Whatever it was between them had sprung up so quickly, it would be so easy to doubt. But it felt real. Did she want to lose that? Could she live with his decision?
She sighed. “It’s not a dealbreaker. But can we find a compromise?”
“Like what?” That wasn’t a no, but it wasn’t a yes either.
“New discoveries are always being made. What if one day they find a way to block the signals? Or to remove it safely altogether? Would you at least be willing to revisit your decision?”
He was quiet so long that she thought she’d lost him. “I’ll consider it,” he said finally.
“Yay!” She did a victory wiggle on his lap. His erection hardened beneath her, so she did it again.
“Portia?”
She loved the way he growled her name. “Yes?”
“You’re going to put Tremaine resources behind this, aren’t you?”
Why lie when he’d figured it out? “Yes.”
He tilted his head up to the ceiling. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Oh, I’ve got a few ideas.” She wiggled her brows suggestively.
He laughed and pulled her closer for a kiss.
Chapter46
She grippedhis upper arms as he lowered her back to the couch cushions. Her fingers curled around his rock-hard biceps.
“Are you sure?”
Not trusting her voice, she nodded. “Yes,” she said when he didn’t move.
No sooner had the words left her mouth than he smiled then dipped his head. His lips brushed over hers. It should have been a chaste kiss, but his restrained passion was evident.
He lifted his head and stared at her with that fire in his eyes.
Using his arms as leverage, she raised up and pressed her lips against his. Wherever they touched, her body felt like an inferno was raging through it. She liked it.
No, shelovedit. She lovedhim?
That thought was swept away as he tugged her even closer. Her breasts pressed against his chest and she hated the barrier between them, even if it was only a few thin layers of fabric.
“Hi,” she said when she pulled back to catch her breath. She suddenly felt shy, though she didn’t drop her gaze.
“Hi.” He lowered his head again to scatter kisses on her lips. Her forehead. The tip of her nose. When his breath tickled her eyelashes, she laughed.
“I like hearing you laugh,” he admitted, his words a murmur in her ear.
Her cheeks turned pink and she didn’t know how to respond.
But she didn’t need to.
Aleks’s lips were butterfly soft as they pressed against hers. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I saw you tonight.”
In a move too quick for her to register, he shifted their positions. Suddenly, she was pressed full-length between the back of the couch and his body. Her cheek rested on one of his arms, while his fingers played with her hair. His other arm was securely wrapped around her waist, pressing them together.
She splayed one of her hands over his chest, fiddling with the buttons of his shirt with the other. She hitched one leg over his hip, anchoring them together, pelvis to pelvis. She rocked slowly, experimentally, and they both groaned.
