Free Bonds Of The Heart by Maryann Morris Page B

it.” And with a gentle touch to Erika’s arm, she left her daughter and Blake alone.
                  “I actually need to get going,” Blake stated as he rose from his seat and headed toward the door.
                  Confused as to why she would kiss and run, Erika felt her skin burn. And it wasn’t from the heat between them just a moment ago. Without a word, Blake walked out. She could hear the start of his truck engine outside and was tempted to open the door and throw a shoe at him. Instead, she leapt up and turned off all the lights hoping it would make him think she wasn’t affected at all by his kiss. Ironically, as she moved through the house all she could think of was his lips on hers.

Nine
    ***
    Erika only got a few hours of sleep between tossing and turning in her bed. She had been up most of the night working on the manuscript that was due next week. No. She wasn’t working, she was pacing. She couldn’t focus on anything when her thoughts would drift to the kiss she shared with Blake. She barely got through the first chapter without thinking about it, about him. She didn’t want to think about him. She didn’t want to think about the kiss.
                  Ah hell , it was all she could think about.
                  When his mouth had touched hers, she refused to admit she enjoyed it. She even tried to deny that she didn’t want to enjoy it again. That she could force herself to go without touching the stubble on his chin even though she had dreamt of it. Erika reminded herself that Blake Hamilton was arrogant, rude, impersonal, and overconfident. She didn’t want to admit he was also sexy, attractive, and undeniably irresistible.
                  She could have pulled away from the kiss, she told herself.
                  She could have stopped it before it began…
                  She had lied to herself. Once their lips met, there was no pulling away or stopping. There was the need to go deeper and further—together. She had wanted to; her body craved it—craved him. He'd stirred feelings deep inside her that she hadn’t felt before. Feelings she’d never felt them with any guy.
                  Shaking her head to try and erase the thoughts from her head, she inspected herself in the mirror.
                  A picnic. Her mother was right, it was a beautiful day. The weather had warmed up enough from the passing storms a few days ago that she didn’t need a jacket or sweatshirt. Erika chose the pale aqua sundress she brought from California. It was that or her battered shorts that had dirt on them from helping her mother garden. She wasn’t ready to wear the yellow dress she had planned on wearing for her daddy’s return.
                  “Mom,” she breathed. She fingered her hair into soft, loose curls. Her mother had set her up.
    She would appease her mother, but Erika had no intention of this being a date or going any further than today. Brushing on the neutral shadow, some liner, and adding mascara, she intended to enjoy the nice weather. She would make sandwiches. Bring juice. Make a picnic. For herself. Blake would just be along for the ride. It wasn’t a date, she repeated to herself as she headed downstairs to the kitchen to start those sandwiches.
     
    ***
                  Pulling up to the house, Blake drank the last of his coffee. He didn’t sleep well at all last night. He thought the one taste would be enough. He thought he’d be able to satisfy his curiosity and then push any thoughts of Erika out of his mind. He sat for what seemed like hours in his truck, in his driveway, thinking about that kiss last night.
                  Damn, was he ever wrong.
                  The few hours Blake had slept, he had dreamt of Erika. He had gone out in the middle of the night to tow her Jeep back to the garage. When he returned, he