Erotic Encounters by Samantha Gentry

closed her eyes.
    Dane’s handsome face immediately appeared on the screen of her mind. Every torrid moment of hot sex assaulted her senses, making her pussy tingle with excitement and throb with need. Each tender moment and gentle caress touched her heart in a way nothing else ever had.
    And with each passing day, her heart had broken a little more.
    Her eyelids felt heavy. An emotional exhaustion washed over her as she slowly drifted into an uneasy sleep.
    It seemed like only seconds later when a knocking on her front door forced her eyes open. The room was dark. She turned on the table lamp and glanced at her watch. Nearly midnight. The insistent knocking turned into a determined pounding. She pushed herself out of the chair and made her way across the room.
    She opened the door and stared in disbelief, not fully comprehending what she saw. Was she still asleep and having a dream? Was her imagination playing tricks on her? She tried to swallow the anxiety welling inside her as she reached out toward him. Was he real? A flesh and blood man standing on her porch? Her hand touched the hard planes of his chest. The strong beat of his heart resonated to her fingertips.
    “Dane?”
    The uncertainty covered his face and filled his voice. “May I come in?”
    “Uh…” She shook her head to try and clear the fuzziness. “Of course.” She stepped aside and closed the door behind him. After taking a calming breath to steady her shattered nerves, she turned to face him. “This is a surprise. What are you doing here and so late at night?”
    “I just finished my last performance of the night at the club.”
    He started to reach for her but withdrew his hand. “I tried to stay away. I kept telling myself you were better off not having to deal with my problems and my currently fucked up life. You deserve better than what I can offer at this time. You deserve a man who can be with you, not one who spends most nights at some piece of shit club having strange women try to pull his clothes off and grab his cock. There is no way I can expect any woman to stand idly by and simply accept the life of a male stripper.” He stared at the floor as if not quite knowing what else to say.
    Shasta blinked several times in an attempt to hold back her tears. She didn’t know what to say or how to respond either. With cautious optimism, she allowed a glimmer of hope to seep in. Her voice was anything but confident as she tried to inject as much control as she could. “Then why are you here?”
    “I…I don’t know. I’m not sure.” He ran his hand across the back of his neck and shook his head as if trying to clear the confusion.
    Then he looked up and made eye contact with her. She had absolutely no control over her mind or body. She couldn’t focus her thoughts or slow her racing pulse. Her breath caught in her lungs. The mesmerizing pull of his presence had her trapped in the spell that had been cast over her the second she saw him standing on her porch. She couldn’t hold back her tears as they spilled over and slowly trickled down her cheeks.
    The pain in her eyes was more than Dane could handle, more than anything he had ever encountered. It clawed at his heart, ripping apart what was left of it. He couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him. It felt so good to be able to hold her again. He cradled her head against his shoulder and placed a tender kiss on her forehead.
    “I’m so sorry, Shasta. I never meant to hurt you. I…I mean…” He held her tighter. He didn’t want to ever let go of her. Never again.
    He swallowed down the trepidation trying to push its way into his reality. He had to make a choice…overcome the fear of even attempting a committed relationship or else risk losing the person who meant more to him than anyone in the world. His heart pounded so loudly, surely she must be able to hear it. He closed his eyes for a moment as he gathered his courage.
    “I don’t want