Free R.I.L.Y Forever by Norah Bennett

breaking down and unloading on you. I’m an adult, but with you I feel like a teenager again. I tell myself to stay strong and to get a grip. But then there you are and the words fly out of my mouth and I’m telling you things I never meant to and crying on your shoulder like I used to do. My head’s spinning and to be totally honest—I’m scared. I’m a parent with responsibilities. I don’t have the luxury of breaking down like this and I don’t like how it feels.”
    She was talking, telling him all kinds of things he needed to know so he could untangle the mess she’d become, but he was stuck on, “I missed having you in my life.” It was damn good to hear and damn confusing. Ethan studied Julia as she gave her impassioned speech. If she missed him so much, why the hell had she disappeared and stayed away for so long? With little effort, she could have found him. He didn’t get it. He was missing something. He shook his head and sighed in frustration.
    Starting up with her again was risky. She had no idea what she wanted. One minute she was hot and the next she was cold. She was scared. Scared of the past and the present. Of what exactly, he didn’t know. What in the world was she hiding? Did he really want to get on this roller coaster ride again? The answer was he never got off in the first place. If he let her back in his life, he was going to do things differently. He would hold tight no matter what the past revealed or the future brought. He wasn’t going to let her hide from the past or disappear out of his life again.
    This wasn’t going to be easy. Solving the mystery that was Julia was going to take time, patience, and skill. But as Ethan looked at her beautiful face, down her elegant neck to her hand that gripped the silver heart she wore, he knew he was up to the challenge.
    He gave her a slow, genuine smile. “I’ve missed you too, beautiful. Every single day since the last time I saw you, I’ve missed you. I don’t care what you dump on me. I know you’re scared, terrified even, but you know damn well, I’d never do anything to hurt you. Just the opposite, actually. It’s damn good to have you back in my world.”
    He reached down and pulled her to her feet and to him. She came willingly and he cupped the side of her face with his hand. His fingers snaked their way into her hair and his thumb caressed her soft creamy cheek and then ran across her full lower lip.
    “God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered.
    Before she had time to react, he did what he wanted to do since the second he saw her at Lexi’s. He took her mouth in a soft exploring kiss that had him heating up and wanting more. When his lips touched hers, she stiffened, but as he stroked her lower lip with the tip of his tongue, she gave in, clutched at his shirt and pulled him closer. She sighed a contented sigh and sank into the kiss and into him.
    He nipped her lower lip and she gasped. He took advantage and went in. She tasted so damn good. He explored every inch of her mouth and their tongues tangled in a familiar dance. There was nothing better than holding Julia in his arms and kissing her. Nothing felt so right in his life. God, he missed this. He missed her … the feel, taste, and scent of her. His Julia.
    He was home.
    It was she who pulled away, putting one hand on his chest, her breathing labored and her lips swollen. She looked like she’d been thoroughly kissed. She brought her fingers to her lips, closed her eyes and shook her head.
    “No, no, no,” she murmured.
    “No?”
    She stumbled back, dazed and sat as far away as she could on the couch. “Eth, no. I’m sorry. We can’t do this. This wasn’t supposed to happen. We can be friends, that’s all. Too much has happened. We can’t go back. We’re different people now. It’s not fair to you. I’m not good for anyone,” she tripped over her words, the sentences coming fast and jumbled.
    Ethan wasn’t put off in the least bit because while her mouth