Page 63 of Swept for Forever
“You know,” he said, his voice quieter now. “Moving here just makes me think ahead.”
I nodded, my mouth all berried-out, my pulse skidding.
Then he turned toward me.
His hands found my waist, holding it steady but not forceful. He was giving me a moment to stop this if I wanted to. Last night, he’d backed off. But here, in daylight that left no room for guessing, he wasn’t budging.
Night and day. Literally.
His nose skimmed mine, his breath warming my lips. A countdown.
One last second of patience.
“What’s this?” I challenged. “Redoing last night? Or just circling for sport?”
He hummed, calm and maddening.
“You want this?” I asked, my body already closing the space between us, even as my mouth held the line. “You wantme? Or are you just trying to ruin me for other men?”
“Quit stalling and let me kiss you.”
My every muscle went liquid, but my hands were already on him, my fingers digging into the slope of his shoulders. It was permission. And he felt it.
His mouth crashed into mine.
No warm-up. No second-guessing. Just heat and hunger and everything he’d held back until now.
Goddamn, Dominic Powell. This wasn’t a kiss! This was a dance, a seduction, a Sunday mass, and a break-in, all in one.
Clearly, he’d already made his choice before he even knocked on my door. Gentleman or not, he was neverplanning to give me fair warning, the same tactic as the shoulder ambush. Only, this time, the hit came with a whole different kind of ache.
“Sorry about last night,” he murmured against my lips. It was not the fear that comes with being rejected, and not the kind of panic you’d get dodging a tossed bouquet. He didn’t want to mess this up, perhaps scared I might slip through his fingers.
I huffed, my way of giving him forgiveness.
And he got it. Oh, hegotit.
His lips coaxed mine open, tasting and learning. His hands followed, one sliding into my hair, the other pressing into the small of my back, drawing me in.
Like he wanted me to feel it.
AndGod, I did.
I curled my fingers into his shirt, holding on as the world around us blurred.
Because this?
This wasn’t just falling.
This wasfree-falling.
16
AUTUMN
One more day turned into a week, then a few more.
I kept telling myself it was temporary. Just a little more time to heal, to soak in the comfort of Buffaloberry Hill, and to be with Dom a little longer. My mother wasn’t thrilled about my ever-extending stay, but I played my trump card: I was still heartbroken and not ready to face Jimmy Van Beek.
