"Five years and that's all you have to say to me?" he asked. Standing so close she could taste his breath.

She wanted to move away from him. But she didn't want him to know just how much he affected her. So she stood right there. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her.


"Well... Is there anything else you want me to say?" she asked 

The side of his mouth moved upwards.

He was smiling? Why the hell was he smiling like that? She thought. She didn't remember saying anything funny.

"You left... Kitty" he said. "I asked you to stay... Begged you to stay... And you left anyways.. With him. And now you come back... Acting like everything is okay between us...?"

There was something about him... She thought. Something about the way he called her 'Kitty' that made her heart flip. He was the only one who called her that. She hadn't even realized how much she missed him calling her that. 

"You shouldn't have gone with him". He said. 

"Oh really? Why not? Because you didn't want me to?" she asked. She was starting to get angry. 

"Yeah that's right" he replied. "And because of what you felt for me -what we felt for each other. When I came near you, you felt an excitement so intense that you ceased to breathe --like you are feeling right now. You wanted me just as much as I wanted you. And that should have been enough to make you stay"

ALWAYS BEEN YOU 

Penny had not been annoyed because she too, longed for more than just his embrace. But she had been hurt and Jeremy had known it. 


"Look, baby" he tried to explain. "Please don't start thinking that I don't respect you anymore, or that I'm just out for some fun, or any damn fool thing like that. I'm serious about you —more serious than I have ever been in my life about any woman. I love you and I want you like hell. It's natural.. Just nature, that's all. Do you understand?" 


Yes, Penny had understood, but she had withdrawn from his embrace, afraid that his ardour would over rule her self made barriers. She loved Jeremy desperately, wanting him as much as he wanted her, but deep down inside her she knew her heart's desire was more than an affair. She wanted a husband and children. 


She tried to explain to him, leaving out any mention of marriage but Jeremy had not guessed at her feelings. 


Chapter One Hundred and Eighty Eight