Cross My Heart (A Contemporary Romance Novel)

part of him.
    “It’s true. I don’t have any right at all.”
    “Then where do you get off—”
    He felt the exact moment his control snapped. For one instant he was weightless, motionless, balanced perfectly between opposing forces.
    Then he lunged for Jenna like an animal bursting from a cage, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her hard against him.
    She gasped, her eyes wide with shock. Hunger swept through him as he looked at her, at those lips that had tempted him from the first moment he saw her.
    Then he brought his mouth down on hers.
    He kissed her with everything he had, everything he was. He kissed her like it was the last thing he’d ever do.
    For a second she was frozen, and he thought she might push him away. In his madness one coherent thought formed. If she didn’t want him, he had to let her go. He had to. He—
    Then her arms were around his neck and she was surging into him, the soft curves of her body fusing to the hard planes of his.
    “Michael...”
    Hearing her say his name like that, her voice weak and dazed and helpless with longing, made his heart slam against his chest. He slid a hand to her nape to trap her against him. When her back arched, a rush of possessiveness hardened every muscle in his body.
    He’d never craved a woman’s surrender before, but his body demanded Jenna’s. Feeling her pliant and trembling in his arms made him half wild.
    Her lips parted and he was inside, everywhere, wanting everything at once. Nothing had ever tasted so good. She was hot and silken, sharp and sweet, and he would never, ever get enough. He backed her up against the counter and pushed his thigh between hers, and when she clutched at his shoulders and moaned against his mouth he almost lost his mind.
    The universe shifted. Jenna was his center of gravity now, the pull of her more powerful than anything he’d ever felt. Falling into her was like falling into a star, the heat so intense he was consumed in the blink of an eye.
    Jenna was drowning. She was drowning, and all she could do was hold onto Michael like her last hope of salvation, when he was the one who’d pulled her under.
    Nothing had ever been like this. Nothing.
    His body was so hard, so hot, so strong. She craved that hardness, yearned for it.
    She yearned for him.
    She should have had some defense against this. But it wasn’t a kiss as much as an explosion, and she never had a chance. His mouth burned through her, branding her, and she knew the mark of it would be on her for the rest of her life.
    When he finally broke the kiss she twisted out of his grasp and stumbled away, gasping for breath.
    This was it. Her one chance to return to sanity. After a moment she turned to face him, her cheeks flushed and her lips swollen, and when he reached for her she backed away further, holding out a hand.
    “No,” she said, her chest heaving as she fought for breath. “You know we can’t do this.”
    “Yes, we can.” His voice was raw with the need that had overtaken them both. He took a step towards her.
    “You have to stop. If you kiss me again, we’ll...we’ll lose control.”
    “I hope so.”
    “No. No. You know this can’t go anywhere. I’m leaving in six weeks.”
    That pulled him up short. “I know you’re leaving.”
    She bit her lip, and his gaze dropped to her mouth.
    “Don’t look at me like that.”
    “I can’t help it.” He came towards her again and she darted away, putting the kitchen table between them.
    “Why am I the voice of reason here? You’re the damn scientist!”
    “I don’t have any reason where you’re concerned.” The leashed tension in him was like a vibration in the air. “All I know is that I want you.”
    The naked hunger in his voice made her shiver.
    She closed her eyes. “I want you, too,” she said in a low voice. “I do, but—” She scrubbed her face with her hands. “If I were staying then maybe we could see where this is going. But I’m not staying.” She looked up again, letting him see the truth in her eyes.
    They stayed like that for a long minute.
    “We could be together while you’re here,” he said finally.
    She shook her head. “Think about Claire,” she said gently. “You know she’d get her hopes up for something more between us.”
    He raked a hand through his hair. “We don’t have to tell her. We could—”
    “Michael, that’s not who you are. Do you really want to have some secret affair you can’t tell your daughter about?”
    He