3 Weeks 'Til Forever

FOREWORD

I've
been a reader of romance novels since I was about 12 years old. I’ve read
hundreds of them.

        
“Everybody wants to be loved.”

This
is the enduring theme of all romance novels. We all want to be loved and accepted
for exactly who and what we are.

And
that’s the beauty of love – it keeps the hope alive in each of us that there is
someone out there, somewhere, who will love what is unique about us. This is
what keeps me reading romance, after romance, after romance.  

About Me

I’ve
been a freelance writer – in the business sector – since 1993. More about my
businesses can be found below. This is my first romance novel (originally
published in May 2013).

I
decided to give romance writing a try because the title popped in my head one
day and just wouldn’t let go. Before I sat down to write a word, the characters
were talking to me; hence, I
had
to write this book. Janey and Redmond –
the main characters – just wouldn’t shut up!  

And
you know what, to my great surprise, this book practically wrote itself. I was
amazed at how the characters truly took over once I sat down to write. Half the
time, I didn’t even know what they were going to do – truly.

I
hope you enjoy their journey to love as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.
I’m not so much the ‘author’ of this work, as the ‘conduit’ through which it
flowed.

My Businesses

New Media Words (
http://NewMediaWords.biz
) is my SEO
Writing and Internet Marketing Firm. I also publish
http://InkwellEditorial.com
, the #1 site
on the web for info on how to start a
successful
freelance writing
career.

I’ve self-published over 50 ebooks,
mostly on the business of freelance writing, self-publishing and internet
marketing. Learn more at
http://InkwellEditorial.com/about
.

Sincerely,

Chapter 1: The First Time

He
slid his hand down into the most private part of her, parting her flesh there
and deftly swirling his fingers back and forth over her most sensitive part
until she could barely breathe.

Janey
closed her eyes and rolled her head from side to side on the crisp white
pillow. How did it get this far? She knew that if she didn’t stop him now,
there was no turning back. Her hand shook as she put pressure on his in an
effort to push it away from her very center.

The
sound of her own passion roaring in her ears told her it was a lost cause.

Was
that her breath catching in her throat?

Her
tongue licking at the pulse of his strong, corded neck?

Her
moans escaping a heaving, sweat-soaked chest?

It
had to be, as there were only the two of them engulfed in this sea of passion
in this tiny, rustic cabin.

Redmond’s
lips found hers, gently at first – matching the rhythm of his kiss to the
stroking of his fingers between her legs. He deepened the kiss, thrusting his
tongue further and further into the warm cavern of her mouth.

The
hand on the most intimate part of her followed suit, thrusting deeper and
deeper into her. Janey writhed against him, unable to stand the twin assaults
on her mouth and her womanhood.

The
last vestiges of the wall she’d built to protect herself from wanting him
escaped her and she gave in to the passion, begging him to become one with her.
She longed to feel the thickness of him inside her, to fulfill the promise of what
his lips and hands had awakened within her.

Then
he stopped – everything – the kiss, the swirling of fingers between her legs.

For
a second, Janey was confused. Her doe-shaped eyes, which had been fused shut by
the swell of passion, popped open. And there – before her – was Redmond. Her
entire vision was filled with him.

Locked
in a desire-filled stare, she took in the sheen of perspiration on his
forehead, the pulse beating at the side of his temple, the moistness of his
lips – and most visibly – the craving in his eyes.

It
was as if this was what he wanted. He wanted her to open her eyes and
see
how much he wanted her – and for her to acknowledge how much she wanted him.

Holding
her gaze – and without saying a word, Redmond lowered his head to take her lips
once again. Softly, slowly, masterfully.

The
fingers between her legs started their sensuous assault again and he gently
lowered his body to cover hers. He withdrew his hand from her center and slowly
climbed on top of her, parting her legs as he continued to stare intently at
her.

Janey
sensed his restraint as he slowly slid his manhood into the opening of her
moist womanhood. She tensed at first, unaccustomed to the size of him. He
sensed her momentary discomfort and cradled the back of her head with one hand
while sliding the other under her right buttock.

