Page 120 of Save Me

Every. Hard. Inch.

“Saturday,” he growled as he slowly rolled her beneath him and covered her lips with his.

Ivy didn’t even have to think about it; she simply wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. It was the kind of kiss that started slow and sweet but then just went deeper and deeper until it became almost carnal.

One leg came up and wrapped around his hip and then the other, and she didn’t even care how needy she was being. This was Connor; being with him like this was as natural as breathing to her. It didn’t matter how many years had passed; everything about this moment was comfortable and familiar and sexy as hell.

Raking her hands up into his hair, she wanted to tug on it, but it was too short. So her nails scraped along his scalp until he hissed in pain and pulled back.

Dammit.

Too late she remembered the bump on his head and now the moment was gone.

“Connor, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I…”

He rolled off of her and slowly pulled her into his arms just as they had been a few moments ago. “Shh…it’s okay,” he said sleepily. “Go to sleep.”

And so she did.

* * *

They repeated that same scenario two more times—minus scratching his injured head—before finally getting up in the morning. Ivy worried about it possibly being weird now that the sun was up, but…it wasn’t.

They worked together to make breakfast, and while they ate, he told her all about his time in the military. Her heart ached when he told her about his deployments and the accident on his final one that left him scarred.

“Do you know when you’ll have to have more surgeries?” she asked.

“I told the doctors I wanted to come home and just take some time where I wasn’t in rehab. After a while, it was starting to mess with my head and I felt myself slipping into a depression. I knew coming home would help get me back on track.”

“Then why didn’t you tell your family?”

Reaching across the table, he took her hand in his. “I told you, seeing you was my top priority.” His thumb gently caressed her wrist. “It was important for me to talk to you, and then—depending on how that went—I'd be able to figure everything else out.”

She laughed nervously. “That’s a lot of pressure on me.”

“It wasn’t meant to be.” He paused. “The way I ended things with us was my biggest regret. Every time I got deployed, I prayed I’d get to come home so I could make things right.” Then he shook his head. “I should have prayed to come home in better shape.”

“Connor…”

He waved her off. “I don’t want to go there. I want to hear about you,” he said as he smiled. “Tell me what it’s like to be a paramedic.”

Slowly, she pulled her hand from his and rose to get herself a second cup of coffee. “I’ll be honest. I never realized how busy our little town was until I started training. Now I feel like we are a bit of a hotbed of accidents and injuries!” Looking at the kitchen table, she frowned. “Why don’t we go sit on the couch? It’s much more comfortable.”

Connor agreed, but they sat down at opposite ends. Ivy told him about college and the courses she took and all the training she went through both in Laurel Bay and a short stint over in Magnolia Sound. Before she knew it, it was lunchtime.

“I had planned on shopping for groceries today,” she told him, “so I don’t have a lot here. But we could just order something to be delivered if you’d like.”

“Whatever works for you,” he said, but when Ivy stood to get her phone, he stopped her. “Listen, I don’t want to be presumptuous here. I know last night there were extenuating circumstances and that’s the only reason why you agreed to let me come home with you.”

She wasn’t sure exactly how to respond, so she waited him out.

“But…I’d really like a shower and clean clothes, and if it’s okay with you, I’d like to ask Jamie to bring my stuff over.”

“Oh, um…”

He moved a little closer. “I hadn’t even unpacked at his place. It’s just a couple of pieces of luggage and maybe…you know…I could stay here with you instead.”

It was crazy how much she wanted to say yes, and rather than overthink it, she simply went with her heart and nodded. “I’d like that.”

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