Page 53 of Since We're Here
“Are you mad about it? Me kissing you? You didn’t answer the question before.”
I shake my head, words lodged in my throat, and slide my hand over the top of her arse, down to where the hem has ridden up, giving access to her exposed cheek. Another quiet squeak emerges from deep in her throat. She feels perfect. I gently squeeze a handful of her arse.
“So you kissed me first in that dark hallway. I kissed you next in the pub. Now I think it’s your turn.” Maddie turns her head toward me, tugging on my shirt, pulling me down.
Those words are all that I need. I crash my mouth onto hers, bending so our height difference doesn’t even matter. Our connection is an explosion on my lips and desire roaring from my groin. I thrust my tongue in her mouth, sweeping and searching and exploring. She throws her arms around my neck and jumps up, wrapping her legs around my waist. I easily catch her and hold her in place by her arse, pressing her against me so hard, I can feel her center against my cock.
This is exactly what I need. Her body against mine, her moans in my mouth.
Right now, it doesn’t feel like I would break anything having to do with Maddie. How could this be wrong when it feels so good?
I back us over to the couch, dodging my homemade coffee table, and collapse so she’s straddling me, wiggling on my hips as our lips remain locked. Fuck, I’m incredibly hard. I run my hands up her back under her tank top, the feel of her skin like smooth, warm water on my hands.
I pull back for a second to look at her, her wild dark hair scattered over her shoulders and back and chest, those dark eyes smoldering into mine, like she’s a sparking firework about to explode and blow my head off.
“Hey.” I push a chunk of hair out of her face.
She smiles at me, leans in for one kiss, and moves her body slowly against mine. I’m hyper aware of the thin fabric of her underwear. I bet she’s soaked for me. I groan and savor the sensation, my mind craving the feel of her from the inside, but I focus on the curve of her face, her irises that seem almost black in the moonlight.
If only I could have her. Have this.
“You’re wearing too much clothing.” Her voice is husky and filled with need, and the movement of her pelvis is making it hard to think about anything except that raging need to bury myself in her.
I’d do anything to feel it.
But I don’t unbuckle my jeans. I don’t strip my shirt off.
This woman isn’t some random American tourist that I can sleep with and push out of my bed. She’s not someone who will leave tomorrow to drive the Ring of Kerry or take a tour bus through Dublin or Galway or head up to Northern Ireland to check out the tourist sites.
She’s not a one-night stand.
One-night stands are my rule. It protects me from the inevitable rejection once they get to know me. It protects them from deep disappointment.
Maddie’s more important than all that.
Not just because she’s Oliver’s fiancée’s little sister.
Not just because she’s my current day manager.
Not just because she’s renting my flat.
The room spins lazily as we stare into each other’s eyes. She’s waiting for my move, and I want to make it so badly, to strip off her remaining clothes and be with her completely.
A flicker of doubt crosses her face.
“Oh shit,” she whispers. “You don’t want this.” Maddie practically leaps off my lap, throwing herself next to me on the couch, a chilly cloud settling between our warm bodies.
She thinks I don’t want her? I swallow hard and lean my head back. Feck, it’s hot in here.
“Maddie, if you think I don’t want this...” She couldn’t be more wrong. I shift my hips and obviously adjust my stiff, aching cock in my jeans, proof of my desire for this woman.
My cock is furious with me for what I just did.
I turn to Maddie, who has her legs bent up and tucked against her chest, forehead pressed to her knees. I can’t see her face through her thick hair.
How I want to pull her into my arms and kiss the pain away. As if I want to reject her? That’s the last thing I want.
“What are you doing here, Patrick?” Her voice is so hurt. It twists that blunt kitchen knife into my heart.
