Page 90 of Perfect

I could feel the heat from his body.

I flicked a strand of hair behind my ear and his own hand lifted to do the same to the other side. It was a gentle gesture and the skin on my neck prickled.

“Youwere the one winding him up,” I pointed out, a little shyly, considering the handful comment had of course been related to my breasts.

Suddenly, Connor’s eyes darkened and scanned my throat. He must have noticed the now faint trace of bruising which was still present on my neck. I’d stopped wearing my scarf.

His fingers traced the area softly before moving to skim across my collar bone. Goosebumps flittered across my skin at the contact.

“That fucker,” he whispered in a gruff voice. “No one will ever touch you again Harlow,” he said with a determined promise in his eyes.

He cocked his head to the side thoughtfully.

“You have such tiny ears,” he commented.

“I’m tiny everywhere,” I croaked.

His gaze then lowered to my cleavage before travelling back to my face. I didn’t actually mean ‘there’ but he checked me out anyway.

“I’m a bum man really,” he confessed with a teasing glint. This was probably a good thing due to the fact my boobs were not really anything to shout about.

“You don’t have to go. You can stay here with me. We don’t have to play Xbox; we can do something else.”

There was a suggestive light in his eyes and my tongue flicked nervously over my lips. I knew I should leave, the atmosphere between us simmered. The door was also now wide open and I didn’t have the nerve to shut it. I could hear my dad whistling quite loudly down the corridor. No doubt warning us that he was still in ‘hearing’ distance.

“I need to call my mom really,” I explained.

He nodded his head in understanding. “K, well, say hi from me.”

“I will.”

He pursed his lips. “Do you talk to her about me? I bet you do,” Connor said arrogantly.

“You are so full of yourself,” I berated with a laugh.

“Do you?” he said again, this time more seriously. The split on his lip had pretty much healed.

“Yes, actually I do. It’s not allgoodstuff though so your ego isn’t to get any bigger,” I whispered, popping a kiss on his cheek.

As I drew back, he shot me a suggestive smile. “I’m big everywhere,” he whispered, echoing my pattern of words from before.

I dramatically rolled my eyes.

“Whatever. Get some rest,” I ordered and moved to turn away but he caught my elbow and gently swung me back.

“It’s just too much fun pissing you off.”

There was a moment of thick silence before he said. “You fancy a drive to the beach with me tonight?” There was a slight tremor in his voice.

My heart leapt in my chest.

“Yes, OK,” I replied a little too soon and with much more eagerness than I should have. Didn’t they say you should always play it cool at first?”

He returned my smile and his eyes almost glittered.

Thoughts of playing it cool vanished as I considered his current state of health. “Are you OK to drive though?” I asked.

He escorted me to the door with his arm around my shoulders. It felt nice being tucked against him.

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