He shook his head, darted his gaze away and hurriedly took a sip of his hot coffee.
Her eyes widened. “Oh, my God. Is the label you chose for me that bad? Is it unrepeatable?”
Connor set down his coffee cup. “We should load the moving truck. I have to return it soon. I only have a couple of boxes and my bed left to move.”
Laura narrowed her eyes as her jaw shifted to one side. “You’re going to tell me what your label for me is. You can’t get away from it. I’m going to weasel the truth out of you.”
Not if I can help it.
* * *
LAURA HISSED A GROAN through her teeth as she pushed the mattress up the stairs with a precarious hold on the bottom corner. “Was it the strong one?” she asked as she rested the mattress on the steps. “That should be my label.”
“Don’t forget to lift with your knees.” His voice carried over the mattress.
“My knees are kind of busy right now,” she said in a grumble. Her knees were aching as they tried to support her shaky legs. “How about the stunning one?”
She doubted that applied right now. She was sweaty and she knew her face was shiny and red from exertion. The dirt smudge on her halter top matched the one on her leg. This was not how she’d wanted Connor to see her after that mind-blowing kiss last night. “The tenacious one?” she asked hopefully.
“You’re almost at the top of the stairs.”
Laura was tempted to drop her end of the mattress and let it tumble down to the bottom. “You really aren’t going to tell me?”
Connor poked his head around the mattress and she tried to read his carefully blank expression. “For the last time, nothing popped into my head.”
“You are such a bad liar,” she muttered as she made it to the final step.
His chuckle echoed in the stairway. “You make it sound like that’s a bad thing.”
“It’s a bad thing not to tell me.” Was it something insulting? She couldn’t imagine that. That wasn’t Connor. Was it so complimentary that he thought she would take it as encouragement? Yeah, she’d go with that answer.
“Okay, the master bedroom is to your left.”
“Why is your bed so big?” Laura complained. She already knew the answer, though. Connor Adams was a big guy. Tall, muscular and solid. She often wanted to curl up into his arms and cling to his broad shoulders.
She feared she would never get the chance.
“We’re almost there.”
But Laura was nowhere near where she wanted to be with Connor. She kept waiting and waiting for the aphrodisiacs to kick in. They weren’t going to. Isabel was correct; they didn’t work. She had to come up with a better plan or she’d never get Connor out of her system.
As they lugged the mattress into the bedroom, Laura was barely paying attention to Connor’s directions. She gave a sigh of relief when they dropped the mattress onto the bed frame.
“Good,” Connor said as he straightened the mattress. “Just a couple more boxes and I’ll be completely moved in.”
And far away from her. Her heart began to pound frantically, and her blood roared in her ears. If anything was going to happen between them, she’d have to throw caution to the wind and just go for it.
Right now.
3
“CONNOR, I HAVE to tell you something.” Her voice was shaky. She didn’t blame herself for being nervous. She felt as if she was standing on the edge of a cliff about to take a giant leap and not knowing if she would soar or crash and burn.
Connor walked around the bed to stand beside her. He reached out and grasped her shoulders, turning her to face him. “What’s wrong?”
“I haven’t been completely honest with you.” She paused, trying to gather the courage she needed to continue. “I’m not sorry that I kissed you.”
He dropped his hands as if he’d been burned.
“In fact, I’m glad we kissed.” She stared at his mouth and her lips tingled. There was a magnetic pull between them that was becoming more powerful than her resistance. “Haven’t you wondered what it would be like between us? How good it would be?”
She watched breathlessly as Connor swallowed hard. “Some questions are meant to go unanswered,” he said in a gruff voice.
“Why? What are you so afraid of? That it would be so amazing between us that everything would change?” She was sure that going to bed with Connor would transform her. Their connection would be so strong that she would never be the same again.
“Laura...”
“Are you worried that I would demand more of you?” She would take everything he had to give, but he had to understand that she would reciprocate. “I’m not the clingy type.”