Page 40 of Teach Me
Conlan’s hoarse cry cut through the dark, dragging her submerged consciousness out of another nightmare and into reality. After forcing her eyes open, she met his concerned gaze as he hovered over her.
That look confused her until she realized she was fighting for breath. The more air she pulled, the emptier her lungs felt, until panic surged with her racing heartbeat. She gripped the firm biceps caging her and focused on Conlan’s face, his lips. They were tight, angry. What had she done?
“I’m sorry.” The words were squeezed through her closed airway, low and raspy. Had she been screaming? Maybe that’s why he was angry—she’d woken him up. She looked for a window, a clock, anything that could tell her if it was the middle of the night. Oh God, she hadn’t meant to wake him up.
“Jess, stop.” Firm hands framed her face, stilling her search. “Shh, look at me. It’s all right. Just breathe.” The anxious tone of his voice was cutting through the panic in her mind. “It’s all right. I’m here.”
As if her brain had finally clicked online, Jess realized where she was, where they were. In Conlan’s apartment. In his bed. Vague memories of arriving, Conlan helping her undress, and the cool crispness of fresh sheets against her skin flitted through her mind. She shifted, feeling the soft covers and her mostly bare body.
Bare.
Conlan was leaning over her, securing her to the mattress. His elbows were braced just outside her shoulders, keeping most of his weight off her and his chest hovering above. The muscled expanse rose and fell, drawing her eyes, her hands like a lodestone.
His skin warmed her palms. Filling her lungs in rhythm with his became her center, her only focus for long moments in time.Breathe. Just breathe.
A flinch went through her when Conlan moved, easing away.
“Awake now?”
That’s right, not supposed to be touching anymore.She took another lungful of air, responding on the exhale. “Yeah.”
“Good,” he said. His eyes glimmered in the moonlight streaming through the curtains. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“I’m sor—”
Conlan cut her off with a shake of his head. “Don’t,” he said. “Don’t apologize to me. It’s no wonder you’re having nightmares with the shitty experience you had tonight. Last night.” He shook his head again. “Whenever it is.”
Jess closed her eyes, trying to block out the distance between them, but flashes from her dream brought them back open. Brit, a hand around her neck, screaming, pain. A whimper choked off in her throat.
“Shh.” Conlan lay down, his strong arms turning her toward him, gathering her close. Her silk-clad breasts hit his bare chest, her pelvis fitting right against his, and suddenly nightmares were the last thing on her mind. No, now she couldn’t breathe for a whole different reason.
“Con?” She glanced up, meeting his shadowed gaze, and time went as still as her breath. Something hovered between them, something she couldn’t name, but it sizzled and snapped along her senses until remaining still was impossible. On reflex, her tongue sneaked out, wetting her suddenly dry lips. Conlan cursed.
She went to speak, and Conlan’s mouth dropped to meet hers. She opened to him instead. Her hands, her skin, every molecule soaked up the heat of him, the intensity, the hunger. It quivered through him and into her. The nightmare couldn’t have her back. She was Conlan’s; she lived for his kiss, his taste, his touch. A hiccupy sigh escaped between kisses as the present overtook the past.
Conlan shifted restlessly, pulling her closer, then closer still. His knee nudged between hers, then up toward the apex of her thighs. The hard, muscled length of his leg wedged itself against her mound, and she actually smiled. So much better than the past.
He settled back into stillness. Jess stirred, restless, and Con’s limbs clamped down on hers to keep her still. Was that it? Surely he wouldn’t just leave things there—they were in bed, skin to skin, for goodness’ sake.
Snuggling in, she breathed softly against his chest. Even in the dim room she could see his nipple tighten. “Conlan?”
“Ssh. Just go back to sleep.”
Conlan forced his breathing to quiet, even if he couldn’t force his erection to do the same. It was screaming its need, throbbing like a son of a bitch, but he wouldn’t give in.Go to sleep.
The quiet lasted about two seconds more before Jess moved. She arched into him, her pebbled nipples clearly felt, brushing across his chest—once, twice, again. He leaned back, certain she wasn’t aware enough to understand what she was doing, although the bulge between his thighs, so tightly tangled with hers, had to be a big clue.
Jess whimpered, her fingernails digging into the muscles of his arms, urging him closer.
“Jess.”
She tilted her head away from his chest and glanced up from under her lashes. Residual fear and rising desire warred in the depths of her soft brown eyes.
“What is it, baby?”
Jess answered him without words, arching again, the movement dragging her pelvis along his rock-hard shaft. Low groans escaped both of them.
He wanted to give in. He wanted to close his eyes and forget day would ever come and just lose himself in the pleasure she could give him. But that was impossible, because day would come and, with it, reality. So he forced the pleasure away.
