“You’re staring.” Grant’s quietly spoken words brought her out of her daze and she made a face at him as he raised his eyes from his book.
“I’m studying.”
“Uh-huh,” he said with obvious disbelief.
“I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t interrupt me again,” she said primly. He grinned before going back to his own reading.
The weather, which was still cold and rainy, had encouraged them to stay indoors. They had returned to his bed after clearing the kitchen of their breakfast dishes. Sleeping for a while had refreshed them, but they’d agreed to be lazy for the remainder of the day. Each was jealous of this precious time they had been granted and didn’t want anything to intrude on it.
She had reluctantly told him she had a finance exam to study for. As he had to prepare his lectures for the coming week, they’d agreed to take two hours away from each other and study. As they stood in the middle of the room they played out a leave-taking scene that would have rivaled a tear-jerking movie.
“Let’s sit together on the couch.” He kissed her ear, his tongue detailing the outer rim.
“No. We’d never get our studying done and that would only prolong the misery.”
“I promise not to touch.”
“But I can’t promise.” She slipped her hands underneath his shirt and flattened her palms over his chest.
“But I’ll be sitting way over there,” he complained. “I’ll miss you.”
“It wouldn’t work.” She sighed, unbuttoning his shirt and kissing his chest.
“Are you afraid I’ll distract you? Do something like this?” He dipped his head and flicked his tongue across her nipple. She was wearing an old shirt of his. He had convinced her she didn’t want to dress in her stuffy suit again. With the shirt, which had the long sleeves rolled up to her elbows, she wore a pair of his white sport socks that came to just beneath her knees. The long shirttail reached to the middle of her thigh, providing only a modicum of protection.
When he pulled back, the soft cotton was wet where his mouth had been. “Or something distracting like this?” His fingers combed down her stomach, inched under the shirttail and found the dark V at the top of her thighs.
“Oh, Grant,” she groaned and, with a supreme act of will, pushed him away. “Go!”
“Killjoy,” he grumbled, but he went to the opposite end of the room and sank into a chair.
Now, over an hour later, she still knew no more about the exam material than she had earlier. Even at this distance, he continued to divert her. All she could concentrate on was his loving, the way his lips and hands could bring her to an apex of sensual excitement she’d never imagined. She should have guessed it would be this way between them. Hadn’t the kiss of ten years ago, that forbidden kiss that had refused to be banished from her mind, hinted that no man would ever love her as he did?
She thought of the past affectionately. Of the future, she thought not at all. It frightened her. For where would they go from here? She wanted him. But devoting herself to a man was something she’d sworn never to do again. She loathed that person she had become when she was married to Daryl, for she’d lost her individuality. She had been a dim shadow, existing without nucleus, soul, or spirit. Never again.
Grant had said that he loved her. But for how long? He hadn’t spoken of a commitment. Was she only a tonic he was taking to restore himself after his debacle in Washington? Once healed, how would he feel about her?
“Now you’re staring and frowning,” he teased.
She blinked until he came into focus and her frown faded into a contented smile. If there was no future for them, she wasn’t going to dwell on that fact in the present. She wasn’t going to waste the time they had now ruminating about what might be.
“I’m sorry,” she said, surrendering and slamming her book shut. “I was just thinking about the abysmal grade I’m going to make on that exam, and how it will be all your fault.”
Having waited impatiently for the merest invitation from her, he vaulted out of his chair and came to stretch out beside her on the couch. “You might have to settle for a ‘B.’” He claimed her mouth with a scorching kiss.
“Did you get your lectures outlined?” she managed to say when he at last released her mouth.
He ignored her and began kissing her neck. Her throat arched gracefully to allow him access. “I’ve been thinking. I may switch over to teaching anatomy and physiology. We’d have a helluva time doing research. You’d make straight ‘A’s.”
“Would I?” she asked, her voice coming from deep in her throat. He had worked free the buttons on the shirt and was caressing her breasts tenderly. Cupping one, he lifted it slightly and closed his lips around the dusky crest.
“Um-huh,” he hummed, not lifting his mouth, but tugging on her with exquisite sweetness.
Her hands slid down his back and curved over his jean-clad hips. At her encouragement, he settled himself between her thighs. With fumbling motions, she grappled with the fastener of his jeans. “Grant … ?”
“Yes, my love, yes …”
They froze when the doorbell pealed loudly.