Page 141 of The Hookup
“Wait,” she said, then opened the door to her bedroom. Somehow they made it inside, closing the door with her back.
If it wasn't for the fabric getting in the way, he would take her like this, with her up against the wall and her legs wrapped around his waist. Give her that slow comfortable screw up against the wall, only there would be nothing slow about it. The vision was like dynamite to his fire. She pressed against his erection, driving him giddy with desire.
Moving to the bed, he threw her down, then climbed over, retaking her mouth and tasting its sweetness again. Her hands came up around his neck and she pulled him close, their tongues dueling for dominance, until at the tipping point, the one which if crossed would be hard to come back from, he pulled away, gazing down at her with his heart racing like crazy. Slowly, he moved away and sat on the edge of the bed.
She lay on the bed, flushed, her eyes shining, then propped herself up on her elbows. “Freaking hell,” she said, in that breathless just-kissed voice of hers, “I thought I’d gotten you out of my system.”
“Thought?” he asked, his hopes rising. She hadn’t told him to get lost. Yes, actions spoke louder than words, but the two of them had this amazing chemistry, their bodies connected, and the sex was off-the-charts-amazing. But he didn’t want to go down that route again; he wanted a deeper connection, a meeting of minds. He didn’t want to rush it no matter what his body said, or hers.
“I didn’t come here to …to dothis,” he said, then lay beside her on the bed. She lay down too, and then he took her hand and interlaced it with his. “Is this okay, or too much?” He wanted to hold her, but not come on too strong. The balancing act was killing him.
“It’s okay.”
They stared at one another. “I really only wanted you to hear me. I swear to you I never intended to end up kissing like this.”
“I started it,” she reminded him.
“So you did,” he replied, somewhat relieved. “I wouldn’t have started it, even though I’ve been dying to do that from the moment I saw you.”
“You reined it in, huh?”
“With great difficulty.” Even this, lying next to her and going no further, was hard. He was going to have to leave soon. “I wasn’t sure how you would be.”
“Hmmmm.”
She wasn’t giving anything away, but if that kiss was any proof of her feelings, it was a good start. “I’d give anything to have you back in my life, so I guess I’m left here waiting for you to decide on what you want.”
“We should take it slow,” she said, sounding unsure.
“Slow is good.”
“Uh-huh.” She didn’t sound convinced, and he didn’t feel it was entirely true, but if they could convince themselves…
He needed her to know, in case she came to some sort of decision and it didn’t include him. At least he knew he’d told her. “I’m in love with you,” he said, gazing at the ceiling, not wanting to see or hear, or sense the rejection, which even now, despite the heat rolling off their bodies, he was afraid of.
She made a noise, a tiny sound in the back of her throat. Something he couldn’t decipher. He had to wait it out, because after the way he’d treated her, him being here had probably still left her in a state of shock. She needed time, and he was in no rush. “I wanted one last attempt to explain myself. Maybe even win you over. And because Xavier said you weren’t with Santini.”
“I never was. He wanted investment information.”
He turned his head and stared at her. It was going to take a gargantuan feat for him not to lay a finger on her tonight, or, god forbid, start kissing her again, because he wasn’t going to be able to hold back. “If I’d known, I would have hand-delivered the bracelet to you, not sent it via courier.” He touched her wrist, his fingers sliding over the gift he’d bought her.
“You stayed away because you though I was with Santini?” she asked.
“Because I was scared of what you’d say. That you might tell me to go to hell forever. He was an extra deterrent.”
“Now that you’re here…”
“I have lots I want to tell you, things I discovered about myself in the counseling sessions.”
“Oh,” she said, turning to her side and propping herself up on her elbow. “It really helped?”
He nodded. “Amanda says she’d like us to meet for dinner.”
“Who did you go with last time? You said you met with her and her husband. Who was ‘we’.”
“Just the three of us.”
She leaned forward and kissed him. Those soft lips sent a signal straight to his groin. He almost let his hand fall to her breast, but didn’t. “We can’t do this,” he said. “I meant every word. I will make it up to you—the things I said, the way I behaved. But I want to get to know every single thing about you first.”
