‘Oh,’ I murmured, my shoulders stiffening.
‘I told you, not like that. We work together – that’s all.’
‘And what work is that?’ I asked, not really wanting the answer. Because, with everything that had happened, I was sure it had nothing to do with structural engineering. Or sailing.
‘Ally, look at me.’
The gravelly timbre of his voice sent a thrumming vibration right through me. I swallowed, my breath fractured, and turned to face him, possibly the bravest thing I’d ever done.
‘I have so many questions, Tommy,’ I whispered, my voice textured with every single one of them.
‘I know. And I owe you answers.’
His gaze dropped to my mouth, then returned to meet mine, and every neuron in my brain urged me to close the gap between us. But I couldn’t. Not yet. So I said the one thing that would unlock everything else.
‘You forgot about me.’ My eyes glossed with tears, but I steadfastly held his gaze.
‘Never, Ally. I never forgot you. Not for one single day.’
The gasp came from deep inside me, then there was no more conscious thought of right and wrong and past and present. There was only me and him – my beautiful Tommy, the man I’d forced myself to forget just to stay afloat.
His hands dropped to my waist, pulling me to him, his body firmly pressed against mine. I trailed my hands to his shoulders, my fingers fisting in his shirt.
Our lips collided.
Every nerve ending was electrified as my lips moved against his. Full and soft, yet kissing me with firm insistence, transfixing me. Our mouths melded perfectly, lip to lip, sealing our connection. Our tongues were tentative at first, then engaged in a dance that aroused shivers and sighs.
His arms tightened around me and I unclenched my fingers, slipping my hands around his neck, falling deeper into the kiss and losing myself in him.
Being in Tommy’s embrace was everything I’d craved but buried deep. Comfort and adventure, familiarity and excitement, converging in one perfect, breathless, aching moment – exactly how it had once been between us.
But a heartbeat later, the need for him sharpened.
Without breaking the kiss, I tugged at the hem of his T-shirt, aching to touch his bare skin. I slid my palms up his back, raking my nails lightly, and he moaned – a sound that travelled to my core, setting me alight.
He drew back, ending our kiss, but I knew from the look in his eyes there would be another – and so much more.
He roughly grabbed the bottom of my hoodie and pulled it over my head. My hair tumbled onto my shoulders, mussed, but I didn’t care. He tossed it on the floor, then reached behind me and undid my bra with a two-fingered snap.
I gasped – I’d forgotten he could do that. He met my eye, his left brow arched sexily.
Still wanting more of him, I reached for the button of his jeans, but he gently pushed my hands away.
‘Uh-uh, not yet.’
He hooked one finger under each bra strap, sliding them off my shoulders, and my bra followed my hoodie to the floor. He stood back, his eyes roaming my body then rising to meet mine.
‘My god, Ally, you’re so beautiful.’
Tommy stared into my eyes, seeing right into me – taking inallof me – the bold and sassy Ally who still wanted to change the world, the vulnerable, heartsick Ally who’d kept her distance…
Tears blurred my vision as he reached for my face, running his thumb gently along my jawline. It had always been more than lust between us, something else I’d forced myself to forget because the pain of missing him – of missingus– had been too much to bear.
He drew nearer, softly kissing my lips, and shivers rippled over me. He lowered his head, dropping his mouth to my neck, planting soft, tingle-inducing kisses, his lips moving to my collarbone, tracing its ridge. His hands cupped my breasts, his thumbs circling my nipples as they hardened beneath his touch. His lips lowered to one breast, kissing the fullness, his tongue licking, tasting me. He took my nipple in his mouth and I buried my fingers in his hair. Every touch, every kiss, every sensation was shooting straight between my legs.
I wanted him inside me, to be as close to him as possible.
But I also wanted this, this sweet torture.
