She placed her hands on his chest. She should push him away. Send him back to his apartment for the last night he’d live there. But instead, she curled her fists into his shirt and tugged him closer. He flexed his fingers in her hair, and his other hand fell to her waist. His lids dropped, and he stared at her mouth as if he were starving for her.
As much as she was starving for him.
She tilted her chin up, and he was on her, his mouth devouring hers. Their tongues intertwined, and she clung to him as if he was the only thing keeping her on Earth. As if she couldn’t stand without him. And she was starting to fear she couldn’t. Even though she kept trying to push him away, it seemed he kept getting closer and closer. He was like a knight hammering a door with a battering ram. The door would break eventually…and then what would happen?
She would be completely vulnerable.
His hands swept over her hips and he hauled her against his body, her belly brushing against his hard erection. She moaned into his mouth and cupped his butt. He grinded up against her and lifted her until her back was against the door. She wrapped her legs around him, and he groaned when he pressed against her heat. Reaching down, she yanked his shirt over his head, breaking contact with his lips for as long as it took to rip his shirt off of him. Then she was kissing him again, even hungrier for him than she’d been moments before.
“Fuck,” he growled, his fingers scraping down her thigh and creeping toward her core. When his fingers brushed her inner thigh, he stopped. His harsh breathing filled the silence of the room. “We can’t do this. Not like this.”
Her heart stumbled to a stop, and then sped up painfully. He was right. They couldn’t do this. What had she been thinking? That’s exactly the problem. She hadn’t been thinking. She’d been feeling. And feelings were…God, she had been over this enough times. They were stupid. That’s what. “Put me down,” she whispered, letting go of him.
He gently set her on her feet and then stepped back, running his hands down his face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
She swallowed hard. He’d actually meant it. He was done with her. He didn’t want her anymore. If he did, then he wouldn’t have stopped. They’d be having sex right now, and he’d be buried inside of her where he belonged.
Except he didn’t want to belong there anymore.
“It’s okay,” she managed to say through her clogged throat. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Of course not.” He shot her a hard look she couldn’t read, then grabbed his shirt and yanked it over his head. “It never is, is it?”
“Never.” She hugged herself and averted her eyes. Trying to insert a light tone into her hollow voice, she said, “You should go home now. It might be Friday night, but you should go to bed early. Big day tomorrow.”
He stood there for a minute, looking as if he wanted to say something to her. She held her breath, waiting for him to open his mouth and say something that would show her he didn’t want to be apart. Something to indicate he still wanted her, like Brianna said he did.
“Okay. See you tomorrow.”
She finally looked back at him, then wished she hadn’t. He looked so confused and lost. And sad. That one hurt the most. “Yep. I’ll be here. Working.”
“On a Saturday?”
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “Deadlines. I’ve got three books due back to the authors by the end of next week.”
“Okay. I’ll try to be quiet.” He opened his mouth, closed it, and then nodded. “Bye.”
He turned on his heel and walked out of her room. And once again, she wanted to chase after him…and yet push him away at the same time.
Chapter Eight
The next morning, Garrett paused on the threshold of his new house and took a calming breath. Today was the day he moved in with Kiersten. The day he could start trying to win her over. But if he wanted to do that? He needed to keep his hands to himself, or he would lose the battle before he’d even begun. He couldn’t kiss her. Couldn’t forget his role in this new family of his. If he won her heart, he wanted to do it the right way. Through his actions…not through the bedroom.
He wouldn’t fight dirty.
No matter how hard it was to keep his hands to himself around her. And man, it was hard. He pulled his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Chris was sitting on the couch playing PlayStation, and Kiersten was nowhere to be found. She was probably at her desk, which was now in her bedroom. He was getting her former office, and the other room would be for their baby.
Their baby. Even thinking it made him tremble. He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around the fact that he’d gotten Kiersten pregnant. That they’d made a life with their one night together.
He walked into the living room. He hesitated at the threshold, uncertain how the boy would react to him after last night. “So, this is how you spend Saturday mornings?”
“Yeah. Pretty much.” Chris paused the game but didn’t put the controller down. “You gonna keep talking to me, or are we done?”
Garrett sighed. “Yeah. I’d like to talk for a minute. I’m waiting for your uncle.”
“Gotcha.” Chris set the controller down on the table. “So, this is the day, huh?”
Garrett nodded. “Whatcha playing?”