Page 33 of Love in the Time of Conversation Hearts

When my doorbell rings at five to seven, I let out a frustrated huff. I should have known Adam Sullivan is a being-early-is-on-time kind of man. I, however, am a change-three-times-and-panic-call-my-best-friend-for-advice kind of woman, so at five till, I’m still trying to decide what earrings go with the burgundy ruffle-sleeved midi dress I ended up in.

I quickly put on some dangling gold earrings, and I hop on one foot as I slip into my nude chunky sandals on my way to answer the door. When I pull it open, I’m breathless for an entirely different reason than the exertion of last-minute dressing. Adam is standing there on my porch looking like he walked out of a men’s fashion magazine. His dark, tweed pea coat is open to show a white collar peeking out above a ribbed, gray sweater that brings out the color of his eyes. His black pants are more casual than trousers, but much nicer than jeans, and he’s topped off the whole ensemble with gray loafers to match his sweater.

But the best part of it all is the way he’s looking at me, as if he wants to devour me. And, frankly, looking like he does right at this moment, I’d let him.

“Cora.” My name is rich and thick on his tongue, like he’s rolled it around and likes the way it feels. “You look beautiful.”

The flush that creeps up my cheeks has me smiling like a giddy schoolgirl. “Thanks. You look—”

“Excuse me. Coming through.” Harrison startles me by putting his hands on my shoulders from behind me to move me out of his way. “I definitely do not need to be here for this,” he mutters as he scoots around me to get to the door.

“Where are you going?” I ask as he shrugs his shoulders against the winter chill. In his haste to leave, he didn’t bother grabbing his coat.

“Anywhere else.” He waves a hand in goodbye as he gets into his car. “Hang a sock on the doorknob if you need me to spend the night somewhere,” he shouts before slamming the car door and peeling out of the driveway.

“Oh my God.” I drag a hand over my jaw before pressing my palm to my lips, my eyes wide in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry.”

Adam looks a bit shocked, but his shoulders shake with repressed laughter. “Your brother is still living here, I take it?”

“Not for long,” I grind out between clenched teeth.

His laugh seeps out of him, and it’s enough to soften me. I shake my head, incredulous, but I smile, too. We linger in the humor of it, letting the first-official-date tension drain. What’s left is just… us. Two people who are clearly nervous, but who also enjoy each other’s company and want more of it. As if he feels it, too, our eyes meet, and his gaze turns heated.

“Shall we?” He motions toward his SUV idling in the driveway.

“Yeah. Let me just grab my coat.” I turn toward the hall closet and pull it off a hanger. Adam steps inside and takes the coat from me to help me into it. In doing so, his fingertips graze my collarbones, and I’m suddenly desperate for him to trail his fingers over the curve of my breasts and lower still.

“You’re a vision,” he whispers into the shell of my ear, his hands still resting over the shoulders of my coat. My eyelids flutter closed, and I let myself breathe in the scent of his aftershave. How did I ever resist this? He feels so good, so right.

But I can’t linger too long, because his hands fall away from my shoulders, forcing me back into the real world. I take a fortifying breath and open my eyes so I can step out and lock the door behind me. The chilly night air does nothing to calm my feverish skin.

Adam offers me his arm to help me to the car, then opens the door for me when we arrive. He angles his body presumably to let me slip past him and into the car, but the result brings me close enough to brush against his chest.

“Cora.” When he says it this time, his voice is strangled. He takes a step toward me, which presses the back of my legs into the seat. I almost fall backward, but his arm circles around my lower back, holding me up. The fingers of his other hand thread through my hair as he angles my lips to meet his.

And then I’m lost in a deep, languid kiss. His tongue teases at the seam of my lips, and I open for him. The mint of his mouthwash dances across my tastebuds. I toss my purse on the floor of the car behind me and weave my arms inside his coat, warming my chilled hands in the space between his sweater and the lining.

One of his thighs slips between mine, and I’m helpless to do anything but grind against it. The cold air meets my bare legs when my skirt lifts, and I shiver involuntarily.

Adam pulls away only enough to look at me, his brow furrowed. “Are you cold?”

“A little,” I admit breathlessly. “But it’s fine.” I meet his lips again, and he’s all too willing to continue the makeout session. If the hard length of him pressing against my hip is any indication, he’s also willing to do a lot more.

He presses a hot line of kisses down the column of my throat. When his tongue grazes the space just above my collarbone, he breathes, “We can take this inside if you’d rather.”

As much as I want Adam Sullivan in my bed, the thought of delaying for the few minutes it would take to walk inside feels like too much when he’s looking at me like that. Touching me like that. Tasting me...

“Why go all the way back when we have perfectly good, heated seats right here?” I say coyly.

His expression darkens with desire. In one swift movement, he grabs my waist and swings me around so he’s able to shimmy into the passenger seat. I climb in, too, hiking my dress up and settling onto his lap so I’m straddling him. In a burst of movement, Adam yanks the door shut and we are cocooned in darkness, save for the faint glow of my porch light forcing its way through his deeply tinted windows. It takes a second for me to find my balance in the cramped space, and he steadies me with his hands on my waist.

“You okay?” he asks on a strangled breath.

“Yeah.” I shift on top of him to try to get more comfortable, and I bang my elbow against the door in the process. “Shit.”

He presses his hands to the side of my face, dragging my hair away from my cheeks and forcing me to look at him. “Seriously, there’s a house right there. It probably has more space.”

I shake my head and drag my bottom lip through my teeth. “I need you now, Adam.”