Breaking their kiss, Cannon laid her on the comforter and just gazed at her. He wanted her bad, but he needed to stop this now. He didn’t want to mess things up by moving too fast. She felt too important.
“I’ma go to bed, La. I came in here to tell you good night,” he said, attempting to stand.
Nahla tightened her legs and arms around him and shook her head. Gently, she pulled his head back down and kissed him softly. Somehow, Cannon found the strength to pull away again.
“This ain’t a good idea, La.”
She sighed but didn’t release her hold on him.
“Tell me why,” she said.
Nahla rubbed her lips together briefly, and Cannon followed the movement.
“Because,” he said, before kissing her again. “I’m feelin’ you too much already. If we took it there . . .” He kissed her neck. “There wouldn’t be any going back.”
Nahla’s breath hitched, and he hoped she understood what he was trying to convey. He wasn’t resisting her because he didn’t want her; he was resisting because he wasn’t takingwhatever this waslightly.
She loosened her arms just enough to pull back and see his face more clearly. His eyes were dark and conflicted.
In a whisper, Nahla said, “I wouldn’t wanna go back, Cannon.”
“La—”
“I’m not sure what it is about you—aboutthis—that’s so different, but itisdifferent,” she said, cutting him off. “For years, my job has been my life. My stories have been all that matter to me. This is the first time in a long time that there’s something—someone—who means something to me like you do.
“Maybe we are moving quickly, but it doesn’tfeelrushed or random to me. It feels right. You’ve been selflessly protectingme. I’ve trusted you tonight with things I don’t trust anyone with. We may not have time, but we have an undeniable connection. Tell me I’m wrong.”
She damn sure wasn’t wrong. Their connectionwasreal. His concern was that it was too real too quick, so he told her that.
Her reply was, “Or maybe it’s so real because we haven’t had time to pretend like we don’t have something here.”
Cannon lowered his head and kissed her deeply.
“Yo’ ass got an answer for everything, huh?” he asked, although he knew Nahla was right. The last few days had been a lot—full of chaos, danger, and adrenaline. Through it all, Nahla Avery had been the bright spot. He wasn’t a stranger to dangerous situations, but his jobs usually kept him in isolation.
It had always been easier to hyperfocus on the mission and block out everything else, including the client. All that internal seclusion usually left him in a dark headspace, though.
This time around, Nahla had been the constant, the anchor that kept him grounded in the light. She said he made her feel safe, but in this short time, she had become a safe space for him too. When he was with her, he felt safe enough to be present. Safe enough to behappy. For a man like him, that wasn’t a small thing.
Nahla joined their lips again, and as they kissed, he felt her hand move between them. He didn’t stop her from reaching into his boxers or from releasing his manhood.
Instead, he made sure he had her eyes when he said, “La, if we take it there, I’ma want you. Not just tonight, either. We gon’ be locked in.”
She smiled as she began to stroke him.
“You hear me?” he asked.
“Yep,” she said, guiding him to her opening.
“Fuck.” Cannon had to pause. Nahla felt better than amazing.
He pushed inside her—slow, deep, steady. He watched as her lips parted and she accepted every inch of him. Her breath stopped.
“Breathe, baby.”
Cannon kissed her lips, and she exhaled shakily. Biting her lip, she closed her eyes tightly as he moved inside her.
“You good?” he asked.
