Untouched A Cedar Cove Novella

of you, I need to know…” I break off, helpless. There are no words to explain how I feel, how this desire is consuming me, and I’m lost in the glorious flames.
    But I see it, in the dark intensity of his eyes, Emerson feels it too. He rolls off me, just for a moment, and pulls a condom from his pocket. Then he strips off his jeans and underwear, returning to lie beside me, his body hot against my skin. He kisses me again, tender, and slowly moves me into position.
    I lay beneath him, and catch my breath. He settles between my thighs, the look on his face so strained and focused, I can’t help but smile.
    “What?” he whispers, reaching to stroke some hair back from my face.
    I smile up at him. “You.” I whisper, suddenly shy. “It’s always you.”
    A look comes over Emerson I’ve never seen before. A quiet joy that takes my breath away.
    “I love you,” he whispers, and I feel his body surge to meet mine. I gasp, taking him into me, feeling the sharp ache and then, oh, the glorious fullness. I stop, our eyes locked, something so precious and true passing between us, I know my life will never be the same.
    “I love you,” Emerson breathes again. He starts to move, and I move with him, moaning, lost in the fresh wave of sensation pulsing through me. “It’s you, Jules. It’s always been you.”
    He shifts, pulling me closer, angling deeper, and I cry out in pleasure. The fever is taking over me now, pulling me down, every thrust sending me closer to the edge. Emerson is gasping, wild against me, and it’s all I can do to hold on tight, answering his body’s every demand with my own. The tide rises, building, every muscle in my body pulled tight with desire, but somehow I can’t break, I can’t surrender.
    “Don’t hold back,” I gasp, writhing under his touch. “I want all of you. Everything you are.”
    Emerson’s eyes flash, and then he’s slamming into me, harder, deeper, everything I need. I rise up to meet him, sinking my nails into his back, throwing back my head in abandon. I feel it come, closer, closer, and then Emerson’s face changes and his body goes stiff, and I’m crying out as the wave finally crashes over us, sending me spinning, broken, into the depths of pure ecstasy.
    I finally surface, limp in his arms. Emerson is heavy on top of me, his delicious weight pressing down. I take a shuddering breath, my heart racing. Pure gold is shimmering in every cell of my body, an afterglow of peace and breathless pleasure.
    “Hey, baby.” Emerson blinks his eyes open, and rolls off me. I open my mouth to protest, but then he pulls me against him, spooning me so I’m tucked, tight against his chest. I relax into his embrace, feeling the race of his heartbeat, and his labored breath.
    “Hey yourself.” I sigh, resting my head back onto his shoulder. “That was…”
    “Mind-blowing, life-changing, fucking perfection?” Emerson finishes for me.
    I laugh, twisting to kiss him. I place my hand against his cheek, still dazed from the storm of sensation. “If that’s what it’s like, how does anyone get out of bed?” I tease.
    Emerson grins. “It’s not like that, not with anyone else.” he answers. “Not ever.”
    “Oh,” I feel a glow of pride, and snuggle closer. “Just us.”
    “All you, baby.” He kisses my sweaty forehead, and I lay back, yawning. “Will your mom be looking for you?” he asks softly, tracing down my naked body.
    I shiver under his touch and shake my head. “She went to bed early, she’s still got this flu.”
    “So we’ve got all night?” Emerson asks, smiling wide.
    “We’ve got forever.”

E MERSON
    I laid there in her arms until morning, feeling the softness of her body, pressed against me, the heat of her skin against mine. I held her, safe in my arms, and knew that now we’d found each other, nothing could break us apart.
    We would be together forever, in love, just like this. We would make it work somehow. I knew it with every atom in my body, every dream I’d hardly dared to think. We belonged to each other now, our lives together were only just beginning.
    I was wrong.
    THE END… FOR NOW.
    Emerson and Juliet’s story continues in the USA Today Bestseller UNBROKEN. Read on for more info and a look at Chapter One!

**AFTER UNTOUCHED ….COMES UNBROKEN **
    Emerson and Juliet’s story continues in the USA TODAY Bestselling novel, out now!

    Mom always told me there are two kinds of love in this world: the steady breeze, and