Read Online The Aries Libra Connection (Opposites In Love Book 1) by Janet Lane-Walters - Free Book Online Page A

planted thoughts of life.
    As the kiss deepened, she ran her hands up his chest and over his shoulders. Beneath the knit shirt, she felt ridges of scar tissue. She wished she’d been there to comfort him when he’d been injured. He’d been with her and shared the worst moment of her life.
    He shifted position until they were stretched on the couch, mouth to mouth, chest to chest, groin to groin. His hand slipped beneath her scrub top. Wild fire raced along her nerves.
    She raised her head and looked into his eyes. His hands lightly stroked her breasts. “Jenessa.”
    His erection throbbed against her and brought the answering pulse of her own arousal.
    The need to experience more than the surface existence she’d lived for three years erupted in a shuddering moan. “Please.” She met his mouth in a wild kiss that broke through the dam of her buried emotions.
    He ended the kiss. “We can’t, love.”
    Enchantment shattered. Why had she made a fool of herself? “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
    When she tried to pull away, he held her close. “I want you more than you know, but I’m not prepared to keep you safe.”
    She met his gaze. Intense desire made her eyes gleam like faceted emeralds in sunlight. She smiled. He had an inner control her husband had lacked. Chuck had never worried about protecting her or himself.
    She slid away from Eric. Something she’d forgotten or deliberately ignored rose in her thoughts. The night of the accident, Chuck had ridden off without his helmet. She remembered how the streetlights had shone on his dark hair. Confusion roiled in her thoughts. She needed time and space to consider what this new data meant.
    “I...have to go.”
    “We need to talk.”
    Perhaps they did, but at this moment, she couldn’t organize her jumbled emotions. She felt like the victim of a virulent virus—fevered—delirious. She jumped from the couch and headed to the door. Her hands shook as she turned the knob. In the hall, she hurried to the door to the stairs.
    Eric reached the door. “We need to talk.”
    The stairwell door banged. Should he follow? He grabbed the edge of the door. Frustration filled his thoughts.

 
    Chapter 5
     
    A week later, Eric’s frustration remained constant. He dropped the receiver in the cradle. Jenessa remained as elusive as the wind. The messages he’d left with Megan or on the answering machine had gone unanswered. He could have gone to ICU, but he had no desire for a public meeting.
    Gail had aired their problems in front of the other nurses. Gossip had swept through the hospital like an epidemic. One such exposure had been enough.
    Was Jenessa’s busy schedule an excuse to avoid him? She had evening classes at Grantley, overtime at the hospital. He couldn’t help remembering her heated response to his kiss and her flight. She had seemed disappointed when he’d pulled back. Her expression hadn’t been faked.
    He grabbed his clipboard and headed for the door. There was a board meeting in ten minutes and a contract for the nurses headed the agenda. As he rounded the corner, the elevator doors opened.
    Jenessa dashed out and crashed into him. He put his arms around her. She looked up and grinned. With the force of a drum roll, desire filled him. He sucked in a breath laced with her floral shampoo. Instead of heading to the Board room, he wanted to carry her to his bedroom and complete what they had begun last Tuesday night.
    “Someday I’ll learn to look,” she said.
    “Maybe in fifty years.” He tightened his hold. “Are you avoiding me?”
    A flush crept along her cheeks. She stared at a spot over his shoulder. “Not exactly. It’s... I’ve a dozen things going on.”
    “You could have returned one of my calls.”
    She closed her eyes. “I could have, but it’s... I’m not ready for...”
    “For what?”
    “To let go. To reach out.”
    He released her. “What happened between us last week really shook me, too. We can’t ignore it.”
    “I’ve