he mutters, dropping his mouth to my breasts, his teeth sliding over my nipples through the fabric of my bra. I drop backwards, surrendering completely to the pleasure of this moment, certain I must have died and gone to heaven.
But even heaven wouldn’t feel this good.
* * *
She is asleep beside me and I find I don’t want to leave her. I find that I want to stay the night, my body curled around hers, my arms wrapped around her, my lips on her shoulder. I find that I am already imagining the way it would feel to wake up beside her, to take her again. To watch her eat breakfast, read the paper. To see her as she steps out of the shower, all soft and warm, wrapped in just a hotel robe.
To strip it from her.
Fuck.
I was supposed to have lost interest by now, but every time I see her it makes me want more and more.
I ease myself out of the hotel bed, taking one last look at her, imprinting her on my mind. She shifts a little and I hold my breath.
If she wakes, I will kiss her. If she wakes and asks me to stay, I will.
She doesn’t, though. She rolls onto her side, her beautiful back visible to me. I watch the shift of her breathing and then step into the bathroom, softly, quietly dressing myself.
I’m almost at the door when I hear her.
‘Hey.’ A soft, gentle voice that has me turning almost guiltily.
‘Hi.’ Her eyes are heavy, her hair is a mess. Knowing I’ve done that to her—exhausted her and tangled her fine blonde hair—appeals to me on a savagely male level that I should probably be ashamed of.
‘Going somewhere?’
‘Yeah.’ I move back to her, drawn like a magnet, standing over her with my arms crossed.
She pouts. It’s almost my undoing. ‘Where?’
‘Home.’ I hold a hand out and she places her smaller one in my palm. Such an insignificant gesture and yet it signifies everything. Her trust, her faith, her goodness.
‘Why?’
‘I have an early start tomorrow. I need some class notes.’ It’s a lie. I’m testing myself again. Telling myself that I can leave her at any time I wish—see? See? I’m not addicted; this isn’t serious.
Only I can’t. Because I’m sticking to the side of the bed as though my feet are glued. She pushes up to kneel in front of me, her body naked and glorious, her hair falling over her shoulders, all golden and glowing.
‘No.’ Her eyes meet mine challengingly.
‘No?’ I grin, not resisting when she lifts her palms to my shirt front, splaying her fingers wide across my chest. She unbuttons the shirt, just at the top, and her eyes hold mine.
‘What does this say?’ She presses a kiss against the swirling Celtic script that runs the length of my collarbone.
‘I got it done years ago.’ My words take on a husky softness. It’s after midnight and there’s a witching hour quality in the air, enhanced by Olivia Amorelli and her beautiful body and glossy hair and bright blue eyes that stare through me, seeing all my hidden sinkholes.
‘It’s beautiful.’
My smile is more of a grimace. ‘I don’t think anyone’s ever called it that before.’
A flicker of something crosses her face. She kisses the words again. ‘What does it say?’
‘An té a luíonn le madaí, eiroidh sé le dearnaíd.’ The Celtic words come easily to me.
‘It sounds like Elvish.’ She sighs romantically.
I think of my penthouse and the empty bed there. I am suddenly no longer convinced I should leave the perfectly good bed here at the SleepInn Holborn, the bed with Olivia’s naked body in it.
‘What does it mean?’
I clear my throat. I don’t know why I’m hesitating. I live by the words—I say them to myself often, knowing how vitally important it is that I remember them.
‘It means...’ I pause and lift a hand to her cheek, rubbing my thumb along her soft, smooth skin ‘...that if you lie down with dogs, you’ll stand up with fleas.’
Her brows move closer together as she analyses the words, unpicking them for meaning. And I explain in a way I’ve never done before. ‘I represent assholes, Olivia. I work for them—I work on their behalf. But I’m not one of them. I will not be like them.’
Am I imagining the tears that make her eyes shimmer in the darkness of the hotel suite?
She nods and then her lips find mine. ‘I know,’ she says at the moment we kiss. She pulls me back with her and I can no longer resist. I lay my body over hers, my mouth claiming hers, my need great.
She knows. She understands.
That makes something inside me explode.
DAWN LIGHT FILTERS through the hotel window, bathing Connor’s torso in golden stripes. I push up on my elbow to see him better, studying the way his chest moves with each breath. His face is so peaceful like this; he’s asleep, and contented.
I’m glad he stayed—that we stayed.
I like sleeping beside him, waking up beside him.
My phone buzzes and I lurch for it, swearing under my breath as it buzzes again. Connor stirs. I turn my back on him and flick the screen open, to see my sisters are already messaging, despite the earliness of the hour.
It’s like this, in our family. Lunch on Sunday isn’t enough; we have to be in contact with each other all the time. A smile twitches on my lips as my oldest sister recounts the story of her commute. Another message fires in, and another, and I turn my phone to flight mode then settle back against the pillows.
‘Morning.’ His voice is gravelly, better than coffee.
I pull a face as I look at him. ‘Did I wake you?’
‘Yes.’ He snakes a hand out and catches my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. ‘But I’m glad. What time is it?’
‘It’s still early. You should go back to sleep.’
He arches a brow. ‘Should I?’
‘We were up late...’
‘I remember.’ His grin makes my stomach flip and flop like I’ve stepped off a cliff. ‘Who was buzzing you?’
‘My sisters.’
A pause as he
