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GABI
The bed was king-sized. Perfectly made, and finished with turquoise cushions, it dominated the room with its overt expectation Connor and I would sleep together between its crisp, white sheets.
Despite my parting words to Lawrence, I walked straight past the hulking piece of furniture as if it didn’t exist. “I can’t believe the nerve of that man.” Dumping my purse on one of the armchairs, I reached up on tiptoes to yank the curtains open. “Strutting about like some peacock.” The view of the golf course below may have held my attention on any other day. Today my thoughts were distracted by horny ex-boyfriends and the potential pleasure to be gained from new ones. “Acting like everything we do is for his benefit.”
Connor toed off his shoes and dropped onto the very bed I’d been ignoring. Stretching out, he folded his hands behind his head. “I don’t know. At the moment it seems more like everythinghedoes benefitsus.”
Crossing my arms, I frowned at him. “How do you mean?”
He raised an eyebrow, a wicked smile spreading across his face. “Are you saying youdidn’tenjoy the way he salivated at the sight of us together?”
I opened my mouth to deny it but burst into giggles before I got so much as a word out. “He really did, didn’t he?”
Connor nodded. “A little bit, yeah.”
He shifted, getting comfortable, and the slight movement drew my gaze down the length of his body. I was allowed to touch Connor’s body this weekend, peel the layers of clothing from his skin and explore all the parts of him I’d only wondered about. My mouth watered at the thought. Unfortunately, our time frame was short, and my exploration would have to wait.
“I don’t think we’ve shared a bed since we were eight years old,” Connor mused. “When your parents had to go away overnight for some funeral. Do you remember?”
Smiling, I crawled onto the mattress to sit cross-legged beside him. Not close enough to touch though. I didn’t want to start something that would leave me flustered and irritable at the wedding rehearsal. “I remember pigging out on too much junk food and feeling queasy afterwards.”
“That’s right.” He laughed out loud, before sitting up to mirror my position. “I’ll promise not to bring chips or chocolate into the bed if you do.”
“It’s a deal.”
We shook on it.
“Also, I promise to stay on my side,” Connor added in a quiet voice, not letting go of my hand. “If that’s what you want.”
My whole body was going haywire just sitting here with him. “It’s not necessarily what I want,” I murmured, and when his eyes darkened, my body clenched in anticipation. “But at the same time, I don’t want to go too fast and end up ruining everything.”
“It’s only fast if you can’t keep your hands to yourself,” he teased. “Because, I’ll have you know, I’m not that kind of man and I expect you to respect any ground rules I decide to put in place.”
I burst out laughing. Connor always did have a way of making me feel comfortable, even if we were discussing our potentially awkward sleeping arrangements. “You can trust me. Despite what Lawrence says about me being uncivilised, I’m actually a perfect lady.”
The glimmer in his eyes dimmed at the mention of Law and I wanted to bite my own tongue for bringing him back into the conversation. Why did I do that? This weekend was supposed to be about me and Connor, even if Law would be hanging around in the background.
“Lady or not,” he said, holding my gaze, “you are pretty damned perfect, but then I’ve always thought so.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the compliment. I’d received many of them from him since he’d agreed to this date and I had to admit I liked hearing them. The idea of tackling him to the bed and seeing how far we could get in the ten or so minutes we had left started to look a little too appealing and I got off the bed in an attempt to preserve my decorum.
“I really need to hang up my dress,” I said, unzipping my suitcase to rescue the dress from its over-stuffed confines.
“Gabs, can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” I said, still tutting over the wrinkles in the silky fabric. With any luck, they would fall out overnight.
“Is it always like that between you and Lawrence?”
I looked up. Connor stood beside the bed now, his arms tucked high around his torso. “Like what?” I hung the dress in the nearby wardrobe before turning to face him.
“That push and pull you do with him. It’s like foreplay, so thick you could lick it.”
Unsure how to respond, I grabbed my toiletry bag and took it into the bathroom. “If you’re talking about what happened in the elevator,” I called out, “Lawrence is known to be a pain in the arse from time to time.”
He waited for me to return before he replied. “Nope, it’s not just him.” His gaze scanned my face, searching for answers I didn’t know how to give. He took a step towards me. “I noticed it last week, and again today.” Another step. “You egg each other on, and you both get off on it.”
