NICE GIRL TO LOVE (THE COMPLETE THREE-BOOK COLLECTION)(37)

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Where’s the woman who reamed my ass for downplaying her accomplishments just the other week?” he asked sternly. “You getting an article published in a journal is a very, very big deal. Completely on par with my news.”

Her lips curved up at the corners.

“So we should celebrate,” he suggested, nuzzling the side of her neck.

“We already are.”

“But this is your gift to me. I want to give you something you want. So tell me. How can we celebrate your amazing news? Name it and it’s yours.”

She gnawed on her lower lip and then asked shyly, “Before or after dinner?” The way she was now rubbing her sweet backside against him was a pretty good indication of which she’d prefer.

He grew hard in an instant. “Before.” Wow, he sounded almost primitive just then.

“Okay.” She pushed him down into one of the dining chairs. “We’ll do my celebration first and then we can have yours.” Tugging on his button fly, she teased, “I hope you’re not too hungry…because what I want isn’t going to be all that quick.”

That’s what she thinks. With her curious hands all over him, he was ready to go off like a rocket ship at T-minus counting.

But then she moved those hands off his jeans, and placed them on top of his. At his questioning look, she smiled. “Keep your hands on the sides of the chair.”

She couldn’t be serious.

“I’m serious.”

Damn.

“No touching.” She slid up his shirt and trailed tiny torturous kisses across his chest…down his stomach…

Jesus.

Eyes half-lidded with lust, she murmured softly, “What I want for my celebration is to have full reign over your body…starting here.”

Holy hell. Her hot little mouth was going to have him ‘celebrating’ in about thirty seconds if he didn’t get some control, fast. He steeled himself, gripped the edges of the cushion until his knuckles were strained white, almost painful. But any marginal progress he’d made by that move was undone, however, when she kneaded her hands up his thighs and then along the base of his shaft, gripping him tight as she slid him deeper into her mouth.

His hips lifted sharply off the chair. Just once. He couldn’t help it. She was driving him crazy. Crazier still when she purred in pleasure at the hard, quick thrust.

He let out a tortured groan, a wordless warning to her that he’d come soon if she didn’t slow down or—heaven forbid—stop. Another thrust, another purr and she was locking her eyes on his, holding his gaze as she slowly, slowly took him all the way to the back of her throat.

Fireworks exploded behind his eyelids.

He forgot all about her rule then and reached out to spear his hands through her hair, gently pulling her to her feet so he could pick her up and push her up against the wall. His mouth crashed onto hers as he yanked a condom out of the pocket of his jeans and got it on in record time. Pulling aside her panties, he poised himself at her entrance.

“Open your eyes, sweetheart. Let me see you.”

When she did, he plunged into her heat.

Nothing, absolutely nothing had ever felt so good, so perfect. So his.

For eighteen more days.



“WHY DON’T YOU STAY? The construction guys are still going to be coming in and out of your cottage, finishing up. It’ll be hell on your concentration,” reasoned Connor as he kept an unyielding hold on her last fully packed suitcase. And for the umpteenth time that morning, Abby almost gave in.

But she didn’t.

Because the truth of the matter was that she wouldn’t be able to bear it when he carried her luggage into the guestroom instead of his own room.

Her firm headshake wasn’t enough to dissuade him, however. “C’mon, you have way more room here to spread out your research. Plus, you have a gourmet kitchen to help you tour the world in style, not to mention a very efficient dishwasher that’ll work for kisses and heavy petting.”

Abby chuckled and pasted an overbright smile on her face. “Tempting, but it’ll be better for me to be back home before school starts.” It wasn’t lost on her that the word ‘home’ tasted weird and chalky in her mouth now...all because she and Connor would no longer be using the word to refer to the same place anymore.

Yeah, it was definitely time for her to go.

She hugged him tightly. “I had such a great time, Connor. Thank you so much for letting me stay here.”

Why did that feel like goodbye?

He held onto her hand. “Have dinner with me tonight?”

She couldn’t. She couldn’t keep playing house with him. Couldn’t keep finding new and better reasons to fall for him even more, to lose even more of her heart to him. She had to be strong. Protect herself.

“Can we do it tomorrow night instead?”

Oh yeah, real strong, Abby.

His hand tightened around hers for a bit, and then slowly let go. “Of course. Tomorrow night it is.”

Remember, you can’t keep him. You have to give him up in two weeks. At least that reminder had the desired effect. Steeling herself, she asked casually, “Did you want to go out for a change?”

It was a simple question and yet it was taking all she had to keep the tears from showing.

He stared at her silently for a moment before nodding. “Why don’t we go to Le Mille Feuille?”