Page 28 of Sweet Heat at Bayside
He kissed her again, tender and languid. “I don’t want you to wake up tomorrow regretting a single thing we do.”
“I won’t,” she promised. “I could never regret this. I’ve waited forever to be with you, too.”
“And you’re leaving tomorrow,” he reminded her. “Embarking on an exciting new part of your life. I want you to be clearheaded when you start your new job, not distracted by me, or us, and wonderingwhat if…”
She flopped onto her back and sighed. “Well, you already messedthatup.”
He laughed and kissed her again. They both fell to the mattress smiling.
“You told me all the reasons you couldn’t be with me,” she said. “Andnowlook where we are. You kind of stink at holding back.”
“Hey, I’ve restrained myself foryears. I think I should be commended for my efforts.” He lay beside her, holding her hand, and said, “I couldn’t have held back more than I have tonight if my life depended on it.”
She grinned like a fool.
“I think you put some kind of weakening agent in my drink.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Promise me something. If you regret this in the morning, text me and let me know instead of disappearing and never talking to me again.”
“How could I not talk to you again? You’d leave a hole in my life, and that would stink. You won’t do that, will you? What ifyouregret it?Ohmygosh.What if you’re telling me this because youalreadyregret it?”
“Stop,” he said with a smile.
“We need a code word,” she said hastily. “Delete. If either of us regrets this, we’ll textdeleteto the other, and then we’ll know that we can never think or talk about it again.”
“Yeah,that’llwork,” he said sarcastically. He touched his lips to hers and said, “You are all I’ll think about from this second on. Your intoxicating mouth…” His lips came coaxingly down over hers, taking her in another toe-curling kiss. “And don’t get me started on your body.”
Holy cow. He was crazy if he thought she’d regret this. She didn’t even know whatthiswas, and she didn’t need a definition. It felt too right to question.
He kissed her and touched her, making her feel cherished, sexy, and oh so satisfied even without making love to her. She melted limply into the mattress, and he gazed down at her, his dark eyes holding her captive. A slow grin lifted his lips, and he kissed the edges of her mouth as if he simply wanted to remember the moment, to see her face. Andholy cow, what that did to her hungry heart was overwhelming.
Sometime later, as she lay in a foggy state of bliss, she realized he’d given her pleasure but she’d done nothing for him. “Let me make you feel good.”
“You already have,” he said, showering her with more kisses. “No regrets, beautiful.”
He wrapped her in his strong arms, holding her as they kissed and then running his hand soothingly along her back as they lay together. Most men couldn’t wait to get in a woman’s pants, and here he was, content with pleasuring her, holding her.
“Okay, sweetheart,” he said softly. “I better go before I forget why we stopped.”
She clung to him, knowing he was smart to give her a chance to think before they went further and wishing he could be careless just this once. That he’d take the decision out of her hands, as he had when he’d held back. But now she understood his reasoning well enough to realize that this decision was too important for either of them to give in.
He covered her with the blanket and kissed her tenderly. “Get some sleep.”
She lay on her side, watching him put on his shirt and wishing they’d been there four years ago. Was she making a mistake moving away? Could this be the beginning and the end of everything she’d ever wanted?
Weren’t those the exact questions, thereasons, he’d held back for all this time? The reason they hadn’t made love tonight?
“You’re going to outshine everyone in Boston, Supergirl. I can’t wait to hear all about it. I’ll come by in the morning to help you load up your car.”
“No. Please don’t.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat caused by the disappointment in his eyes. “I stink at goodbyes. You know I’ll cry, and I don’t want that. Just let me pretend it’s any other day and I’m going on a road trip.”
“That feels wrong on so many levels.” He sank down to the edge of the bed and took her hand in his.
“It’s not. It’s the rightest thing you can do.”
He sighed and traced the stars on her bracelet.
“I love my bracelet, and I love that every time I wear it I’ll think of tonight. Thank you.” She wanted to ask him what tonight meant. How would they act when they saw each other again? But part of her knew that too many questions might bring whatever this was between them to a screeching halt.
“I’ll lock up when I leave.” He touched his lips to hers and whispered, “Nothing could ever delete tonight from my memory banks. Good night, Supergirl.”
