Free Forever In Love by Bella Andre, Lucy Kevin Page A

more with her. He wanted to go beyond friends. Way beyond, not only to becoming lovers, but to the point where they both knew that they were each other’s forever.
    They walked back up to the Walker house, stopping on the porch, and Emily laughed as Gus rolled onto his back, silently demanding that she scratch his tummy. “It seems that my new dog is good at asking for what he wants, isn’t he?”
    Yes, Michael thought, he sure was. And because Gus was good at asking, he was getting his tummy tickled. Briefly, just briefly, Michael thought about heading home—this had been a perfect day with Emily, and he didn’t want to do anything to spoil it. But he couldn’t leave.
    Not until he took a page out of the dog's lesson book and finally asked for what he wanted, too.
    “Emily?”
    “Hmm?”
    “I want to kiss you.”
    That got her attention, and he guessed that she was probably about to say something about how they couldn’t, or shouldn’t, kiss. But Michael couldn’t bear to hear that.
    And he couldn’t keep his distance from her for one more second, either.
    So he took another step closer, took one of her hands in his to draw her to her feet, and kissed her. Kissed her with all the love in his heart. Kissed her with all the passion that had been simmering between them all day...and for years before that.
    For the first moment or two after their lips met, she went perfectly still, as if in complete shock. But then— thank God —she began to kiss him back. With an intensity that stunned him.
    Michael could taste her mouth against his, sweet and soft and perfect. And as he held her close to him, they were two people who needed one another completely.
    He had often dreamed about what it might be like to kiss Emily. But the reality was far more than anything he had imagined. More beautiful. More intense. Just more .
    No other kiss he’d ever had even came close to it. And when they finally pulled back from one another, he found himself trying to catch his breath, and he could see Emily was doing the same.
    He thought about kissing her again, even more passionately this time and telling her once more about everything he felt for her. Yet Michael knew Emily too well for that. If he pushed any further, she would just push back, and probably push him away altogether. Or he could force himself to take a step back and have faith that she would face the truth of her emotions in time.
    She’d always been the person he trusted most. With everything...especially his heart. So he would trust her yet again.
    Which was why he simply gently pressed his lips to hers one more time before saying, “I had a great day with you, and I’m happy you found Gus,” then making himself leave, while hoping that Emily would think about their kiss for the rest of the night. Just the way he knew he would.
    All night long.

CHAPTER TEN
    Gus looked up at Emily, apparently waiting to see what they were going to do next. The trouble was, Emily wasn’t sure what she should do. She was still too stunned by the amazing kiss Michael had given her—two kisses actually, one incredibly passionate, one incredibly sweet—to think straight.
    After Michael disappeared out of sight, she unlocked the front door and walked inside, followed closely by Gus.
    She felt as if she were in a fog as she took off his leash and sat down on the sofa. He jumped up beside her. Emily knew that she probably ought to keep him off the furniture from the start if she didn’t want him thinking that he owned the place. Yet, right now, she needed the company. Desperately needed it, actually.
    “Michael kissed me.”
    Gus woofed in response.
    “Yes, I know you were there, but you don’t understand. He kissed me!”
    It had felt like so much more than just a kiss. The best kiss of her life, by miles. So good that she’d been utterly swept up by it, instinctively kissing him back before she could do anything else. So good that she hadn’t wanted it to end.
    She was snapped