Erotic Encounters by Samantha Gentry Page A

to lose you.” Once the words were out of his mouth, it was as if the flood gates had been opened wide. “I was an only child. My mother and father argued constantly. I grew up in the middle of shouting matches, bitter words and accusations. When I was fifteen, my father walked out the door and never came back.” He tried to force a calm to the chaos knotting in his stomach, but it didn’t work.
    “My mother sank deeper into her bitterness and spent all her time complaining. I felt like I was drowning in all the negative energy. I wanted nothing more out of life than to get as far away as I could from anything having to do with my childhood and teen years.” He nuzzled his cheek against her head as he collected his thoughts.
    “Several years later, when my mother became ill, I had no choice but to return and take care of her and then make good on her medical expenses. But it was the last straw. I wanted nothing to do with family ever again. When your only role models in life are a father who deserts is wife and son and a mother so filled with bitter resentment that she can only function by complaining to the point where she drives everyone away from her…well, you don’t exactly feel the need or desire to embrace the concept of relationship.”
    He took a steadying breath before continuing. “I’ve just spent the most miserable week of my life. Nothing in my past was as bad as what I’ve been through since I walked out of here last Saturday night.” He placed another kiss on her forehead as he threaded his fingers through her hair. “I can’t imagine my life without you.”
    Shasta’s emotions soared to the heights. His words touched the very core of her soul. “Oh, Dane…you have no idea what it means to me to hear you say that. When you left, when I saw you walk out the door, I thought I’d die. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. This last week has been horrible. I kept telling myself no one can base a relationship on twenty-four hours of hot sex no matter how good it was. But for me it was so much more than just fun and games.”
    “I can’t deny the truth any longer. I love you, Shasta. You mean everything to me.” He caressed her shoulders, holding her tightly. “This has all happened so quickly, maybe even too quickly. But I’ve never had anything feel so right.”
    “I love you, too, Dane. You’re right. It all happened so fast, but I know it’s true. I know it in my heart.”
    “I quit the club tonight. The Macho Marauder has made his last appearance. I’ll find some other way of paying off the rest of the expenses. It will take me longer, but it will be worth it, knowing we can be together.”
    She circled her arms around his neck and brushed a soft kiss across his lips. “Maybe I can help you with that. I live very simply and have been able to save quite a bit. How much do you still owe?”
    “I don’t want your money. I’ll figure out another way of handling it.”
    “But I want to help.”
    A wicked grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Money isn’t the pressing matter right now.” He took her hand and rubbed it against the prominent bulge at his crotch.
    She returned his grin with a knowing one of her own. “Yes, I see what you mean. I’m sure I can help you with that…if you’ll let me.”
    He wrapped his arms around her again. His smile faded, seriousness emanating from the depths of his eyes. “I love you so much, Shasta.” The heartfelt words tickled across her ear. “I don’t know exactly how the future is going to unfold, but as long as we’re together, that’s all I can ask for, that’s everything I want.”
    “That’s what I want, too.”
    He captured her mouth with a loving kiss, one filled with the emotion coursing through his body. He didn’t hold anything back, allowing his deep and abiding love for her to finally come through. And she returned that love as their souls merged into one.
    It was Shasta who broke the kiss. “I’ll join you