Untouched A Cedar Cove Novella

door opens and evening light comes flooding in. “Close it, quick!” I cry.
    Emerson steps inside and slams it shut.“What’s wrong?”
    “The photos,” I check them, and let out a sigh of relief. “It’s OK, the chemicals have set. You have to develop them in total dark,” I explain, “Or else the paper gets exposed, and nothing prints.”
    He comes closer to me in the dark, and I catch my breath. The photos distracted me for a moment, but now he’s right in front of me, and everything comes flooding back. All my nerves, and hopes, the love swelling in my chest.
    And desire.
    Emerson stops, a step away from me. His body looms in the shadows, dark eyes glittering in the red beam of the safety bulb. “What you said, in your message…” he trails off, “Did you mean it?”
    There’s a twist in his voice, full of hope.
    I close the distance between us, and place both palms on his chest. I can feel his heart racing through the fabric of his shirt, a wild rhythm that matches my own.
    “Yes.” I vow. I look up into his eyes, and feel the sense of pure rightness wash over me. This is exactly where I’m supposed to be. With him.
    “I love you.” I say it softly, tracing one hand up to touch his jaw. I run my fingers over his lips, those lips that send me to heaven with the faintest kiss. “I know it seems impossible, but, it’s the only thing that’s real to me. I want you,” I add, my voice sounding calm and sure despite the butterflies in my stomach. “I want everything.”
    Emerson’s eyes flash in recognition, but still, he doesn’t move.
    “You’re sure?” His voice is hoarse. “Because if we… You can’t take it back.” His body is tight, and full of tension under my hands. All his power, held back, strung out on the most delicate of wires, waiting to be unleashed.
    “I don’t want to take it back,” I’m dizzy, inhaling the scent of him. My legs are weak, just from being so close, but I need him to let go, to surrender to the force that is so much bigger than the both of us.
    I press closer against him, and Emerson clenches his jaw. “I want to belong to you.” I tell him, clear. “Always.”
    I bring my face closer, closer to his, until our lips are just inches apart.
    “Take me.” I breathe as my mouth finds his. “I’m yours.”
    Emerson lets out a tormented groan, and then his control is gone, all restraint lost as he sweeps me into his arms, his lips crashing down on mine in a searing kiss that shocks right through me.
    He slams me up against the cabinet, devouring me with his mouth, his body, his hands. I clutch eagerly to him, overcome by my hunger, to know every part of him; feel everything. He lifts me as if I weigh nothing, and I wrap my legs tight around his waist. I kiss him back with everything I have, already pulling his T-shirt over his head so my hands can roam across the warm skin of his shoulders, his back, his chest. I slide my hands over the smooth planes, marveling at the taut, hard muscles. The beauty of him.
    Emerson breaks the kiss, yanking my dress straps down and raking his tongue across my breasts. I gasp, the sensation rippling through me, a thick pull that itches in my veins and pools with an ache between my thighs. I thrust against him, reckless, wanton, loving the feel of his mouth closing around my nipple, teasing and toying until I’m crying out for more.
    Emerson lifts me away from the wall, and we fall to the floor in a tangle of limbs and hot, greedy kisses. I lick across his chest, savoring the taste of his skin, and the way his whole body flinches under my mouth. He shoves my dress down, yanking it off the whole way so I’m trapped beneath him in just my lace bra and panties. Exposed.
    He catches his breath, looking down at me with a fierce tenderness in his gaze. “God, you’re beautiful,” he breathes, and then he’s kissing me again, hard and fast until there’s nothing left in my mind and all I can feel is the tantalizing thrust of his body against mine and the delicious sensation of his bare chest pressing against my breasts. He tears off my bra, groaning into my mouth as his hand slides between my thighs.
    I cry out. I’m wet for him, aching, and I sob with relief as his fingers find me, rubbing gently, searching, teasing me until I’m bucking wildly in his arms.
    “Now,” I gasp, pulling away to grip his face in both my hands. I stare at him, panting and desperate for something I’ve never even known. “I want all