Up in Smoke (Crossing the Line, #2)(70)

But she didn’t want that. Didn’t need to run ever again. That realization made the box seem even bigger, encompassing more of the city and its skyline through the simple fact that she could take it or leave it. She’d been wrong. The ultimate escape wasn’t in front of her. He was standing behind her, ready to catch her if she fell. Believing in her to do the same for him. She wanted to do that. She wanted to be this glass box for him. His freedom. The place he ran to when he needed comfort.

She turned around to face Connor and the breath whooshed from her lungs. He was watching her with such tenderness in his eyes, such pride, she almost sank to her knees. No one had ever looked at her like that. Not a single person since the day she was born. But it didn’t matter anymore, because he’d just made up for every moment of lost time with one look.

“I’m in love with you,” she said. “But please stop looking at me like that because I don’t know where else to put the feelings. All the cracks are filled in and there’s nowhere for them to go.”

“We’ll make room.” His voice rang with intensity. He didn’t come to her, though, appearing rooted to the spot. “I’m in love with you, Erin. Get used to me looking at you like I mean it.”

She swallowed the king-size knot in her throat. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

He took a step in her direction, stopping at the very edge of the box. “Remember this if I ever do something to disappoint you. Remember that I’d give you everything you can see from this window if I could. Everything.”

He didn’t mean buildings, cars, or rivers. No, he meant a place to soar. To get away if she needed to. He’d brought her here to show her he wouldn’t fence her in. He’d set aside his controlling nature to give her what he thought she still needed. Erin closed the distance between them, bringing them toe to toe. His Adam’s apple worked in his throat the closer she came, eyes sliding closed. She placed a hand over his heart, trailed it up his neck and into his hair. “I don’t need it anymore. I only need you.”

“Christ, Erin. I need you, too.”

Yes. He did. And somehow to her that meant more than “I love you.” It meant she finally had a place. Someone who not only found her worthy of love, but capable of holding his heart. She took his hand and led him back toward the elevator, leaving behind the most beautiful escape she’d ever encountered without a single glance. A group of French tourists entered the elevator at the same time, but when Connor pulled back, silently suggesting they wait for the next car, she shook her head.

They boarded the elevator with the group, retreating to their own corner in the back. Instead of waiting for Connor to press her up against the wall again, she took control, feeling so empowered her blood heated and snapped in her veins. With a firm hand on his chest, she nudged him back and aligned their bodies. More people piled onto the elevator at the last minute, forcing them even closer together. Connor’s eyes fell to half mast, a complete contrast to what she could feel rising in his pants.

After the words they had just exchanged, keeping her hands to herself felt like sacrilege. They should be kissing. More, their bodies should be connected. It was obvious from Connor’s muttered curses, he felt the same. Remembering the way he’d taken her to the brink with only a few touches on the way up, a hint of wickedness crept into her already-rushing blood and carried her away. Hoping none of the animated tourists were paying them any attention, she reached for the hem of her shirt and drew it up, revealing her braless breasts. Because of their position, Connor was the only one who could see what she’d exposed, but his reaction could make or break the situation. Apart from the accelerated rise and fall of his big chest, the subtle flare of his nostrils, he showed no reaction.

She reached up and locked her wrists behind his neck, lifting her breasts. Her distended nipples glided over the soft material of his shirt, and she felt his erection grow stiffer against her belly. Muscles she didn’t even know she had tightened in response. This spontaneous plan to drive him crazy was backfiring. All she could think about was climbing his sturdy male body and riding his hardness until relief sent her spiraling.

Connor dipped his head to growl against her ear. “What did I say about teasing?”

“Not to do it,” she whispered into his hair, smiling when his whole body shuddered. “I’m not teasing, though. I’m showing you how bad I’d like you to f*ck me.”

“Christ.” He scanned the elevator with a glare before returning his eyes to her. Again, he spoke for her ears alone. “Put your hand on my cock and say that again.”

A renewed dose of excitement assailed her. Without hesitation, she removed one of the hands locked behind his head and dragged it down his chest, over his belt buckle to cup his hard length. Breath hissed out from between his teeth. She stroked him once, twice, entranced by the way his hips rolled in perfect unison with her touch. “I’d like you to f*ck me.”

“You’d like or you’d love it?”

“Love it.” She swallowed a gasp when he closed his teeth around her ear. “Please, baby.”

As always, when she called him that, his eyes darkened like thunderheads. “Cover yourself, then. Because as soon as we get off this elevator, my only goal will be to find a dark place where I can get my cock beneath that skirt and f*ck you blind.”

On cue, the elevator doors pinged open behind her. The dark promise in Connor’s eyes was so distracting, she almost forgot to pull her shirt back into place before turning around, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Connor if his growl was any indication. She’d only taken two steps when her hand was swallowed by Connor’s and he started striding toward the building’s exit with her in tow. Only his profile was visible, but his rigid jaw didn’t welcome conversation. Thankfully, she didn’t have shit to say at the moment. She had just crossed the line from aroused to out-and-out desperate. How was it possible to need him this bad when he’d been inside her a matter of hours ago? She didn’t know. Didn’t care. She could only follow Connor and hope he found some way to make it better.