He shook his head, yet he didn’t immediately drop his hand. Instead he traced the line of her cheekbone then stroked down to her jaw, as if learning the shape of her face. It was all she could do not to let her eyes flutter shut in bliss.
His husky voice abraded her senses. ‘All that matters right now is whatyouwant.’
In the darkness she couldn’t read his expression. All she had to guide her were his stillness and his touch.
She wanted to tell him, again, that she didn’t need his sympathy. Yet the words clogged in her constricted throat. Her eyelids grew heavy, beginning to close as she breathed in his rich scent and his aura of solidity. Certainty. Strength.
How she wished for that strength, and so much more.
She listed forward, like metal to a magnet. She only barely managed to stop far enough to keep a tiny distance between them.
‘Greer?’
She’d never heard that one word, a single syllable, carry so much emotion. To her hyper-alert senses it seemed imbued with regret and doubt, with something like longing.
How exhausted she was from second-guessing everything! Every event, every word and feeling. She just wanted to let go instead of repressing and guarding every emotion.
Which was why she tilted her cheek, nestling it against his big, calloused palm. She was barely even aware of lifting her hand to plant it on his chest, pushing aside the lapel of his jacket to feel the rhythmic thump-thump of his heart. It was reassuring in its steadiness, but exciting too.
She barely even registered the whisper of common sense reminding her she worked for his man. That this was a line she shouldn’t cross.
All the tiny hairs on her body rose as her skin tightened. Now she heard the change in his breathing, felt the quickened rise of his chest.
His voice was a low murmur as he shifted closer. ‘Is this what you want, Greer?’
His arm slid around her waist, his palm settling at the base of her spine, drawing her forward, so she stepped up against all that lovely heat and hardness.
‘Yes. That’s exactly what I want.’
No tremor in her voice, no uncertainty now. Maybe tomorrow she’d regret her honesty, but she could no longer hide the truth.
Conall moved in, his encircling arm tightening, wrapping further around her, bringing her up against his body. Greer leaned closer, as if she could drag his essence into her by osmosis.
His thighs were as solid as a wall and between them, pressed to her abdomen, was a rigid weight that sent her yearning into overdrive. She slid both hands up his chest and cupped the back of his neck, sculpting herself against him.
Just as she was thinking she’d have to ask for more, his hand left her cheek to curve around her head and bring her to him. His head dipped. Paused.
Her breath hitched audibly, every cell throbbing in anticipation while outwardly she froze, all the better to absorb each sensation.
The waft of his breath over her mouth, a delicate caress that made her lips tingle. The charged atmosphere as if the very air grew heavy with the expectation between them. The absolute rightness of his touch, as if he’d held her this way before. As if their bodies were made for each other.
And finally, finally, the taste of him. The dark, rich, spicy tang of maleness. His lips brushed hers and every muscle in her taut frame relaxed in relief.
One touch was all it took to smash through old protective barricades and newer doubts. One brush of his mouth and her lips were moving, seeking, eagerly moulding to his.
His kiss was slow, restrained, and while it was the best thing she could remember, it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.
Greer rose, seeking more, inviting him deeper, pushing up against his hard frame because she needed…
Everything. That was what she wanted from Conall. Tenderness but passion too. Warmth and respect but also fire and intensity.
‘Please.’ Her voice was muffled against his mouth but he must have heard. Or he felt the same way, because now his embrace was tight, drawing her up his body so she could feel his taut muscles, hard bone and thrumming heart.
His tongue swept into her mouth and she clutched the back of his head, angling for more, meeting his caress with her own. Fire exploded behind shut eyes as sensations she’d once known but forgotten blasted her to the core.
In his encompassing arms, his mouth claiming hers, she felt a swelling heat, brighter and more intense than anything she remembered. Heat and need. Carnal need so intense she shook with it.
She’d wanted comfort and connection. Had wanted to be seen and appreciated. Held close, so that for once she didn’t feel alone.