Whispering
in his native language in her left ear, the sound of his deep, melodic voice
soothed her, while he slid his length slowly and steadily into her. In and out,
out and in he slid into the damp depth of her.

Janey
felt her body relax and close around him, snugly pulling every inch of him deep
inside her – taking everything he had to give. With his hand pressing
powerfully into her buttock, she moved her hips. Up and down she strained
against him, reaching for the summit she knew was there.

With
her body responding so perfectly and sinuously to his, Redmond could no longer
control his strokes. He drove into her again and again, taking everything she
had to give – and wanting more.

The
throbbing throughout her body begged for release and sensing she was near
passion’s peak, Redmond drove fully into her one last time. Janey tightened
around him, as he whispered in her ear and drew her tightly to him.

Although
she didn’t understand a word of what he said, she knew they were words he’d
never repeat to her in English. They felt too personal, too raw – too exposed.

And
for all the passion their physical selves had just shared, Janey instinctively
felt that there were parts of him he’d never share.

Chapter
2: The Struggle to Forget

How
apropos, Janey thought, that the memory of the first time they made love also
shone a bright light on why their relationship would never work. Shaking her
head, she pondered,
How can something be so perfect and so wrong at the same
time?

Janey
had been back home in Manhattan for a week. Her every waking thought was of
Redmond.

She
found it hard to concentrate on work; her only relief from thoughts of him
coming when she was on long runs – part of the training for her first
triathlon, a baby one she'd decided to give a shot after years of just
running marathons.

Redmond
had called only twice since she came back from
Sol y Besos
, the tiny
Caribbean island known for “sun and kisses;” hence, the name. He’d left one
voice mail, which she’d listened to over and over again before deleting in a
fit of anger one afternoon. 

Janey,
I came by your hotel later that evening on the day we came back from Hill
Country. They told me that you had checked out. Can you please call me? We
really need to talk.

Even
though every fiber of her being wanted to reach out to him, there was something
in her that just wouldn’t allow her to pick up the phone and make the call. And
every day that went by without him calling again solidified that she was doing
the right thing.

After
all, if he really wanted to talk to her, really cared about her, he would have
called more than twice since she’d been back.

Maybe
he was working things out with his wife.

Maybe
he was a gigolo after all and had met someone else.

Whatever
the reason, she reminded herself that even though she was hurting now, it was
better this than to have wasted a year, two or three on this relationship. And,
she sought solace in the advice friends and family had given her when she’d
told them about Redmond.

“
He
can’t do anything for you girl!
” the sarcasm of her girlfriend’s expression
popped before her strained eyes as she tried to edit an article one afternoon.

“
Can’t
you find a nice man who doesn’t have such complicated life Janey
,” her
aunt’s soft pleadings rang in her ears when they’d had lunch one afternoon.

“
When
you’re from two different cultures; that’s just asking for trouble. Stick to
your own kind
,” the words from her long-deceased grandmother came to her
during one of her crying spells.

Everyone
important to her – dead and alive – she thought sardonically, had warned her
about a relationship with Redmond. And consciously, she knew they were probably
right.

So
why couldn’t she forget him? Why did he dominate her every waking hour?

Why
could she still feel the softness of his lips on the smoothness of her
forehead, his preferred spot for playful kisses?

Why
could she still see with perfect clarity the whiteness of his teeth as he
laughed out loud at something she said?

Why
could she still feel the strength of his arms as he held her tight against the
surf to receive his kiss in the warm waters of the Caribbean sea?

Why
could she still feel the vibration of his voice in her ear as he spoke to her while
she lay on his chest before they drifted off to sleep?

Why?

It
all seemed so right.

So
what made it so wrong?

Instead
of fighting the thoughts, for the first time since she’d been back, Janey
decided to give herself over to them; to allow herself to fully relive the
dream of what she and Redmond had shared – because she knew she was going to
have to find a way to accept that it could never be a reality.