew what
she wanted and had waited too long for the real thing. Andrew
stiffened at her boldness, but when she began to pull back, his
arms drew her tight against him. She felt every inch of his length,
reveled in the lean hardness of him. Passion flared as he took
possession of her mouth without holding anything back.
    He was more man than she’d ever dreamed of,
and in that moment, she knew without a doubt she’d fallen in
love.
    His lips gentled, passion giving way for a
tenderness that swelled her heart near to bursting. When he lifted
his head and gazed down at her with the emotion of her heart
shining in his eyes, tears blurred her vision.
    “Melanie…I…”
    She blinked rapidly to clear the moisture.
She wanted to see his face when he said I love you .
    Only he still didn’t come in clear. Lifting
a hand, she quickly dashed any lingering tears from her lashes,
then stared as her heart plummeted. She could see through him.
    “Andrew?” Fear and confusion raised her
voice an octave higher than normal.
    His hand lifted to her cheek, but all she
felt was a faint brush of air.
    “Melanie, it’s okay.”
    “No.” She shook her head, then repeated more
firmly, “No.”
    He smiled at her, sad and reassuring at the
same time.
    Anger stirred within her. She clenched