Deanna Jewel

    His attempt at being serious while testing her humor made her laugh. He was so good for her and it felt good to be at ease with a man like Mitch. “You read my mind too easy. I’ll have to be more careful around you.”

    “I think you’re doing just fine. Let’s go in to refill our glasses and take another look at the necklace.”

Dana got up and headed to the kitchen. She should relax about their relationship. Mitch seemed fine with how fast they were moving considering they’d only known each other a few weeks. Her feelings toward Mitch were new to her; she’d been in love before but not like this...this time it was hard to explain even to herself. Their relationship was so comfortable and unlike anything she’d experienced. Knowing someone else loved you back as strongly as you loved them was not a common thing but something to be cherished.

    Friends would tell her about their relationship yet none of them seemed to talk about the strength of the love they shared. She thought hard about Mitch. Just because they’d only been with each other for a short time didn’t diminish how they felt. Dana pressed her glass beneath the ice maker in the door and then filled Mitch’s with ice as she watched him fill her glass.

    Her gaze met his as he took his glass to fill. “What? Ah, I see those wheels turning. You can’t fool me. Here ya go.” Mitch handed her a glass, turned to the center island counter and grabbed the blue velvet box. Slowly opening it, he turned the box so she could see the jewels sparkle in the sun that came through the living room windows. “I’m dying to see this around your neck. May I?”

Dana covered her mouth with her hand, feeling unworthy of wearing the expensive necklace. “Should we?”

“Why not? It’s my necklace...if I want you to wear it, that should be fine, shouldn’t it? Let’s just pretend it doesn’t have a history right now.” Mitch carefully pulled it from the box and held it against his fingers, letting it move in the sunlight.

“I can’t believe how pretty it is, Mitch!”

He stepped behind her and when he put his hands in front of her with the necklace, she lifted her hair so he could connect the clasp.

Her sharp intake of breath startled her when the metal touched her skin. The warmth and love melted into her from the jewels and the sudden happiness brought tears to her eyes. She turned toward Mitch so he could see how it looked.

“Why are you crying? I can take it off. You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.”

Again she covered her mouth with her fingers as a tear slipped down her cheek. How could he know the feelings of love the necklace gave her? As she met his gaze, she saw the eyes of a man from her past so long ago and couldn’t help but reach up for him. She slipped her arms around his shoulders as her fingers slipped through his hair. When his mouth took hers, their tongues swirled with the other, deepening the kiss and his muscular arms tightened around her. His hand moved up to hold her head as he kissed her and a slight moan escaped her throat.

Mitch broke the kiss long enough to lift her in his arms and without a word, headed down the hall to the master bedroom. She rested her head on his shoulder, content to be in his bed if that’s where he wanted her.

He stepped inside and stood beside his bed. “Right now, I need you the same way Nathan must have needed Vanessa. I can feel how strong their love was and if that’s what we have between us, we need to explore that. Speak now because if we proceed...there will be no turning back.”

Dana reached for his face and pulled him in for a kiss that would lead to more than she’d anticipated for today but no longer cared. What she had with Mitch could not be measured by time as he sat her on the bed, removed her shoes and slowly made his way up her body. Her fingers went for the buttons on his white shirt as she kissed the hollow at his throat…his skin hot against her touch.

Mitch gripped her hips and rolled onto his back. Their gazes met but words were no longer necessary as he squeezed her ass and held her close. “I need you, Dana...” His warm breath touched her neck. “I need you now! If it’s the magic in the necklace, you’ll always wear it.”