Page 29 of Dream Lover
Bruce was chatting up a raven-haired woman at the bar, his hand inching on her thigh closer to being under her skirt. Obviously, he didn’t care ‘his’ woman was dancing with another man.
I turned my head, not wanting to see if he made good on the action. I’d had enough of Bruce to last a lifetime.
We made our way to the elevators with my heart in my throat and nerves tingling in anticipation. I wanted to get Conner alone.
Maybe elevator alone? Maybe do some Christian Grey action?
Two guys stepped in with us, ruining my fantasy. Conner held me protectively to his front, an arm draped over my shoulder, hand over my breast which made up for it. Could he feel my nipple pressing into his palm? Out of the environment of the packed club and due to my wet dress, my body quivered against Conner’s, and he held me tighter. I tried soaking up his warmth, but damn, the air conditioning must have been on full blast.
We arrived on our floor and walked hand in hand to our room. He opened the door with the key card while my teeth chattered. This dress needed to be off.
He swept out his arm for me to enter, and he followed behind. Opening doors for someone was such a small gesture, but it had a hell of an impact.
Butterflies anxiously fluttered in my stomach as the door clicked behind us.
“I still can’t believe we won the last challenge.” Out of all the couples, who would have guessed we’d know each other the best and be considered most compatible? It was surreal how in sync we were. Crazy almost.
His eyes crinkled then went soft as he moved to me, his hands coming to my arms where he held me. “I’m not surprised, babe. When haven’t we been in each other’s lives outside of the past few years? Never missed a birthday party for you if I could help it. I took you to prom when your date had to cancel because his appendix ruptured.”
It was true. Conner had come to my rescue on more than one occasion. He had always been a major player in my life. It was something I’d missed when we went different directions. Come to think of it all my favorite childhood memories included him in some way.
He continued. “Who carried you home when you fell out of that tree when you were eleven? Who faked sick to stay home with you when you had the chicken pox?”
I smiled at the memory. Itchy and miserable, my mom had no one to stay home and watch me. She was out of days at work to take off, and I had gotten sick over the weekend.
When Monday rolled around, suddenly Conner was feeling bad and being he was fifteen, he said he’d stay with me. My brother couldn’t do it because of a test, and my father was out of town. It was one of the best sick days I’d ever spent even feeling like my skin was going to peel off.
Conner saved me on prom night which ended up being amazing because I was on his arm. He had come home from college, and I was at his house getting ready with Carrie when I got the call that Carter was being rushed into emergency surgery. Damn appendix.
My heart was crushed at the prospect of missing my prom, but the minute Conner heard I no longer had a date, he surprised me.
Sitting in the foyer of Carrie’s house contemplating if I should still go or stay home, Conner made the decision for me. He came down the stairs wearing a tux. It threw me at first, wondering what he was doing.
Then he smiled, took my hand, told me how beautiful I looked and proceeded to ask me if I’d go with him. At the time, I swore it was because he felt sorry for me, but now looking back at the memory of the way he treated me that night being a lot of the same as the past week, maybe I was wrong.
All the girls in my high school were super jealous because I hadthehandsome Conner Davenport as my date. We slow danced, all the while he held me in that familiar and tender way he had about him.
I had desperately wanted to kiss him, but he had a girlfriend at the time. I think she dumped him once she found out he had taken me to prom, but that was neither here nor there.
Conner entered the bathroom as my thoughts continued drifting through my head.
A loud click came, and I blinked and looked at the bathroom door which was now closed. Crap, I had gotten lost in my own head.
Snapping to it, I gathered up dry clothes to change into and settled on my light baby pink bra and panty set. It was sexy with red roses embroidered on the satin panels. Seduction wasn’t my strong suit, but it was happening tonight.
Conner stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist. His chest was on full display, and I wanted to memorize every contour.
The shower was running, steam billowing out the door. His throat bobbed just a touch before he spoke. “Got the shower ready.” Hand outstretched he reached for me. Not going to him wasn’t an option. When our fingers touched, electricity jolted me as if I could feel him throughout every inch of my body.
Mouth dry, I couldn’t speak. Instead, I stared longingly into those gorgeous blue eyes, and I knew no matter what I was safe with Conner. Safe to give him all of me. This man would cherish me, and I needed it, needed him tonight.
“Quinn, just give me tonight.” Our foreheads touched as I soaked in his body heat.
“What?”
He pulled back, and every bit of his focus was on me, his eyes caressing me and causing my heart to squeeze in my chest. “We’ve been avoiding the inevitable all week. I want you, and I know you want me. Give me tonight, and let’s see what happens. No strings. Nothing or no one here between us.”
There was no doubt in my mind I’d give anything to this man.
