“I think I’m going to take a break for a few minutes before getting back to it,” Connor said, pushing himself out of his chair. “I need to stretch.”
Dropping her hand to her side, she moved a step back. “Do y
ou want something to eat? A cup of tea, maybe?”
“No, I’m okay for now. I just—”
He stumbled when his foot slid on a pencil that had fallen unnoticed to the floor. Steadying himself quickly, he shook his head and bent to pick it up at the same time Mia reached down for it. They bumped heads, laughed, reached again for the pencil in unison, then bumped into each other again.
“I’ll get it,” Connor said, catching her shoulders to keep her from losing her balance with the second collision. “Before we end up—”
His teasing words faded into silence.
They knelt very close together, their knees touching, his hands on her forearms. Distant lightning strobed against the kitchen window and a low rumble of thunder echoed the sudden pounding of Mia’s heart.
“Damn it,” Connor muttered, his fingers tightening on her arms.
Hardly romantic words, but his tormented tone made her throat tighten. Without giving herself a moment to think, she leaned toward him, wrapped her arms around his knotted shoulders and pressed her mouth to his.
Chapter Eleven
Connor closed his bedroom door very quietly and pressed the lock. They hadn’t turned on a light, but there was just enough illumination in the shadowy room for her to see the tumultuous play of emotions across his face. “Mia—”
“Shh.” She pressed her fingertips against his lips and moved closer.
He was so tense. The tendons in his arms and thighs were as rigid as granite. His desire for her was obvious when she fitted herself fluidly against him. Her pulse raced with an answering hunger she could no longer deny.
He held himself back for a moment, his muscles quivering with the effort. She suspected that he was struggling to think, trying to stay in control, but she smothered his mouth beneath hers before he could voice his reservations. She didn’t want to think. Didn’t want to worry or dread or anticipate. For this one night, she wanted only to feel. To offer what he needed and take what she wanted. To finally give in to what had been building between them for longer than either had been willing to admit.
She felt the moment Connor stopped trying to resist. A hard breath jolted through him and he dragged her closer, his mouth closing over hers with an almost desperate intensity. His tongue plunged between her lips and she welcomed him eagerly, savoring the spicy taste of him. He lifted her onto her tiptoes and she wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to get closer to him even though they were already plastered together.
Mindful of the need for quiet, they fell onto the bed, their gasps and moans hushed but still heartfelt. Clothes fell heedlessly aside. Connor groped in the nightstand drawer with one hand while ridding himself of his jeans with the other. He didn’t even bother to close the drawer when he rushed back to her, rolling with her on the tumbled bedclothes.
They moved together as if they’d been lovers forever. And yet it was still so much different than Mia had ever imagined. So much more than she had even hoped.
She had never felt like this before. Shuddering in his arms, she heard the cliché echo through her head, and she would have winced at her own triteness had she had the strength to do anything but lie there and gasp for air. But it was true, nonetheless. Nothing had ever felt this good. This…right.
His skin hot and damp, his breathing labored, Connor lay beside her, holding her tightly against his side. She heard him swallow, heard him start to say something, but then he fell silent again, as if he weren’t yet up to the effort of speech.
Feeling much the same way, she nestled her cheek into his shoulder, her hand resting on his flat stomach. Doubts and uncertainties were beginning to whisper at the back of her mind, but she pushed them away. She would deal with them later, she promised herself. She’d have no other choice, eventually. But she could allow herself to appreciate this intimate warmth for a few more lovely moments.
Connor’s lips moved against her forehead. “I should get back to studying,” he murmured, his voice low, still a little rough-edged.
“You need some rest.”
“I couldn’t sleep now, anyway. I guess you could say I’ve been reinvigorated. Thanks.”
She smiled and lifted her head to look at him. “Glad I could help.”
Laughing softly, he snagged the back of her head and pulled her down for another kiss, this one more gentle and lingering than the ones they had exchanged in the heat of passion.
His smile was gone by the time the kiss ended. “We’ll have to talk about this, you know.”
She swallowed, feeling euphoria slip away despite her best efforts to hold on to it. “I know. But maybe now isn’t the best time.”
“No. But soon.”
“Yes.”