She hadn't been, until she met him, but she wasn't telling him so; the admission was far too betraying. He had disrupted her entire life since the minute they met. At times she even wondered if her immediate uneasiness and distrust when first setting eyes on him hadn't been her instincts warning her, telling her he could be trouble and she would be well-advised to steer clear of him.
Her whole body jerked in shock at that instant as Connel's mouth began wandering down her throat, a warm, gentle exploration which frightened her because she liked it far too much.
'Stop that!' She pulled her head back but that didn't stop him; it merely gave him further to travel along her exposed throat. His mouth reached her sweater neckline and nuzzled it back to let him kiss her shoulders, and lower to the smooth rise of her breasts.
Zoe grabbed his thick black hair to drag his head away. 'No!'
His face was very close; she stared into his dark, glittering eyes. 'No!' she said again.
'Yes,' he breathed, then his mouth closed over hers, and Zoe was swallowed up in a wave of fierce pleasure. There was suddenly no distance between them at all. Connel's body touched hers from shoulder to knee; you couldn't have got a piece of paper between them. His arms clamped her to him so tightly she could only just breathe. His mouth had forced her lips apart, or had she simply opened her mouth without knowing what she was doing? Probably. She was out of control; she couldn't deny it. She wasn't some helpless victim. She wasn't fighting him off. No.
She was kissing him back. Groaning. Was that her voice, moaning as if she was drowning far out? Was that her saying his name over and over again?
Connel. Connel. Connel. That was her voice, wasn't it?
His hands were wandering up and down her back, as if playing music on her spine. She trembled, sighing. Yes, Yes, Yes.
Was she saying it aloud or just thinking…
Yes, kiss me…touch me…Connel, yes.
One of his hand slid caressingly down over her slim buttocks in the tight jeans, taking all the time in the world, while the other took hold of her waist.
She didn't understand what he was doing until she realised she was being lifted off the ground and carried. Not downstairs. Back upstairs. To her bedroom.
That woke her up, fast. She began kicking, pummelling him; startling him so much he dropped her before he reached the bed.
Glaring, Zoe faced him, hands screwed into fists, eyes hard. 'Oh, no, you don't, mister! I'm not that easy. Get out of my house, and I mean now!'
He stood there, measuring her thoughtfully, feet apart, poised as if for a fight.
'What changed your mind?'
'Just go, will you?'
'You were saying yes a minute ago.'
'No!'
'You said yes. Not just once, either, over and over again!' His eyes gleamed at her, sensual enjoyment in them. She knew what he was remembering, she was remembering it, too, but she wished s
he could forget what she had said, how she had kissed him back.
Angrily she broke out, 'Look, I've had enough of this argument—will you please leave?'
'Not yet I want you to admit how you felt You know you were giving me a green light.'
She threw caution to the winds. Chin up, she defiantly muttered, 'Well, I changed my mind!'
His mouth twisted ironically. 'Well, at least you admit it now. You told me you were prone to changing your mind about men—I had no idea you did it so fast One minute you were as hot as fire. The next you turned into a wild cat. Why, Zoe? What changed your mind?'
She hesitated, then decided to be completely frank. 'You went too fast. I hardly know you and I don't believe in sleeping with strange men. I may have dated a lot of guys, but I rarely sleep with them. These days, it's asking for trouble. I don't believe in sleeping with a man on the first date. Or the second or third, come to that I don't believe in promiscuity, full stop. I'm terrified of getting Aids or some other sexual disease. I like to know the man pretty well before I risk my life on him, and I don't know much about you, do I?'
He went on watching her, his face coolly unreadable, but she heard him breathing rapidly, thickly, as if he had just run a marathon. 'Okay, I take your point Same here, in fact I'm not promiscuous either, for much the same reasons.'
Her green eyes flashed at him. 'Yet you tried it on with me just now! How can I believe a word you say when you tell me one thing and do another?'
He grimaced. 'You're right, of course. It was reckless and stupid.' His voice dropped, deepened, his breathing still rough and uneven. 'You went to my head, Zoe. I lost control. Don't you know how sexy you were when we were kissing? You suddenly seemed to have no bones, and you were making the sexiest noises. You were white-hot, and you turned me on.'