All the Way (Romancing Manhattan 1)

“Do you make that noise often when you eat?”

“What noise?”

“The moan.”

She frowns. “I don’t know, why?”

“Because if you do, I’ll have to make sure I don’t eat with you anymore. It makes me want to fuck you, London.”

She stops, her fork halfway to her mouth, and stares at me with her jaw dropped.

“Well, you’re blunt.”

“Frankly, I don’t know any other way to be right now because I’m so turned on I can barely see straight.”

“And flattering.”

“I’m not flattering you, I’m being honest.” I continue eating my pie, letting the conversation die, and she digs into hers as well. She sets her plate aside when she’s finished and, to my surprise, sets mine aside as well before climbing into my lap and wrapping her arms around my neck, threading her fingers in the hair at the back of my head.

“Gabby can’t see us,” she says quietly.

“No, and she’s preoccupied with her movie anyway, but I’m not getting naked with you out here.”

She smiles and drags her fingertips down my cheek.

“No, no getting naked tonight. But I’ve wanted to do this for a few days.” She leans in and presses her lips to mine, and I take over, gripping her wrists in my hands and wrapping them behind her back, pressing her chest to mine as my mouth devours her. She’s sweeter than the pie, and feels like heaven pressed against me.

She makes that little moan, grinds herself against my cock, which is pressed painfully against my jeans, and I want nothing more than to lay her back, strip her bare, and take my time exploring every fucking inch of her.

But Gabby’s here, and we’re outside, so this is not the place or the time.

God damn it.

“London,” I whisper against her mouth. “As much as I hate myself for it, I have to stop this.”

“I know,” she says, her eyes closed as she leans her forehead against mine. “What is it about you, Finn Cavanaugh?”

I kiss her nose, her forehead, then let her arms go and she braces herself against my chest as she leans back and stares down at me.

“Don’t answer that,” she says as she shimmies off of my lap. I see the cringe on her face when she moves her leg a certain way and I feel like a complete douche for not being more careful with her. “I’m not fragile,” she says, as if she can read my mind.

“No, you’re not.”

She clears her throat, brushes some stray hair off her cheek, and seems to wrap her dignity around her.

“You are sexy as hell, and I hope I get the chance to see you again,” I say as I glide my finger down her bare arm. She sends me a bright, happy smile.

“I’d like to see you again too.”

“My mother is arriving in the morning,” I reply, and she looks surprised. “She called me today, so it’s a last-minute visit, but she’ll just be here for a couple days.”

“That’ll be nice for you and Gabby,” London says with a nod.

“Here.” I unlock my phone and pass it to her. “Put your number in here so I can call you the minute she leaves.”

She smiles again and does as I ask.

“I should go,” she says. “If I don’t, I’ll throw myself at you again, and I limit that to once a day.”

“I’ll remember that,” I reply with a laugh, and stand with her. Rather than walk through the house, she takes the stairs off my deck.

“There’s a shortcut to my place down here,” she says with a wink. “Just in case you ever need it.”

And with that, she’s gone, and I’m left sexually frustrated and counting down to when I can see her again.

Two days. I haven’t seen London in two days, and it’s making me twitchy.

So while my mom and Gabby make breakfast and fuss at each other, I decide to go for a run down the beach. I prefer to go much earlier in the morning when there are fewer people out, but this will do.

I run for about three miles, and then turn around to head back home. When I can see London’s house, I slow down. I wonder what she’s doing right now, and call myself a fool for not at least texting her over the past couple of days. She probably thinks I’m a jerk.

As I get closer, I see the woman herself standing in the sand, just at the edge of the water. She’s in shorts and a tank top with a hoodie wrapped around her waist.

Her dark hair is down, getting blown in the wind.

She’s so damn beautiful she takes my breath away.

She turns and sees me and offers me a smile while letting her eyes wander up and down my body. She bites her lip, and I can see the heat in her eyes.