Learning to Trust by Lynne Connolly Page B

inevitable conclusion. She gasped and clutched his arm, the one not working her, half turning so she could kiss him as she came. Heat rose, swelled, ebbed in a delicious waning, each tremor giving her a new thrill. He worked her body so well.
    She’d more or less abandoned her sex life years ago, first addiction and then the process of just living taking away all her energy and desire, but Jon was bringing it all back to her. Gifting her with her own sensuality.
    She nestled against him, happy to drift until he wanted her again. From the state of his cock, aroused and pressing hotly against her back, it wouldn’t take long. Perhaps she’d turn around and straddle his body, rediscover the way it felt to take control. She’d hardly ever done that before, but she wanted to now, to give him something back for the pleasure he’d given her.
    He curved his arms around her waist, drew her hard against him. “I bought two tickets.”
    “What?” Still drifting in a post-orgasmic haze, she followed him sluggishly.
    “I have two plane tickets for tomorrow. Come with me, Lina. Come home.”
    She froze. Her first, shocked response was a clear denial. “It’s not my home. It never was, not really.”
    “I’ll make it home. I’ll make it work. It’s where you belong.” He paused and cleared his throat. “When your mother discovered I planned to fly here to find Byron, she came to see me.”
    Bile rose in her throat. All this time, he’d planned this? “Why didn’t you tell me?” She pulled away, turned to face him. Water sloshed over the edge of the tub. She glared at him, refusing to believe it.
    “Honey, your mom’s been crazy with worry. She married again, did you know?”
    Lina shook her head. “No.” She’d turned away from anything that reminded her of her mother, kept well clear of the gossip magazines and anywhere else she might catch a glimpse of her. But a curl of curiosity made her wonder. “Who did she marry?”
    “Ritchie Farina. You know him?”
    She furrowed her brow in thought. “I’m not sure.”
    “He owns the newsstands.”
    Oh yes, Farina’s, the places that claimed to store or have access to every magazine anywhere in the world. “So she did well?” Farina wouldn’t be short of a dollar or two. Not that Lina cared.
    “I guess. He seems to have settled her down.”
    “My mother could party harder than anyone else I knew.” And drink a distillery’s worth of alcohol disguised with various fruit juices and pretty cocktail umbrellas.
    “Not so many scenes.” His hold tightened when he felt her shudder. “They were that bad?”
    “They were.” If Lina never saw her again, it might give her a chance to forget the scenes her mother created. One of her earliest memories involved a room full of shattered china and a lot of screaming. Vague now, but those details remained distinct in her mind, as if engraved there. And the other things she did, making Lina feel dirty, so that a used needle seemed clean by comparison.
    His caresses aroused and soothed, something she hadn’t thought possible before she’d slept with him. “I never realized it was that bad. I assumed—everybody assumed—that you were two of a kind. Like mother, like daughter.” A note of concern colored his carefully controlled voice. “I know different now. Don’t I?”
    She wanted to reassure him but she had to remember—they must separate. So any doubt might help him forget her once he’d returned home. She shrugged. “Maybe. It just seemed easier.” Easier than facing reality, that was for sure. “How’s my mother these days? She was never very maternal.”
    “She seems to be now. When she found out I was coming over, she came to see me. Begged me to try to get in touch with you. She says she tried to trace you, but couldn’t get anywhere.”
    Lina kept her voice neutral. “What did she say?”
    “That she wants to make amends. She wants to see you again, wants you to come home.” He dropped a kiss on