Connected (Connections, #1)(95)

She walks over and plops herself on my lap, and I start kissing her neck. “What are you doing here anyway?” she asks Xander as he walks over, picks up his phone, and sits right next to us.

He leans over as if he’s going to kiss her neck, and I shove him hard. “Get the f*ck out of here man. Don’t you have someone else to go harass?”

“Actually I do have people to see and places to go,” he says as he stands up. “I can let myself out.”

“Great man because I wasn’t getting up.”

“Bye Xander,” she says, waving as he leaves the room, and I turn her so I can really kiss her. The sound of her voice sends a jolt of electricity through my body that lights up deep within my soul.

Shaking his head at me, he slams the door as he leaves.

I kiss her soft full lips; I run my hand down her Pretenders t-shirt, then up the front of it. “Alone at last.”

“We’ve been alone all morning silly,” she says, shoving my hand away as I try to slip my fingers into her bra.

“I know, but you’ve been downstairs,” I say as I suck on her bottom lip before moving in for the kill.

“You can visit me any . . .” she stops talking as I slide my nose over to her ear and dip my tongue in it. I know what this does to her.

She moans a soft purr-like sound, and I grin before scooting her off my lap.

“Hey,” she says, trying to crawl back on my lap.

“I want to give you something,” I tell her as I stride out of the room and into our bedroom.

“I thought that’s what you were doing a minute ago,” she laughs. “Should I come in there?”

Now I’m laughing. She really is the funniest person I’ve ever met. “No. Stay there.”

As I come back out into the room, I tell her, “Close your eyes. No peeking.”

She does and I avert the boxes as I make my way back over to her. “Okay, this isn’t my gift to you for Valentine’s Day,” I tell her as I string the six or so strands of her Aunt’s pearls around her neck. “This is just something I wanted to do for you because I know how much they mean to you.” I put the strand around her neck and before I even finish looping the necklace she’s clutching all of them. When she opens her eyes she looks down at the pearls; a treasured part of her past she once referred to as her magical wishing wells. I had them strung back together for her.

She’s a little teary when she asks, “You did this for me?”

“Of course I did. I know how much they mean to you, and I wanted to make you happy.”

She jumps up and kisses me before running down the hallway to the mirror while screaming, “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

Yeah, I’m good.





My heart is beating so loudly I think it’s echoing throughout the extremely noisy restaurant. I hold my breath and bite my lower lip in anticipation. She opens the box and to my great relief, she loves it. Her mouth drops open and tears run down her beautiful face as she fingers the necklace I had made for her. “Pearls and a dahlia? How?”

Putting my finger over my mouth and making a shh . . . sound I say, “It’s a secret.” I stand up, walk behind her chair, and reach around her as I whisper in her ear, “I love you.” Then removing the one of a kind, three strand pearl necklace with a quarter size diamond dahlia connecting the individually strung stands from the box, she drapes it around her neck and I take it, clasping it closed for her.

Swiping her long hair to the side, I lean down and inhale that scent I love so much. It smells like some kind of fruit. Orange or grapefruit, I’m not exactly sure. She bows her head when I do this and I kiss the small freckle on the back of her neck. Then I run my finger up her bare back. She is so f*cking sexy. Bending down, I lean into her, dragging my tongue up the nape of her neck to her ear. “You taste as good as you look. I'd much rather be eating you than eating here.” Then I wait for the goosebumps to emerge. Sure enough, there they are.

Grinning, I walk back to my chair. “Are you ready to go?”





She throws her arms around my neck as we wait for the car, and I hold her close and tight. “I love my necklace, and I love you.”

She glides her nose over my jaw like she always does when I hug or kiss her. She likes it when I am clean-shaven, and I love how it turns her on. We break apart and I move toward the car.

I open the door for her as I say, “I love you more.”

Once I get in the car, I start it and pull away.

As she’s fumbling through her purse, she pulls out a small black bag. Pointing to the valet’s temporary holding spaces she asks, “Can you pull over there a second?”

Glancing over at her in that dress that leaves little to the imagination, I reach for her hand and grin. “Sure baby. But can’t you wait until we get home?” I can’t help but laugh to myself over my own wit.

She playfully slaps my hand away and doesn’t let me grab hold of hers. “River, just pull over.”

“Okay beautiful girl, your call,” I say, winking at her while I continue with the game, thinking she wants me now.

I put the car in park and turn to fully face her. She looks like a knockout in that short strapless black number. The dress exposes so much of her soft skin, it’s just calling for me to lick it and the bottom is so short, it’s just screaming for me to run my fingers under it. What’s really killing me are those thigh high boots, they made me hard the minute I saw her. Honestly, I’m having a hard time keeping my shit together around her tonight. I really should’ve just taken her into the bathroom, but it’s Valentine’s Day, and I want to make it romantic.