  &quot;I had wanted nothing else for so long.&quot; I choke back tears. &quot;I was so scared I would just be another conquest … A good time … That I'd lose you, my job, our friendship … I was terrified.&quot; Tears blur my eyes and I choke on the lump forming in my throat. He leans up, brushing hair away from my face, tracing my mouth with his fingers carefully.
      &quot;I wish I'd told you so many times how I really felt, I wish I had just come out and said I love you, Emma. I'm in love with you.&quot; His voice strained with emotion and my heart swells painfully. &quot;If I had, we could have avoided so much heartache. So much craziness between us.&quot; His gaze holds so much regret I can't bear it.
      Jake really loves me. As much as I love him.
      Every time this realization hits me it takes my breath away and I want to pinch myself in case it's a dream.
      &quot;I was

  He buckles me into the passenger seat of his car, leaning in to kiss me tenderly once more, his green eyes alive and twinkling. Jake can't seem to stop kissing me and it's not like I can complain, after a year of being crazy for him, I don't want him to stop. I've not seen him this happy and carefree for a long time, since before the first time he ever kissed me.
      Had I really been torturing him all that time?
      My heart lurches at the thought as he closes my door and comes around to slide into his sleek powerful car in an effortlessly graceful maneuver.
      &quot;Your place for a change of clothing, I guess.&quot; He runs his fingers down the thigh of my satin dress, his pupils dilating. &quot;I forgot to tell you how amazing you look in this by the way. I practically passed out when I saw you.&quot;
      &quot;You're so easy.&quot; I giggle watching his lips part as he ra

  &quot;I never imagined you could be so cute. This is all new for me too, I was eighteen when I last had a boyfriend and I never exactly had a steady or normal relationship.&quot; I smile down at him and stroke my fingertips across his ruffled hair.
      &quot;Uh-uh.&quot; He covers my mouth with his palm in a flash move so I almost jump at the sudden contact. &quot;You were an untouched virgin who's never had a single boyfriend in her life, lived like a nun.&quot; He moves over me so he's hovering above my head. &quot;I was your first everything and will be your last everything, too.&quot; The wicked look in his eyes doesn't fully cover that tiny hint of seriousness and I pull his hand off my mouth. Amused at this flash of jealous.
      &quot;So, it's okay for you to have been a man-whore, but I'm a pure untouched maiden?&quot; I laugh at him, shaking my head.
      &quot;I was a vir

&quot;I had wanted nothing else for so long.&quot; I choke back tears. &quot;I was so scared I would just be another conquest … A good time … That I'd lose you, my job, our friendship … I was terrified.&quot; Tears blur my eyes and I choke on the lump forming in my throat. He leans up, brushing hair away from my face, tracing my mouth with his fingers carefully.
      &quot;I wish I'd told you so many times how I really felt, I wish I had just come out and said I love you, Emma. I'm in love with you.&quot; His voice strained with emotion and my heart swells painfully. &quot;If I had, we could have avoided so much heartache. So much craziness between us.&quot; His gaze holds so much regret I can't bear it.
      Jake really loves me. As much as I love him.
      Every time this realization hits me it takes my breath away and I want to pinch myself in case it's a dream.
      &quot;I was going to tell you the morning you sent me away.&quot; I sigh wistfully, a single tear pooling in 

Chapter 26