Return of the Runaway Bride (27 page)
Daniel caressed her cheek and Savanna leaned into it, closing her eyes and reveling in the feel of his touch. Then he rubbed the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip.
"If you hadn't left," he said, "you wouldn't be the person you are now. You needed to go. You had to go. I didn't understand that before. But I do now."
She looked into his eyes and her heart swelled with love.
"I tried so hard to prove myself."
Again he stopped her words with gentle fingers.
"You did," he said. "Although you shouldn't have had to, you did prove yourself. You proved a lot of things, but I was too damned pigheaded to realize."
She reached up and took his hand in hers. And after kissing the fingertips resting against her lips, she pulled them away to grin and say, "I'd agree with that."
He chuckled, a rich, sexy sound emanating from deep in his chest.
"But," she whispered, her gaze taking on an utter seriousness, "that doesn't make me want you any less."
"I want you too," he said. "I've wanted you since the day you arrived back in town." He pulled her even tighter against him, his desire laid bare by his lowered eyelids, his burning gaze,
his
gravelly sigh. "I love you. I don't think I ever stopped."
The breath she expelled overflowed with relief. "I was so sure you regretted sleeping with me."
"Not for a second." He cupped her jaw in the palm of his hand and covered her mouth with his. His lips were warm and moist, and they kindled in Savanna a passion that overwhelmed her with its intensity. Her heartbeat quickened and, without thought, without excuses, she
gave in to the sensual aura encircling them. With an excruciating slowness that bordered on erotic, she traced the tip of her tongue across his hot, silken lips. It was all the invitation Daniel needed.
Lost in his hungry kiss, Savanna vaguely discerned the sound of ragged breathing and couldn't tell if it was Daniel's or her own. The sudden urge to be closer to him compelled her to blindly fumble for the button of his suit jacket. Once she'd unfastened it, she slid her arms under the satiny lining and around his waist. The taste of his lips on hers, the feel of his touch on her skin, even the scent of him, made her dizzy with pleasure, delirious with happiness.
Finally she drew back, her eyes growing misty as she
looked at him. "Once, I ran away from the perfect
man." She rested her forehead lightly against his chin, astonished by the sheer perfection of being in his arms.
She lifted her gaze to his. Her voice grew sultry as she reached up and slid her hand behind his neck to pull him closer. "And now that I've found him again,
I never want to let him go.”
She kissed him then, under a velvet black sky filled with twinkling stars. And as Savanna was surrounded by the Southern summer night, enveloped by the heady scent of lilacs and the warmth of Daniel's love, she knew she was home.
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A note from the author
I hope you enjoyed this updated and expanded version of Return of the Runaway Bride. I completed the original book in 1993 after overhearing a conversation between a mother and daughter in an elevator. The women had just picked up a bridal gown and the daughter said, "I just don't think I can go through with this." Her anguish touched me to the core, and before I knew it, a story began to take shape. The original manuscript was published by Silhouette Books in 1994.
After acquiring the publishing rights to the book, I decided the story needed a little more romance… a little more sensuality. I hope you enjoyed these small additions.
For more information about me and the books I've written, visit my website at:
www.DonnaFasano.com
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Other Donna
Fasano
titles that are
currently
available or will be coming soon:
The Merry-Go-Round
Mountain Laurel
Taking Love in Stride
Wife for a While
Nanny and the Professor
Fortune's Bride
Daddy
Down
the Aisle