“If I didn’t want you to move in here, you wouldn’t.”He squeezed her butt, curving his fingers under the cheek and hitching her up closer to him.“If that’s what you’re worried about.”
She scowled at him.
“Why couldn’t you just say that from the beginning?”
“Because this is how we communicate.”His grin was entirely unrepentant.“It works for us.We get there eventually.”
“So, I’m staying here?”She just wanted to make sure she was understanding him correctly.
“Do you want to stay here?”
“Iwantto strangle you.”Cassidy glared at him, making him chuckle, but his expression had turned more serious.
“I meant here in Pittsburgh,” he explained.“Long term.While you’re here, yes, I want you to stay with me… if that’s what you want.”He ignored the exasperated noise she made.“But I was wondering if you were thinking about going back to Maryland, eventually.I just want to know if I should prepare myself to get my heart broken.”
Oh.Warmth and happiness surged inside her.He wasn’t just saying that, and he wasn’t teasing.Every word dripped with complete sincerity.
“Your heart would be broken?”
“My heart broke when I thought I’d already lost you,” he said, shaking his head.“There’s nothing quite like seeing the woman you’re falling for being dragged away by her stalker to really narrow your perspective.As much as we dance around things, I don’t want to dance around this.You mean more to me than any woman I’ve ever been in a relationship with, even though we haven’t been together very long.I’m also older now than I was in my previous relationships and know what I want and what I don’t want, so maybe it’s just not taking me as much time to realize it.But yeah, I know if you stay even just a few more weeks, I’d be heartbroken if you leave.”
Every part of her wanted to melt.
Before she could answer him, his lips came down on hers, claiming hers with a kiss, and she kissed him back with all the feeling that she hadn’t gotten to express.Careful not to jostle his arm, she went up on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck as they deepened the kiss.Heat pulsed through her.
When they broke apart, she stared at him, her arms still holding on tight.
“What if I want to live with someone else?Because this feels like too soon to live together?”she asked.
“I would argue that we’ve already been doing it, and it’s working out great, but if that’s what you want, then, of course.I’ll just be happy if I get to keep taking you out.”
“I do want to live here, but it feels like it’s too soon.”
“Is there anything I can do to convince you otherwise?”
“I don’t know.I have to think about it.”
He nodded.
“Then let me know when you decide.In the meantime…” Despite only being one-armed, when he tightened his grip on her, he was able to lift her up and swing her around, so they were facing the hallway where the bedroom was.
Cassidy laughed, shaking her head.
“We arenothaving sex.It’ll hurt your arm!”
“Trust me, little spark, we’ll find a way.”
It took a bit of maneuvering with the pillows to prop him up, and Cassidy couldn’t rest her hands on his shoulders or his chest, but she ended up on top of him, riding him for all she was worth.Maybe it was because they’d almost lost each other, maybe it was because they both knew she was staying in Pittsburgh and they were starting a future together, but it was the most intensely intimate orgasm she’d experienced.
David
Waking up next to Cassidy, David reached for her since his arm wasn’t already around her, then immediately groaned in pain.
Oh, yeah.I got shot.
In the haze of coming awake and being back in his own bed, he’d forgotten for just a moment.
The moment he groaned, Cassidy jerked beside him, sitting up to reveal her delightful breasts as the sheet slipped down.Her head was definitely not in a sexy space as she turned frantically to him, unfortunately, pulling down the covers on him as well as her gaze roved over him.