Shine Your Love on Me by Jean C. Joachim

don’t care.” She was practically panting.
Brooke unbuttoned his shirt and moved her fingertips up through his
brown chest hair, pushing into his hard muscle. Heat rocketed
through her veins to her core. Only having him inside her would put
out the fire.
    “Enough talk,” he said, reaching for the
zipper up the back of her dress. He slid it down slowly, his gaze
burning each inch of skin revealed. Brooke watched his eyes, her
chest moving faster. He eased the straps down then pushed the
bodice off, exposing her.
    “No bra?” His eyebrows shot up.
    “Not with this dress.”
    “Beautiful, gorgeous,” he murmured, staring
at her. He licked his lips before he bent to taste her, kissing his
way down her neck to her breast. Brooke smoothed his hair down then
ruffled it up as he made contact. She pushed his shirt off his
shoulders. Pres lifted his head long enough to strip to the waist.
Brooke pulled him to her, pressing his chest to hers. He wound his
arms around her, drawing her in tight.
    Tears stung her eyes. The warmth of his
embrace threw the switch on her tight controls. She’d beaten her
emotions down, stayed her tears by sheer force of will. Pres’s
affectionate hug melted the constricting band around her feelings.
Blinking couldn’t stop the water in her eyes from dripping down her
cheeks onto his shoulder.
    Pres clasped her shoulders and moved her
back, a quizzical look on his face. “What did I do?”
    She shook her head, emotion wadded into a
hard ball in her chest, cutting off speech. He raised his eyebrows.
She stroked his cheek with her thumb, lowering her lids to avoid
his gaze. He tipped her chin up, but still she turned away.
    “Is it me?”
    She waved her hand at him.
    “Then, what is it?”
    “I’m scared,” she whispered.
    “Of me?” he asked. His eyebrows shot up.
    Brooke shook her head then lowered it to his
shoulder as a sob escaped her throat. The flood of repressed
emotion bubbling up like lava in a volcano frightened her, but she
was powerless to stop it. She clutched his arms, burying her face
in his neck to muffle the sound. Pres pulled her flush up against
him and tightened his grip. He rocked her slightly while planting
kisses on her head.
    “It’s gonna be okay. Everything’ll work out.
You’ll see.”
    She pushed against him and sat back, reaching
for a tissue. “How can you say that? My whole life has been
destroyed. I have no job, no career, no way to pay the rent.”
    “You’re smart. You’ll get your life back,
maybe a new life. A different one. A better one.”
    “But I—”
    “And if you need money for the rent, I can
lend you some. I’m sure Ruth’ll help, too.”
    She stared into his eyes. He brushed a stray
tear off her cheek and smiled.
    “You’d lend me money?”
    “Of course. I’m doing okay since I made that
sale.”
    “You’d do that for me?” Again, water crept
into her eyes.
    “Hey, no waterworks! It’s just a loan.”
    “But you don’t know me.”
    “I’ve known you for several months. Ruth
thinks the world of you. And I think the world of her. You’re not a
deadbeat, are you?” He made an exaggerated worry face.
    “No, no, I’d never leave you holding the bag.
I always pay my debts. I’m very—”
    Pres put his finger over her lips. “I get how
hard this is for you. Dreams, plans shattered to bits. Now, you
have to regroup. You can do it. You’re smart, and you’re strong.”
He leaned in to brush her lips with his. “Enough talking.”
    Brooke wound her arms around his neck. His
clear, blue eyes looked back into hers with warmth and a touch of
lust. She smiled. Arching her back, her nipples grazed his chest.
The tickle from his hair made them hard.
    “Feel better?” he whispered in her ear,
snaking his tongue out to lick her neck.
    She sighed. “Much.”
    “Nothing like a good cry.”
    “I know. With the right person…cleansing.”
She kissed his shoulder.
    “Hey, don’t waste that,” he said, lowering
his lips to