Worth the Fall (The McKinney Brothers, #1)(37)

“And what about you, Abby? Were you happy?”

She looked up at him, eyes glistening sadly. “Yes. I was happy.”

He wanted to point out the key word there: was. But what good would it do to force her to admit she was hurting as much as he was? That she wanted him as much as he wanted her?

She rose onto her tiptoes, placed a chaste kiss on his cheek, and stepped back. His fingers curled to keep from touching her.

Shit. “You have my number.” The words came out hard, his fisted hands clenched at his sides. “Let me know you made it home.”

She gave a jerky nod.

“Okay, then.” He looked long and hard at her one last time and walked away.

He was three strides gone, his toes a centimeter from making the turn to the elevator, when he froze. No.

No way in hell was he leaving like this.

He spun around, covered the ground between them, and said her name all at the same time. “Abby.”

Her back was to him, her hand on the doorknob, but she turned at the sound of his voice. Was that relief in her eyes? He didn’t wait to find out. He held her face in his hands and took what he’d wanted for so long.

The kiss didn’t start slow but burst like a sudden storm, hot and needy. Tongues meeting, his fingers tight in her hair. Everything he’d held in check all week pouring out.

Her hands came up, holding tightly to his forearms. He angled her head and kissed her harder, deeper. She softened and opened to him, moaned into his mouth, the vibration running through his entire body, burning him, making him more desperate for her. He feasted on her mouth as her hands moved to his chest, her delicate fingers fisting in the fabric of his shirt.

She was killing him. Her taste. Her smell. Knowing this was all he could have. One hand came up to tangle in her hair. The other skimmed down the velvet skin of her back until he felt the edge of her panties through the thin fabric. He moved lower, squeezed, and she responded by pulling at his hair and kissing him back with the same intensity.

Her body was soft and giving like he knew she would be. And he needed more. More time. Less clothes. His mouth on her breast, slowly working its way down her body.

He had to pull back.

He released her hair and cupped her cheek.

He touched his lips to hers, gently this time—once, then again. When he leaned back, her face was tilted up, her eyes closed. She truly did look like an angel. His thumb traced along the soft line of her brows, over her cheekbones, soaking her in. Committing every detail to memory.

Her eyes blinked open, slightly unfocused. She stood absolutely still, like she wasn’t sure what had just happened. Cheeks flushed, hair mussed, lips wet and shiny.

He started to speak but no sound came out. He kissed her one last time, slow and lingering, trying desperately to tell her with a kiss everything he couldn’t say, before letting her go.

Clearing his throat, he tried again. “I’ll wait for you to lock the door.”

She didn’t move, had no idea how close he was to stripping her down and carrying her through that door.

“Abby. Go inside.”

The harshness in his voice got her moving. He watched the door close behind her, listened for that final click.

Five minutes later Matt walked away from the best thing that had ever happened to him.





Chapter 13


Abby had half expected to see Matt waiting outside her door when she’d left that morning. Then she’d envisioned him leaning against the wall when the elevator opened to the lobby. She spent most of the six-hour drive convincing herself she wasn’t disappointed. Fighting the bite of loneliness that hadn’t been there before the beach. Before Matt.

The tree-lined highway stretched in front of her, a Disney movie mesmerized the children, and her mind ran wild. Like horses breaking away from a wagon, they picked up memories as they picked up speed, pulling her along whether she wanted them to or not.

Matt’s voice, as warm and rich as his chocolate eyes. Everything about you interests me. Her name on his lips—Abby. And the kiss.

Heat flooded her.

Firm lips on hers, big hands roaming her body as he devoured her. She’d felt his strength, the desperation in his touch, when he’d clutched her hair in his fist. And she’d let him, encouraged him.

Her hands tightened on the steering wheel and she licked her lips, imagining she could still taste him.

She’d never known a kiss could do that. So hot something inside her had melted. Was it possible a person could be the same after a kiss like that? She turned up the air-conditioning in the car. If he hadn’t pulled back, she might have opened the door behind her, taken him to her bed. And that would have been a huge mistake, even if she had wanted more.

Memories of that kiss would have to last her a lifetime. But if any kiss could go the distance, it was that one. If any man could affect her over the miles and years to come, it was Matt. The way he’d looked at her, like he wanted her, like it was killing him to walk away. But he had.

She should consider herself lucky. Her heart would be bruised, but she’d gotten away just in the nick of time, just before she got so close that being without him would make her bleed.

After five stops—two for food and three for the bathroom—they reached their home in Raleigh. Abby brought in the last bag from the car and dropped it from her exhausted arms. The kids had helped unload until their help became more of a hindrance and she’d sent them upstairs to play. She had maybe twelve minutes before all hell broke loose.