with every deep, hard thrust. She moved beneath me, rocking her hips in tandem with mine, pulling me closer to her body until we were gasping and shuddering and clinging desperately to each other through a simultaneous orgasm so intense, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see, couldn’t think.
It was obvious the other night hadn’t been a fluke—whatever this thing was between us was real. And powerful. And not going anywhere.
When I finally opened my eyes, I saw her face beneath mine. She turned her head to the side, giving me her profile, chin slightly raised. Then I realized she wasn’t holding on to me anymore.
Fuck. I was such an asshole.
I detached myself from her and sat back on my heels, head hanging low. “Jesus. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I could have stopped you.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. “Why didn’t you?”
She didn’t answer.
I leaned over her again, bracing myself above her shoulders. “Hey. Look at me.”
She didn’t, so I put two fingers beneath her chin and turned her head. Her lower lip trembled, and I had to kiss it.
“Stop,” she said softly.
A smile hooked up one side of my mouth. “Now you want me to stop?”
“Yes. You’re confusing me.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m confused myself.”
“Why did you come up here, anyway?”
“Because I’ve been fucking miserable all week. Because that night with you was the best I’ve felt in years. Because it doesn’t matter why I should stay away from you—I can’t.”
“Don’t tease me. Do you really mean that?”
I nodded. “I got all the way out to the parking lot tonight. I got in my car. I turned the fucking engine on, and I sat there, getting more and more furious with myself that I couldn’t go.”
“Really?”
“Really. Finally I gave in. But I knew it wasn’t fair after what I’d said, so I promised myself that if you told me to leave, I would.”
She looked amused. “I did tell you to leave.”
“Uh, yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Clearly that was a promise I should not have made.”
“It’s okay.” Her hands swept up and down my back, her touch sending warm shivers across my skin. “I want to be with you.”
“I want to be with you too.” I brushed some hair back from her forehead that had come loose from the knot on top of her head. “But I’m not going to be able to make any promises, Frannie. I meant what I said—I’ve got nothing to offer you.”
“That’s not true,” she said with that irresistibly stubborn tilt of her chin.
“You say that now, but just wait. My life is complete chaos. Most days I feel like I’m hanging on by a thread.”
“You don’t need to worry about me, Mack. I don’t want to be another responsibility in your life. And I don’t need promises or labels.” She took a breath. “I just want to feel like I’m somebody to you.”
I smiled down at her. “You are. But we’ll have to be careful. I don’t want the kids to—” Suddenly I realized something—we hadn’t been careful tonight. I panicked, backing off from her again. “Oh, shit, Frannie. I didn’t even think. I—”
She silenced me with one hand. “No worries. I’m on the pill, and I’m very, very good about taking it.”
I relaxed a little. “Okay. Whew. That’s good.” The last thing I needed was another baby right now. Or ever.
“Give me a few minutes, okay?” she asked, getting to her feet. “If you want a drink or anything, help yourself. I don’t have any beer, but I’ve got wine, whiskey, vodka, tequila …”
I raised my brow. “Should I be worried about you?”
Laughing, she gathered her clothing and headed for her room. “No. I’m not a huge drinker, but I do like a little whiskey by the fire now and then.”
“Whiskey by the fire it is.” I looked around and noticed the fireplace at the far end of the room. Scooping up my clothing, I threw on my underwear, jeans, and shirt and wandered into the kitchen.
By the time Frannie came out of her bedroom, dressed the same way she had been before but with her hair loose around her shoulders, I’d poured two glasses of whiskey and lit the gas fireplace, which lacked the romance of real wood in my opinion, but it warmed the room.
She smiled as she joined me on the couch, tucking her legs beneath her. “This is nice.”
I took her glass from the little coffee table and handed it to her. “It is. Much nicer than what I was heading