Free Love Unbound by Evelyn Adams Page A

Amazing. Sam really was an artist, and Owen was going
to flip.
    God, remembering the whole thing made her wet
and achy. It was better than she could’ve imagined – than she had
imagined. He’d been amazing. She still had a hard time believing
he’d put all that time into making her fantasy come true, and she’d
been looking for a way to repay him.
    She’d finally decided on the journal. She’d
picked the best photos and sent them to a company on the other side
of the country to have them printed and bound. That had been weeks
ago. Now that it was finally here, she couldn’t wait to show it to
Owen.
    She pulled a plain black mask, a spool of
purple ribbon and a thick, creamy white card from her desk.
     
    You are the only one that can do this to me –
that can make me feel like this. With you I am unbound. Yours,
only, forever and always.
    Love,
    Kitten
     
    Cat laid the mask and card on top of the
album, grabbed the ribbon and started to wind. Ten minutes later,
she slipped the beautifully bound present into Owen’s briefcase and
went downstairs to find the man who still held her heart.

Indulge in more Forbidden Fruit with a sneak
peek at
YOUR SIDE OF THE BED
     
    When they first got together, Max and Julie
couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. They’d climb on the
back of his motorcycle and look for places to make love. Hidden in
the woods. At night, naked in the lake and wrapped around each
other like seals.
    That was sixteen years and three children
ago. They still love each other, but they’ve let themselves be
buried under their roles – wife, mother, caretaker, husband,
father, provider. Lovers rarely makes the list anymore.
    The responsibilities and obligations come at
a cost. They are both struggling to remember who they are and who
they want to be together. When Julie’s parents offer to take the
kids for a couple of days, Max and Julie have a chance to uncover
what’s been missing and find a way back into each other’s arms.

 
    Julie scooted to the edge of the dock and
lowered her toes into the water. The cool water drew out some of
the heat of her anger, and she tugged the legs of her jeans up so
she could sink her feet in farther. Below the top couple of inches,
the water felt even colder. It was early enough in the season; it
hadn’t had a chance to warm completely. She flexed her feet and
spread her toes, watching their pale shapes under the water.
    Oh God. One minute they’d been talking
– really talking – for the first time in forever and the next
minute she’d been flying down the path to the lake in a full blown
rage. She was so tired of feeling like this. Like simmering under
everything was this quiet despair. Her life was good. She loved Max
and the kids. Why couldn’t she just be happy with what she had?
    But she wasn’t.
    She couldn’t remember the last time she’d
felt unabashed joy. Most of the time what she felt was overwhelmed.
When she and Max were pulling in the same direction it was okay.
They could ride the challenges out together. Lately, she felt so
isolated, like she was alone in a boat, waiting for the wave that
would finally sink her.
    It wasn’t what she wanted for any of them.
She used to love things. Simple things like being outdoors or
watching the sunset. She loved to read, to dance to the radio and
sing along. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d done
something she wanted to instead of something she was supposed to
do.
    Whose fault was that? No one asked her to
martyr herself for them. The kids certainly weren’t happy with her
snarling at them and if today was any indication, Max wasn’t any
happier than she was.
    Swinging her feet slowly through the water,
she looked out over the lake and watched the reflected moonlight
dance on the surface. Light from the sliver of a moon kissed the
tips of the ripples and the peepers chirped, punctuated
occasionally by the deep chirrup of a bull frog.
    She didn’t like herself anymore. It