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“JC!” Sarah was surprised to see him sitting on her deck when she arrived home.

JC’d been sitting there for hours, waiting for her. He’d rehearsed his little speech a millions times while he waited, but that all flew out of his head. She was looking harried, exhausted, and in need of a hug. So, he stood up and did just that. He reached out and pulled her to him, rocking her slightly from side to side.

She was too stunned and exhausted to do anything but melt into his embrace. He offered solid comfort and warmth. She was too tired to fight it. His arms around her felt wonderful after the chill of the past days. His nuzzling made her feel cherished.

“Shall I run you a hot bath and then serve you dinner in bed?”

“I’m not hungry.” Not for food anyway. Having him would be great, but she wasn’t in the mood to play sexpot. She wanted old fashioned, sweet loving. And she still wasn’t sure if she should be encouraging him.

JC took the keys from her hand. Unlocking the door, he led her inside and closed it, leaving the world outside. Leading her to her bedroom and master bath, he turned on the bathtub taps and poured in her scented bath oil. He loved that fragrance, her signature. It fairly whispered, “I’m a woman who knows what the word means.”

He looked at the fashionable suit she wore. It was wrinkled from her travels. “Let’s get you out of those clothes.”

Sarah didn’t say a word as he made swift work of stripping her to her bra and panties. “I need to take my make-up off,” she murmured at last.

JC bussed her forehead tenderly. “Then I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be right out here if you need me.”

“Thanks.”

“Any time, baby.”

A half hour later, Sarah came out of the bathroom, feeling relaxed and sleepy. Dressed in only her robe, all she wanted to do was climb beneath the sheets. Then she spotted JC, sitting in a chair waiting for her.

“Feel better?” he asked as he came to her side.

“Mmm-hmm.”

She looked adorable, scrubbed clean of make-up and drowsy. He lifted the covers on the bed. “In you go.”

Dropping her robe, she obeyed. “JC—“

“Go to sleep, baby. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He wasn’t going to pounce on her when she was at her most vulnerable? The man needed strategy lessons. She reached out and took his hand. “You are so dear. You deserve the best.”

“I deserve you, Sarah,” he told her quietly.

“JC?”

“Yeah?”

“Come to bed. Sleep with me.”

He only hesitated a moment. Stripping out of his clothes, he settled in beside her. When Sarah snuggled against him, his arms close around her. “Night, sweet thing.”

Sarah woke just before dawn to find herself entwined with JC. Their legs were entangled and his erection was hot against her stomach. He either was trying to grow a beard or he hadn’t bothered to shave for several days. The stubble gave his normally boyish face a more rugged look. Even the several days’ growth couldn’t detract from the soft wide mouth or the chiseled cheekbones. Long, dark lashes shuttered those blue eyes, so wise and innocent at the same time. He was a handsome man, not the boy she often called him to hold him at bay.

And despite her accusations of him being a selfish boy, JC always managed to react like a man to the situations she unwittingly tossed his way. So far, he’s met every challenge in perfectly good form.

No one else had comforted her when her mother had died. No one else had offered to accompany her, to face her formidable family – and only JC had been waiting when she returned. Why did it have to be him? She wasn’t right for him. She didn’t belong in his world and vice versa. And what had he said to that?… They belonged to their world and the ‘others would just have to deal’. A very young and confident thing to say.

JC woke, feeling Sarah’s scrutiny. Before she could guard her feelings, his gaze met her dark eyes full of appreciation and wonder. He smiled. “Hey, sweet thing.”

“Hi,” she returned softly.

“Can’t sleep?”

Warm fingers reached down to stroke him. “Something was poking me.”

Damn! She was going straight for the ‘sex’ angle! “Ignore it.”

“Can you?”

“Yes, I can.”

Sarah threaded one hand through his wavy hair to urge his head closer to hers. “JC, do something for me.”

“I’d do anything for you, Sarah.”

His words humbled her. He gave so much! “Make love to me.”

JC’s heart did a flip in his chest. She hadn’t called it sex or screwing or fucking! She wanted loving. “Are you sure, baby?”

She gave a small nod. “I feel all broken inside. She didn’t love me. I know that. But she was still my mother. I guess, I hadn’t expected it to hurt so much…” Her voice trailed off.

“I’m sorry, Sarah. If I could take the pain—“

“But you do, because you let me share it. No one else seems to understand, because she was so cold. There’s still that parent/child bond. I know I’m an adult, but there’s that lost little girl in me…I don’t know how to describe it.”

“You just did. No matter what relationship you had with Elise, she was still your mother.” JC pressed his lips to her forehead. Sarah wanted emotional comfort and his reward was supposed to be the use of her body. Poor baby didn’t understand a trade-off wasn’t necessary. “I can hold you as long as you need me, Sarah.”

She tucked her face against his neck. “I’m afraid I’m going to need you a long time.”

“I can do that.”

“No. I mean I’m afraid of needing you.”

“That’s something we’ll have to work on.”

“I don’t know why you bother,” she sighed wearily, snuggling even closer and feeling his strong arms hold her there.

“You’re worth it to me, baby.”

“It’s been a long time since I was somebody’s baby.” She paused a moment, thinking back. “I’ve never been anyone’s baby.”

“You’ve been mine practically since the first time I saw you.”

“It was hormones.”

”No, it wasn’t, so quit trying to pretend it was. If it was some chemical reaction, you wouldn’t have to fight so hard to make it seem like sexual energy.”

“I didn’t want to be in love. I still don’t.”

Which meant she was but still fighting it! JC could have whooped for joy!

She raised her head to meet his eyes. “JC?”

“What, Sarah?”

“Aren’t you going to make love to me?”

“No. What you really want is just to be held. I can hold you without making love to you.”

“You’re wrong, Joshua.”

“I am?” It was the first time she had called him that! He thought back to the night they met. He had offered his initials or his name. She had chosen the less intimate of the two.

“Yes, I need to be held, but I also want you to make love to me.” Her dark eyes met his steadily. “Nothing makes me feel as whole as when you give me everything – and you do give me everything, don’t you?”

“Yes, Sarah.”

She lifted her mouth near his. “Then give it all to me, Josh.”

“Oh, God, yes!” He closed the distance between their lips. Taking her mouth tenderly, for the first time, he was allowed to show her what making love really meant.