“I’m not dating Gwen anymore. I’m solo for the moment.” As soon as he said the words, he regretted them. Damn, why did he sound like Romeo between Juliets? Despite public opinion, his bedroom didn’t have a revolving door.
“Since when? Won’t you walk lopsided now without a babe to balance you?” Maggie winked and dropped onto a stool beside him at the breakfast bar. She leaned over to switch on the stereo, her V-neck T-shirt gaping to display creamy white curves. His mind blanked, his fingers itching to touch. Instead, he wrapped his hands around his mug and took a sip of coffee.Baby steps and patience.
“I thought you liked Gwen,” she added.
“Idolike her, but I felt like I was dating my sister.”
Maggie’s brown eyes widened. “Ouch. You didn’t tell her that, did you?”
“No. Our parting was amicable.” Her compassion made his heart melt. He wanted to hug her for caring about a woman she’d met only once.
“Do you have your eye on someone else?” She sipped her coffee and glanced at him over the rim of her mug.
“Not really,” he said, seeing an opening. “Gwen was always complaining about rugby season during winter. With training and Saturday games, I don’t have many free nights. I’m not desperate for a replacement. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just that you always have a woman.” White teeth nibbled her bottom lip. A cute furrow formed and vanished between her eyes, as if she didn’t believe him.
“Maggie, contrary to public opinion I don’t always have a woman around.”
“Can I ask a personal question?”
“Sure.” He wouldn’t guarantee a reply, but her expression told him she’d guessed that.
“What about sex? I mean, I like sex. The closeness and sleeping with a guy.” She paused, looked him straight in the eye. “Do you miss sex when you’re not going out with someone?”
Connor laughed. This conversation couldn’t have gone better if he’d scripted it. “Sure, I miss sex.” He hesitated, wondering how honest he should be with her. “This is just between us, right?”
“I would never share a private conversation with any of the others.”
Connor knew it was true. While their other friends gossiped amongst themselves, he’d never heard Maggie repeat anything confidential. Not once. “Yeah, I miss sex,” he said. “I love to explore a woman’s body, her scent and taste, her soft curves. Masturbation doesn’t bring the same pleasure. My hand never feels quite the same as tight, hot pussy.”
Color shaded her cheeks, although she nodded. “I know what you mean. It’s the emptiness afterward that gets to me.” Her smile was rueful. “I’m probably every man’s nightmare because I like to cuddle. Sleeping alone and self-pleasuring isn’t the same.”
He’d ask her.Right now. The timing couldn’t be better.
A feeling he recognized as terror speared his gut. A lot rode on her reaction to his next question. Connor placed his coffee mug on the counter. “Will you kiss me?”
“A kiss?” A surprised laugh escaped her. “Why?”
“I have an idea, but I need a kiss first.”
Smiling, Maggie leaned close and pressed her lips against his cheek. She moved back before he reacted.
“That wasn’t quite what I had in mind.” Blood rushed through his veins, his heart thudding against his ribs in an erratic manner. Hell, sex between them would be good, if this innocent little kiss was any sign. “A real kiss.”
Connor closed the distance between them and grasped her head in his hands. She jumped at his touch, stared at him, a spark of indefinable emotion darkening the golden-brown of her eyes to chocolate. His gaze dropped to her mouth. God, he’d always loved her mouth, fantasized about kissing it, seeing her lips wrapped around his cock. He snorted. Like that idea would score him points. Connor brushed his lips against hers. Soft. So soft. The rest of his body went on high alert, cock filling to press against his fly.
She sighed and he took advantage, slipping his tongue inside to taste her. Coffee and a faint minty flavor danced across his taste buds. At first he kept the kiss slow and gentle, then he lifted his head to study her. He liked the dreamy expression on her face, but he enjoyed kissing her more. He wanted her to respond to his kiss, needed to know she felt even a little like he did. Her eager lips and the hands threading through his hair, holding him in place as he wrapped his arms around her again, shot his doubts to hell.
Slowly, he pulled back. They were both breathing fast. “Okay. That answered my question.”
Maggie smoothed her tongue over her bottom lip and watched him with a touch of confusion. Judging by her expression, she thought she’d taken a wrong turn from the bathroom and stepped into an alternative reality. “What question?”
“Would you be interested in afriends with benefitsdeal with me?” He held his breath and waited for her answer, knowing he’d never wanted something so much in all his life.
Her mouth opened and closed three times. “Friends with benefits? You mean…we’d sleep together?”
“If we weren’t seeing anyone else.”Damn, please don’t say no. His gut jumped with nerves. He’d pushed her too hard. She’d reject his offer and wonder about his motives.
