Old Trouble in the New Year - Part 2

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She couldn’t believe after all these years her knees still got weak when she looked at Gerard’s beautifully sculpted face. She loved his chiseled, square jaw with the dimple in the middle of the chin, the very cleft she used to stick her tongue into when they made love. But it didn’t compare to the adorable dimple in his left cheek whenever he smiled or laughed. He held only one imperfection—a slightly crooked nose from being broken one too many times during numerous childhood scuffles.

“Hello Gerard.” She avoided his eyes while keeping her voice neutral, although shivers coursed through her.

“I’ll leave so you two can catch up.” Sydney didn’t even wait for a response, but rather ran from the room and headed toward his bedroom.

“Looks like you’re doing great since the last time I saw you.” Gerard stood within a foot of her now, his eyes intense. She rocked back on the balls of her feet, debating about how she should answer. Her mind raced. She wondered if her brother had told Gerard about her life after she found the man wrapped in the arms of a naked woman. Not just any woman...a woman she thought was her best friend.

Jocelynn was destroyed after that debacle and threw her anger and passion into making her dreams come true. An accomplished thriller/mystery writer, she was known for creating chilling, suspenseful mysteries. In fact, more than one reader had e-mailed to say after reading her books they slept with the lights on and jumped at every suspicious sound.

Her first book had been a USA Today #1 bestseller list for almost six consecutive weeks, and her second novel hit the top ten on the New York Times bestseller list. Proud that she’d become a successful published writer, and beyond busy, she‘d hardly thought about dating another man again. Though she had dated a few other men in the past couple of years in the hope of meeting someone who could make her forget Gerard. In the end those relationships fizzled, and she hadn’t been able to truly forget Gerard. Since her experience with men left a sour taste in her mouth, she decided to bury herself in her work, put one foot in front of the other as they said, and keep going day after day.

“I know things didn’t end well between us, but you never gave me a chance to explain.” Gerard placed his hands on her shoulders, but Jocelynn slipped from under them and walked to the couch in the living room. She felt him follow her, no, heard the squeak from his sneakers on the hard wooden floor.

“It happened a long time ago and we can’t change the past or erase it no matter how much we’d like to.” Jocelynn moved to the other end of the couch when Gerard sat down next to her. She wished she could erase the image of the love of her life in bed with another woman. Even after all these years, she couldn’t. She wanted to get on with her life but it was hard with the haunting memories dogging her heels.

“But Joss if you would only listen to what I have to say instead of assuming what you damn well please. Give me a chance to explain and then you then can judge me to your heart’s content.” He moved closer, presumably so she couldn’t run from him like she wanted to do. It was exactly what she tried to do, but Gerard was too fast, grabbed her left arm and pulled her onto his lap.

He wrapped his arms around he, holding her so she couldn’t slip from his grasp again. But even as she squirmed to free herself, a warm rush coursed through her. Damn, she didn’t want Gerard to know he still held power over her body, had kidnapped her soul and held it for ransom long ago.

“Joss if you’d only stop listening to your brain and heed your heart.” He whispered into ear, his warm breath fanning to life something between her thighs that shouldn’t be ignited,

“Gerard, please leave me be. I’m sure you have plenty of women that would welcome your macho he-man attitude, but I’m not one of them.”

The tone of her voice came out low and husky even though she tried to feign annoyance over his manhandling. It had been so long since Jocelynn felt such an intense physical attraction to a man and what’s more, the last man who made her engine purr was Gerard. It took all of her will to ignore the feelings he’d reawakened in her, more so when he placed a finger on her chin and forced her to look at him, Prepared for another plea to allow him to explain, her breath hitched when he lowered his head and stopped mere inches from her mouth.

He brushed his lips against hers, eliciting a gasp from her. Just the opening he needed to deepen the kiss and sweep his tongue through her mouth.

She stiffened and tried to ignore the little shivers traveling down her spine. And then a moan fell from her lips, one she couldn’t hold back, Lost, she was totally lost again, swimming in the deep depths of an ocean she almost drowned in once.

With a resigned sigh, she twined her fingers in the hair at the back of his head and kissed him with all the pent up passion she’d been stuffing for years, She felt his hands move from the small of her back up to the back of her neck where he pulled her ponytail free. He’d always loved her long, blonde hair, and often insisted she ditch the ponytail and let it hang loose. He used to say he loved the highlights dancing through it, streaks she’d acquired after working long, hard days alongside her father and brother at the ranch.

When she felt his hands move from her hair to her ribcage before sliding up to cup her breasts, the situation hit her like a bucket of cold water thrown in her face. She pushed away from him, aware of the waves of dizziness washing over her, and moved to the Lay-Z-Boy recliner across the room. That’s what she’d do—concentrate on the recliner, the one that looked so much like the one sitting in the living room at the ranch. The one her father used to snuggle into with Sidney and her while they watched their favorite cartoons on T.V.

”Joss, please,” he said from across the room with his hands out at his sides,

“What do you want, Gerard? Do you want me to forgive you after all these years?” She looked him in the eyes, oh, God, those beautiful eyes. “If that’s what will get you out of my life for good, then I’ll say it. ‘I forgive you, and nothing you can say to me now will ever lessen your betrayal.’”

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