Up in Smoke - Tessa Bailey Page 0,93

them against the seat in front of her. That added leverage allowed her to take him deeper with each undulation of her hips. Connor’s hands flew to her thighs, punishing them with a white-knuckled grip as he groaned. But she wasn’t finished. She reclined against his chest and reached up to wrap both arms around his neck, drawing his attention to the straining nipples beneath her shirt. One scrape of her teeth against the underside of Connor’s jaw and his breath began to rasp in and out, encouraging her without words to work her hips faster.

“Oh, fuck. Fuck. You’re killing me.”

“But I only want to please you,” she rasped, licking the perspiring skin of his throat. “Fill me up, baby. Mark me as yours. Give me everything.”

Her words hit their mark. Less than a second later, she found herself pushed forward and bent over the theater seat as Connor’s length pummeled her wet flesh. His coarse fingers found the sensitive bud between her thighs and flicked it once, twice, before he gave her what she needed and rubbed it with tight circles. Finally, the climax crested over her and bathed her in mind-numbing sensation, drawing every ounce of energy to her surface and depleting it in degrees, leaving her shaken. Connor wasn’t far behind, burying his teeth in her shoulder as he rammed home and came with a growl of her name.

She had no idea how long they stayed like that, his heaving chest pressed to her back, but she loved every moment of it. It felt like they’d been through a battle and come out stronger than before. When the air conditioner began to cool the sweat on her skin and she shivered, Connor fixed her clothing and drew her down onto his lap, both of her legs slung over one of his thighs. He tucked her head under his chin and massaged the back of her neck with his thumb.

“This is my first movie in a theater.”

His thumb stilled on a curse. “No. Please don’t tell me that. It’s fucking Death Warrant.”

She yawned, noting the bullets once again flying across the screen. “I don’t know. I think it kind of suits us.”

He sighed and closed his arms around her. “I’ll do better next time. A comedy or something. Popcorn, too. All right?”

Erin fell asleep smiling.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Connor swiped a hand over his jaw and checked the urge to call Erin’s cell phone. She’d left the surveillance van ten minutes ago to get coffee for the team. How long did it take? It had only been one day since he bought her the phone, but she still assumed it was someone else’s phone every time it rang. They were working on it. He’d offered to go in her stead, but suspected she needed the breathing room. With six of them crammed into the back of the van, he could tell she’d felt claustrophobic. Not to mention, he’d needed the opportunity to catch Derek’s ear. This shit with Erin’s stepfather would be straightened out immediately. Tonight. But if the unexpected happened and something went wrong, he needed to make sure Erin would be okay.

His plan had been to pay a visit to Luther last night, but she’d distracted him. If he’d suspected she was doing it on purpose, he would have called her on it. But no, she’d been…glowing. Walking around the apartment in one of his old Yankees T-shirts, feeling her way through mundane tasks like they were new experiences. Cooking dinner, taking a shower. All things she had done before, but there was a noticeable difference. Her edginess had fled, to be replaced with wonder and optimism. Jesus Christ, he couldn’t have pried himself away if he wanted to. He’d appeased himself with the reasoning that nothing could happen to her as long as he was there to protect her.

After they’d showered off the day and changed, he’d lain down on the couch. He’d pretended not to see her watching him thoughtfully from her perch on the kitchen counter. After a minute, she’d hopped down and prowled toward him quietly, so light on her feet he wouldn’t have heard her approaching if every cell in his body wasn’t acutely attuned to her. She’d looked so young and fresh with her damp hair and bare legs, his throat had hurt. Very slowly, she’d climbed over him on the couch and settled in against him, tucking her feet between his calves. He swore he’d held his breath as she relaxed little