Take What You Want by Jeanette Grey Page B

grabbed the letters and paged through them just once before tucking them into the side pocket of his bag. Light as they were, they seemed to double the duffle’s weight.
    “Your father’s waiting!”
    “I know, I know, I’m coming.”
    Before he could talk himself out of it, he closed the drawer and turned his back to the room. He patted the side of his bag and bounded up the stairs. His mom was standing at the top of them, and he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.
    “Play nice with your father this weekend.”
    “No promises.”
    She narrowed her eyes at him. “At least promise me you won’t start anything?”
    He ruffled her hair. “I love you, Mom.”
    Sighing in exasperation, she opened the door for him and held it as he headed out. The sun was still low on the horizon, and Josh shook his head. He really preferred not to see this time of day, but he wasn’t the one calling the shots on this trip.
    He stopped that train of thought right in its tracks. He could call the shots if he wanted to.
    This was his life. His trip. His chance to be who he wanted to be.
    He’d tell his dad everything. He’d stay calm while he did it, but he’d be firm and in control.
    And then he’d come home. He’d find Ellen and he’d tell her everything. And he’d ask for even more.
    He picked up his pace as he rounded to the back of the SUV where his dad already had the hatch up. He tossed in his bag. After taking just a second to check that he had his phone and wallet and toothbrush, he reached up to shut the back.
    His fingers had just closed around the metal lip of the hatch when the early morning silence was broken by the sound of an engine. He craned his neck to look. Once he recognized the car as Ellen’s, his heart took off in his chest, a furious pounding of blood in his ears. She pulled into the turnaround, next to his car, and had the door open before the engine could even quiet.
    And it was just like that first night. She wasn’t dressed as provocatively, no, and far from looking at him like a stranger, her gaze settled on him with a fierceness that reached to the core of him, as if she recognized a part of him in a way no one ever had before. There was that same determination to her, that same drive. She knew what she wanted, and damn it all, she was going to take it.
    He’d never seen anything sexier in his life.
    “Josh? Were you expecting—?”
    Josh cut his dad off with a curt, “No,” then slammed the hatch down and turned to face the woman striding across the lawn to him. Even from half the length of the driveway away, the air crackled, and he wanted nothing more than to close the space between them. His feet refused to move, though, and even if they had…
    There were words that needed to be said, but not here. Not before he was in charge of his own life, and definitely not someplace where his dad could hear.
    He coughed and fought to find his voice. “Ellen, what are you—”
    She stopped a foot away, chin set, hands on hips. “I want more.”
    “Ellen—” He cast a glance over his shoulder at the inside of the car, at his dad tapping impatient fingers against the wheel.
    She demanded his attention with a hand on his chin, a firm grip pulling him back to her. She spoke quietly, clearly aware they were being observed, but with an intensity that belied her hushed tone. “I feel things for you I’ve never felt. I feel… alive for once. Like I can be exactly who I want to be.” She dropped her hand to press her palm against his chest. “And I want more.” Lowering her voice even further, eyes burning, she insisted, “I want you in my bed and in my life and…everything. No matter where you’re going, we can make this work. Phone calls or visits or—”
    “Ellen. I know.” He placed his hand over hers, his throat burning as he confessed. “I want that, too.”
    “But there are things I need to tell you. You have to promise you’ll hear me out, but I swear, I never meant to lie to you. But