Sinful Love (Sinful Nights #4) - Lauren Blakely Page 0,2

his blue eyes, and his hair, inexplicably, had darkened. His sister Shannon joked that it was turning black, like his heart.

He was also sturdier than he had been before. His shoulders were broader, arms more defined. At twenty-four, he’d been in the army, working in intelligence; now, he was a twice-daily fixture at the gym and had the bigger muscles to show for it.

But whether Annalise Delacroix had dyed her hair or shaved it all off, he was pretty confident he’d find her easily without having seen a photo of her recently. He hadn’t stalked her on social media, but he had researched the most important detail before he’d emailed her back.

He’d found the obit.

The one that gave him permission to have a cup of coffee. He shuddered. He still didn’t like coffee. But coffee was the only path to her. Follow the roadmap, turn this corner, and see the first woman he’d ever loved. It had taken him forever to fall out of love with her, but he was there. He was absolutely there.

He hummed to distract himself as his eyes roamed over the crowd at the upscale establishment. He spotted auburn hair swept high in a twist, long elegant fingers, and the cut of her jawline. Her right collarbone was exposed; her black top had sloped down one shoulder, revealing soft flesh.

His heart thundered, and his blood roared.

Trying desperately to tamp down the riot inside of him, he inhaled, exhaled, then walked the final feet to her side. Her back was to him. When he reached her, she turned fully, and her green eyes lit up.

Gorgeous green eyes, like gems.

Carved cheekbones.

Lips, so red and lush.

She held a cup of espresso and had just brought it to her lips.

That lucky fucking mug.

She finished the gulp and laughed lightly. “Some habits never fade.”

Truer words…

CHAPTER TWO

Annalise hadn’t been in Las Vegas since she was a foreign exchange student during her junior year of high school, living with a host family and perfecting her English on American soil.

Odd, in some ways, that her job hadn’t taken her back to this town even once in all the years—but perhaps that wasn’t so strange, considering business was plentiful in Europe. For now, for a few days at least, business was here, and so was the man she’d fallen madly in love with as that teenage foreign exchange student.

He was more handsome than ever.

Imagine that.

The prettiest boy in America was now the hottest man she’d laid eyes on in a long, long time. But lusty admiration wasn’t all she felt as she drank in the sight of Michael Sloan. A myriad of emotions she wasn’t prepared for swam through her, and it was as if she’d become a host for a chemical concoction of regret, loneliness, and wistfulness, topped with excitement.

She zeroed in on that one, shoving all the others aside.

She stood¸ set down the cup, and dusted a barely-there kiss on his right cheek. His five-o’clock shadow stubble—even though it was only one o’clock on a Sunday—scratched her in a whiskery, sandpaper way. She pressed a kiss to his left cheek. The slightest whoosh of air escaped his lips.

Lips she’d known well. Lips she had spent years wanting to touch again.

“Cheek kisses. You haven’t forgotten how the French do it.” She sounded breathless, even to her own ears.

“How could I forget?” He said it lightly, as if he were talking only about the kisses, but there was so much more she hadn’t forgotten. Was it that way for him, too?

“You look…” She let her voice trail off as a lump rose in her throat, and that storm of emotions stirred up again, churning inside her. It wasn’t his looks that had knocked the wind out of her. Though seriously, there was nothing whatsoever to complain about in that regard, as she surveyed him in his black pants and crisp gray shirt, taking in his trim waist, strong shoulders, and tall frame. Nor was it his dark black hair, his cool blue eyes, or the cut of his jaw, dusted with that faint stubble.

The tumult was courtesy of the past, hurtling itself headfirst into her present. Yes, it was her choice to be here. Still, she hadn’t expected to be walloped by the mere sight of him. She swallowed harshly, trying to dislodge that hitch, wanting to feel some semblance of cool and calm. Her shoulders rose and fell, and she tried desperately to breathe in such a way that didn’t require her to relearn