She knew the answer that echoed in her head. Yes, she wanted more. Yes, she wanted all of him.
But Audrey had a history of disappointments shackling her wrists.
“So you do know.” He brushed the hair from her forehead. “You’re not just a warm body to me, Audrey.”
How she wanted to believe that he saw something special in her, because everything about her life was so relentlessly not special.
“If it wasn’t you here…” He touched his forehead to hers. “This apartment would be empty. My bed would be empty. I don’t want anyone else here with me, and I need you to know that.”
She swallowed against the desperate temptation to believe him. “I don’t want anyone else, either.”
He’s still going to leave. You’re not enough.
Audrey knew that. But being with Ronan was the only bright spot in her life at the moment. Because as much as she loved her siblings, caring for them was still attached to some difficult emotions. The only time she ever felt truly free as an individual was when she’d gone to class. And now, when she was here for no other reason than because she wanted to be.
Because she liked Ronan. A hell of a lot.
“You promise you’re okay?” he asked.
Audrey traced the curve of his biceps, hugged by soft cotton. Then she moved her hand across his chest, hard muscle twitching beneath her fingertip. He caught her hand and kissed the underside of her wrist, making her pulse skyrocket.
“Yeah.” She nodded, lowering her eyes for a moment. “I’m always okay.”
“No person is an island.”
Sometimes it felt that way—like she was adrift in a stormy sea, battling the waves and trying to keep from drowning with no one to help her. But in his arms, she felt grounded. Safe.
The memory of last night swirled in her mind. The taste of him. The scent of faded cologne and the barest hint of sweat on his skin. The confident hands roaming her body, melting her.
What’s going to happen when this falls apart?
He had a golden life in front of him. Opportunities. Extended hands. People respected and admired him, and whatever path he wanted would be available. Eventually, Kissing Creek would have nothing else to offer.
She would have nothing else to offer.
“Touch me,” she said, sinking into the pink haze of need. Blood pounded in her ears, and red flags waved in her mind, flapping and frantic.
Ronan could ruin her. But that was a risk she was willing to take, because nothing else in her life had ever felt this good. And right now, for a taste of something so perfect, she was willing to risk it all. Her body and her heart.
His hands coasted over her hips, tracing the dip at her waist, then back up over her breasts. The soft, flowing touch soothed her. How could something that already felt so good be bad for her?
When his thumbs brushed under the hem of her T-shirt, grazing her bare stomach, a gasp escaped her lips. She was still pressed against his door, palms flattened to the wood behind her as he explored her body.
“I’ve been thinking about you nonstop for the past twenty-four hours,” he said, sliding a hand under her T-shirt. “You’re in my head.”
“You’re in mine, too.” She sucked in a breath as he cupped her breast, finding her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. The bra she’d worn today had a soft lace cup, and his hands were hot through the flimsy fabric.
“Tell me what you were thinking?”
Oh God, could she really say it out loud? Audrey had lost herself daydreaming earlier today, her mind wandering when she should have been concentrating on her work. “I wish we’d had time to…”
“Tell me,” he growled. He pressed his body against hers, the hard length of him rubbing against her thigh. His hand continued to palm her breast, and it was difficult to form words while he touched her like that.
“I want you to take me in the shower,” she whispered. The image had been stuck in her head all day—bare skin, water running in rivulets across his hard body. Steam and soap and open-mouthed kisses. Tiles against her back.
The moan that escaped Ronan’s lips was like a rocket of wanting through Audrey’s body. He stepped back, slipping his hand into hers and tugging her farther into the apartment. She allowed herself to be led, the relief of not having to be the leader was a weight lifted that she didn’t even know she carried. She was