breathless.
Then he smiled and leaned back a little in his chair, but his fingers teased the ends of her hair. “So, you like jazz?” he asked.
The interaction had left her feeling stirred like a good martini…and perhaps a little like a dirty one. She bit back her grin at the connotation. “I do,” she said, relaxing as he had. “And rock. And classical music. And rap. A bit of an all-rounder. Tell me about your family? Do you have any siblings?”
Connor shook his head. “Only child right here. My mom and dad split up when I was really young, so I don’t have a lot of memories of them together. My mom remarried my stepdad. Derek has been a part of our lives since I was four. They get along okay. Just weren’t meant to be and all that. Mom and Derek couldn’t have kids, so there’s just me. You might have heard of my dad, Donovan Finch…”
Connor was looking at her expectantly, but while she wished she could say she had, she hadn’t. “I’m sorry. I know of your company by name. There aren’t many large liquor distributors based in Denver, so I knew your company existed. It’s funny how our paths have never really crossed before. Well, apart from the whole I-don’t-like-going-to-networking-type-things phobia I have going on.”
Connor studied her for a second longer and then relaxed. “So, what’s with that? You were a natural at the awards.”
“It’s not that I hate them. And I don’t think I get any more nervous than the average person. But I find the whole thing a little…tacky. Fake. Lots of smiles and feigned interest in you as a person, when all the while they are trying to figure out what they could do for your business or what you could do for theirs.”
Connor placed his arm on the back of the sofa, his fingertips playing with the ends of her hair. “Isn’t that what all relationships are about? Give and take? Getting to learn how you can be of service.”
Thoughts of what giving and taking might look like with Connor made her core tighten. “That might be what business relationships are built on. But personal ones rely on honesty, loyalty, compassion, love. If you only think how the other person can be of use, you’re missing the whole point.”
His lips brushed the soft spot behind her ear. “Love doesn’t pay the bills.”
Emerson tilted her head a little to the right to give him more access, feeling prickles of excitement as his lips skated along her skin. “Money doesn’t keep you warm at night.”
“Fair point,” he said, sliding his hand beneath her hair, his thumb brushing her cheek. “Can we agree with both? Call it a draw.”
She pursed her lips, pretended to be thinking about the question, which was almost impossible with Connor so close to her, her stomach feeling as though someone had popped a bottle of champagne inside…after shaking it. “For now,” she said teasingly. “I feel this deserves a richer debate.”
Connor studied her face for a moment before running his thumb across her lip. “You are infinitely entertaining with that smart mouth of yours.” He moved closer, his face inches away from hers.
“Are you going to kiss me?” she asked hoarsely.
“In a moment, and only if you’re okay with that. You can’t take back the first kiss,” he said, before running his tongue over his lower lip. “You have to give yourself the opportunity to think about how it’s going to feel, how…”
“How what?”
“How even though it’s just one kiss, there’s a whisper of a chance that everything you thought you knew was going to change, no matter what the consequences,” he said resolutely. “Are you ready, Emerson?”
Unable to form a coherent sentence in response, she simply nodded.
And with that, he pressed his lips to hers. They were soft. Tender. She felt a surge of warmth from him as his arm went around the back of her neck to pull her closer.
There was a certainty, a control to it, and yet a deep unbinding passion as he took them both deeper. His tongue sought hers, and she tasted the earthy flavor of the whiskey he’d drunk.
Connor pulled back for a moment and placed his forehead on hers. “As I said, you most definitely weren’t what I expected.” The look of longing in his eyes reassured her he’d meant it as a compliment.
He released her, and Emerson couldn’t help but smile. It was all she seemed to be able to do