Breathless by Cheryl Douglas Page A

guy anymore.” Pushing her back to the wall
was risky, but there was no other alternative. It was all or
nothing. “If you can’t see yourself being my wife someday, the
mother of my babies, you need to let me go.”
    Jamie sucked in
a sharp breath as tears slid down her cheeks. “I thought you’d
never ask.”

 
     
     
     
     

Chapter
Nine
     
    Everything had come
into sharp focus for Jamie in the past weeks. Sacrificing her pride
didn’t seem a big price to pay. She lay down on the bed, hoping Eli
would join her.
    “What are you
doing?” he asked, still sitting on the bed, facing the wall instead
of her.
    “What does it
look like I’m doing?”
    “This isn’t
about sex. It’s so much more than that.”
    Jamie knew
barriers between them would have to crumble before they could come
together again sexually. Earning his trust, making him believe she
was finally ready to see him as her anchor, even when her fears
threatened to carry her away, would take time.
    She slid
forward and rested her hand on his back. “I don’t blame you for
having doubts about me.”
    “It’s not you
I’m questioning, Jamie. It’s us. What if we’re--”
    “Sssh.” She
pushed him back and straddled him. That was one sure-fire way to
get his attention. “You thought we were right for each other once.”
She pulled the pins out of her hair and tossed them on the bedside
table. “What can I say or do to convince you you were right? I was
wrong.”
    “It’s not a
question of who’s right or wrong, baby.” He stroked her face. “I’m
scared, Jamie. I’ve always stared down my fears and fought ‘til I
was literally bloody and battered. But this is different. We’re not
talking about waking up with a broken hand tomorrow. We’re talking
about waking up with a broken heart, and that’s a hell of a lot
harder to recover from.”
    “You’re right.”
She got up, but before she could step away from the bed, he reached
for her hand.
    “Jesus, baby,
don’t go.” He closed his eyes and held tighter.
    Jamie realized
what she had to do. She could think of only one way to give him the
assurance he needed. It wasn’t the way she’d always imagined, but
she owed it to him. “Eli, sit up.”
    He sat up as
she got down on her knees to look him in the eye. “What are you
doing?” he asked, frowning.
    “I need to tell
you what I should have had the courage to tell you years ago.” She
didn’t have a speech rehearsed. She would just have to speak from
the heart and hope she could get through it without being reduced
to a sobbing mess.
    “Baby, you
don’t have to do this.”
    “Yes, I do.”
She looked at his strong, tanned hands. They were scarred and
calloused from years of playing the game he loved. Eli gave
everything and everyone he loved everything he had and more than
anything she wanted to be the woman he gave his heart to for the
last time.
    She couldn’t
risk there being a doubt in his mind about her sincerity. “I love
you. I don’t love you just as a friend, E. I’m in love with you. I
always have been. It just took me a while to realize it.”
    He stared at
her, looking stunned by her revelation.
    Hearing
confirmation he felt the same way would have been nice, but his
love for her had always been there. He wore it like a badge for the
world to see. “I love the way you take care of the people you love,
your family and friends. I love that you’re the first one to drop
your gloves when a teammate needs back up.” She smiled, drawing a
smile from him. “Not that I condone fighting. You know I hate it
when you fight.”
    “I know.” He
kissed her hand. “But I’m not gonna stop as long as I’m able to
lace up my skates. That’s half the fun of the game.”
    She laughed. “I
know. You give everything you have to everything you do and that’s
an amazing quality.”
    He stroked his
thumb across the back of her hand. “Thank you.”
    “You’re the
kind of man a woman would be proud to call her