17

e away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.

"You still want me?" she asked in confused whisper, staring at him through her wet eyelashes.

"I want you more now than I ever did before, but there’s this engagement, and I won’t hurt you. I won’t use you that way. I care about you," he said quietly. "Please don’t cry…" he pleaded, wiping at her tears again. The tears kept coming, and he gave his head a little shake and leaned close to her, kissing one of them away slowly and tenderly, before lifting his head and leaning in close again to kiss another away.

The nearness of him, breathing in the scent of him, feeling his skin against hers, his lips on her cheeks, made her catch her breath. His words echoed in her mind. He still wanted her. He wanted her more than he ever had. She wanted him just as much as she ever had, if not more, and she knew just how difficult the struggle was to keep things separated between them.