He
rolled towards me and pulled my back into him, spooning me. His arm was around
my waist and he was rubbing his thumb across my lower stomach. I shivered and
he squeezed me closer. I could feel his erection against my backside and I had
clench my legs together to try and squelch some of the tension I was feeling. I
squirmed a little and he held me in place.
"Stop
moving," he ground out.
I
instantly stilled.
"You
don't want to..." I knew what word I should say, because I knew which one
he'd want to hear. He liked it when I talked dirty to him, but not knowing what
he was thinking made me self conscious. "Have sex?" I finished.
"Of
course I do. I always want you, but you made it clear you weren't ready and I'm
trying to respect your decision. I'm just glad I get to hold you in my arms all
night. Next time I make love to you, it's going to be because you want it, and
can't go another minute without feeling me inside you."
My
breath caught in my throat. Make love.
"I thought that's why you wanted me here Luke."
"I
wanted you here because I think we belong together and I can't go another day
without touching you and having you in my bed. For now, this is enough for
me."
"Then
why are we naked?"
"I
want you to feel how much I want you, and I don't want any barriers between us.
I want you to want me as much as I want you. I want you begging me to slip
inside you and I want you screaming my name when I do."
His
warm breath in my ear and his words were making me soaked.
"Luke...."
"Goodnight
Savannah," he said, cutting me off.
I
clenched my teeth. I could feel him smiling against the back of my head and I
knew he was going to make me beg.
"That's
my driveway you're standing in," said a deep southern drawl. I stepped
back to see a man in a big black four door truck.
"Oh,
gosh, I'm sorry," I said, taking a more few steps back so he could turn
in.
I
was waiting for him to head further down the road when he stopped the truck in
my path and got out. He was tall, well over six feet. His eyes were hidden by a
pair of sun glasses, but I recognized him instantly.
"I'm
just going to check the mail," he said. "What're you doing out here
anyway?" As he opened the mailbox and reached in to retrieve his mail, I
noticed the way the muscles in his arms flexed.
"I
was just out for a run," I said waiting for him to recognize me.
He
looked over at me and stopped abruptly, as if seeing me for the first time. He
lifted the sunglasses off his face and stared at me wordlessly. His dark green
eyes held me motionless. He walked a couple of steps towards me raising his
hand to touch my cheek. Sparks flew, and I inhaled sharply.
"Caroline,"
he said hesitantly, and then dropped his hand, searching my eyes.
My
skin was burning where he touched it, but I managed to nod slowly.
"Hi
Luke."
He
didn't say anything for a moment, almost as if he wasn't sure what to do next.
"I
heard about your grandmother. My condolences for your loss."
"Thank
you," I said, looking down.
I
felt a bead of sweat run between my breasts and suddenly realized how I must
look.
"You
are so damn beautiful." He smiled brilliantly, and my God his lips looked
kissable. I tried not to think about how they would feel on me, and realized I
was staring at them. God, my hormones
were raging! I quickly cleared my throat, and tried to steer the
conversation in another direction.
"Since
when do you have anything nice to say to me?"
"Caroline,
come on. We were such good friends once. I know I didn't treat you well for a
long time, but I never stopped caring about you."
"I
don't want to rehash the past Luke."
"Caroline,
I lost you and Mark in the same day, and it broke my heart. I wondered how you
were, how you were coping. I thought about calling you a million times, but I
never knew what to say. Since then, I've been trying to get my life back on
track, live in the moment and not dwell on the things I can't change, but you
being here...... it's like a second chance."
I
shook my head at him.
"I
haven't moved on Luke. I still miss Mark every day, and I haven't forgotten how
you treated me all those years."
He
looked at me sympathetically. "I apologized for all that already. And I
miss him too, you know."
"You
used to stare at me like you couldn't stop looking, and then you would barely
speak more than a word to me when I tried to talk to you. You accosted me in
hallways, kissed me, screamed at me, disappeared. That's not something I can
just forget, apology or not."
His
green eyes simmered as his eyes narrowed.
"How
was I supposed to act when the one thing I wanted most wasn't mine to
have?"
“Freud
believed that dreams are manifestations of our deeper desires, often related to
repressed childhood memories or obsessions.”
Caroline’s
recurring dream which first makes its appearance at the beginning of Awakening
immediately draws the reader into this book. I was asking myself questions
before I had finished reading the first chapter. But the appearance of sexy
Luke Johnson had me asking even more questions. For one thing, what part did he
play in Caroline’s life?
Awakening is
also one of those books that stirs up a lot of emotions. I know I felt quite a
few: sadness, frustration, happiness and frustration again. I couldn’t help but
wonder how much could happen to one person, especially since someone who is
only in her early 20’s. Just when you think that everything is going to work
out, something else happened to Caroline and her happiness was threatened.
Although
there was a suggestion of a sinister element in Awakening, I would have liked
it to have played a more prominent role in this book. I wanted more suspense. I
also felt the climax of this particular element was too rushed. However, I
really enjoyed reading this book.
I gave
Awakening 4 out of 5 stars.
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