Russell's Return by J.J. Ellis

hand as soon as she was out of the seat, but
he didn’t. The feeling of his large warm hand enveloping her small one felt
good. It felt right. “I appreciate the ride.”
    “It was my pleasure,” he returned softly
as he opened the picket gate for her.
    Emily stepped through and turned to him.
“We’re at my house, you can tell me what that biggest mistake was.”
    Russell raised an eyebrow at her. “You
remembered.”
    “Yeah. I have a very good memory,” she
said with a sly grin. “So spill it.”
    “Invite me in and I’ll tell you,” he
returned with his own sly grin.”
    Emily tugged his hand, pulling him up
the walkway. She pulled the key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. As
soon as he stepped through, Russell spun Emily around and planted a kiss on her
irresistible pouty lips. At first she welcomed the intrusion, but after a
moment she pulled away. “I know what you’re doing, Russell. Tell me your
biggest mistake then we can kiss all you want.”
    He sighed and looked into her eyes.
Immediately he knew she wouldn’t budge on the idea. “Okay, let’s sit and I’ll
tell you. But please save all of your judgments until I’m done talking.”
    “Of course,” she murmured, pulling him
over to the couch. It must be something big. Something much worse than walking
in on his brother.
    They sat next to each other, Emily a bit
forward on the cushion and turned toward him. Their knees touched. “Go ahead,”
she encouraged.
    Russell sighed then began. “I love
Miranda with all of my heart, but…” He took a deep breath and released it
slowly. “I wish I had never married Vivienne. She was so wrong for me. I guess
I always knew that but she represented everything I, and my roots, weren’t. She
represented the kind of life I thought I wanted.”
    Emily smiled and grabbed his hand. “It
makes sense. I think a lot of us fall in love with ideas of what we want and
not the actual person.”
    Russell nodded his agreement. “I still
feel guilty though, because if I hadn’t married her, my little girl wouldn’t
exist.”
    “Technically that’s not true,” she
informed him. “You still could have conceived Miranda without being married to
her mother.”
    Russell laughed. “You are so right. We
moved the wedding up by four months because she was pregnant. I guess my
biggest mistake of marrying her is accurate. It has nothing to do with
Miranda.”
    “Exactly. There is no reason to feel
guilty. Just because you hate your ex, doesn’t mean you feel the same about the
child she gave you.” Her hand reached up to touch his cheek.
    His gaze moved up and their eyes met.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he growled.
    “What? This?” she asked, reaching up to
touch his face with her other hand.
    “Yeah,” he breathed. “That.” Their lips
met in an all-consuming desperate kiss.
    Russell’s hands found their way to
Emily, slowly trailing up and down her sides. Shivers raced through her taut
body, and a deep moan escaped her lips as they broke apart. “You like that, I
take it?”
    “You could say that,” she replied with a
smile. Pulling back slightly, she lifted her blouse up and over her head,
exposing her perfect bare breasts. She was obviously excited as evidenced by
the perfect rosy tips.
    Russell leaned forward and took a nipple
into his mouth. Biting gently, he ran his tongue across the tip, causing her to
gasp and wind her hands in his hair. His hand worked its way to her other
breast and cupped it, allowing his thumb to run circles across her sensitive
flesh. He heard her gasp in pleasure, again.
    Emily whimpered when Russell moved away
to rest his hands at her waistband. She felt her hips lifted as he tugged her
shorts off, exposing her feminine body to his gaze.
    “Beautiful, perfect and so…” he breathed
as his mouth lowered to her. Emily called out in pleasure as his tongue began
to trace a pattern upward, trying to find the piece of swollen flesh he craved.
    Her hips raised