Page 71 of A Very Un-Shakespeare Romance
“No. But that doesn’t—”
“Neither do I.” She cupped his jaw, her fingers massaging away the tension there. “Come on. Give us a chance. Hear me out. It upset me to keep lying to you, and I was scared about you finding out I was FBI. Because I’ve fallen for you, dammit.”
A muscle leapt in his cheek. “I’d fallen for you too. That’s what makes this so hard.”
She could feel him softening, hear the anger he’d been using to cover up his raw emotion. “Robbie, thinking about not seeing you again is ripping my heart open.”
His face tensed. “Don’t say that.”
Yeah, under all that tough guy routine, he was still human. “It’s true,” she pressed, wrapping her arm around him. “You think this is easy for me? Exposing myself and how I feel to you when you’re acting like a hotheaded idiot?”
He spurted out a reluctant laugh. “You sounded like my mother earlier when you were all like ‘Robbie O’Connor, so help me. You’re going to listen to me and you’re going to listen good.’ It’s what stopped me from taking you here and now, something I’d never want to do in anger.”
“Me either,” she said, running her hand up his back soothingly, “so thanks for reining yourself back.”
Rolling his eyes, he said, “I have some self-control despite feeling like an emotional yo-yo since I walked through your patio door this morning. And if I believed in woo-woo stuff, I would swear my mother was speaking through you from heaven, trying to get through my thick skull. You’re not the first to complain about my hard head.”
He seemed calmer, his muscles loosening from their locked position. She felt safe enough to nestle into him, laying her head on his shoulder. His hand came under her butt to support her better against him, a good sign, she thought. His pulse wasn’t pounding against her now, the anger draining out of him. But his arousal was still there, hot and persistent, and that made her smile weakly against his shirt since she knew he hadn’t let his desire get out of control.
Him dialing it back was only another indication of how deeply he cared for her, and knowing that made her feel raw and happy and a whole host of other crazy things that all led to one conclusion: she felt good with him, really good, more cared for than she ever had. She was almost scared to say anything, not wanting to shatter this moment. They still had a ways to go. So she went with it, embracing him warmly and letting her guard down all the way.
“I didn’t have a chance, did I?” he whispered, tucking his face against the curve of her neck. “I knew it on the beach the other day. I was all keyed up, and then I saw you, and all the stress and strain seemed to just disappear. My dad likes to say that’s the kind of woman you scoop up and never let go of.”
She found her voice, raising her head and tracing his jaw. “Well, you have me scooped. Maybe you shouldn’t let go.”
He pulled her tighter against him. “I don’t want to. If we do this, everything changes.”
Clenching her legs around his waist, she gave a soft smile. “We both knew that last night.”
His breath was a harsh rasp. “Yes, we did, because I don’t just up and tell people the reason I became a cop.”
“Me either,” she whispered, her throat catching.
“I can’t believe I’m about to do this.”
His mouth tightened, and she braced herself for what he was about to say next. “What now?”
His sexy smile started slowly before spreading across his face, lighting up the last shadows in her heart. “I’m about to tell you that you can share your plan with me later. Assuming we don’t have somewhere to be right now.”
“Really?” Relief and a shaft of happiness shot through her. “You’ll listen? But why later?”
“Answer the question.”
His gruff command made her pulse skip. “No, I don’t have anything scheduled immediately. I was waiting for your compliance before I initiated the next steps.”
“That’s good.” His finger traced one slow line down her neck, making her burn. “That’s really good because right now, I want to make love to you. How do you feel about that?”
She softened the opening of her legs, brushing his hardness. He sucked in his breath in response. “I’m going to agree we can take some time for each other. Because, Robbie, I really want your hands on me.”
He lowered his head after giving another heart-turning smile, taking her mouth in a slow, seeking kiss. There was no rush anymore, no impatience. Only the first foray…his lips telling hers this moment was the first in a long sensual adventure. Thank God. Her mouth opened when his tongue quested, and they danced, their breaths matching.
“This one-handed crap is going to drive me nuts,” he whispered in a masculine rumble against her neck as his lips cruised down. “You don’t happen to know where the second set of keys is?”
“No, and I doubt Sheila would have left them here.” She bit the line of his rugged jaw. “She’s thorough.”
He jangled the cuffs resting between their bodies. “So I see. I still can’t believe Tim came up with this idea. He’s…never been like this before.”
“You mean he’s always been your good baby brother,” she finished, nipping his earlobe. “These kinds of situations have a way of showing us what’s inside us. I happen to adore him.”
