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It didn't work out like that and her daydream was rudely interrupted when she came to a stop a few feet away from him. His eyes ran up and down her length before his expression turned grim. "Get in the car."
Her feet stalled in their tracks. "What are you doing here?"
As she watched, Connor turned away and opened his door, waiting for her to do the same. "Get in the car, Jessica."
She walked to the passenger side and slipped into the seat as he started the engine. Buckling the seatbelt, she turned to face him. "What are you doing here?"
He ignored her as if she hadn't spoken, and drove straight to her apartment where he pulled into the space in front of her unit and let his engine idle. He never said a word, and his actions and demeanor had her utterly confused. She put her hand on the door handle, preparing to let herself out. "I don't understand you," she said simply.
He gripped the steering wheel. "What don't you understand?"
"I thought you needed time. Why did you come get me?"
Her question angered him and his knuckles turned white where they held tightly to the steering wheel. "I do need time," he hissed under his breath. "But what the fuck did you expect? That I'd let you walk home in the goddamned dark?"
His eyes were glazed and tortured, and Jessica responded as gently as she could. "I can take care of myself, I promise you. I've been doing it for a long time."
"You're not walking home in the dark."
She studied him silently, almost feeling his pain. "You care about me," she said softly, almost stunned by the revelation.
His eyes closed and then he opened them, rolled them heavenward and turned his glacial stare on her. "You're just now figuring that out?"
She licked her lips. "I guess so."
Emotion passed between them and after a few seconds, he broke the invisible link by cocking his head toward her front door, dismissing her. "Make sure you lock up."
She blinked and nodded her head in silent agreement and then opened her door. She was about to step down when her elbow was caught in his steely grip. Swallowing hard, she turned to face him once more with a schooled expression.
His lips twisted in a grimace and his nostrils flared. His hand left her elbow and gripped her chin between his fingers. He leaned over and placed a single, hard, closed-mouth kiss on her lips. His mouth lifted from hers and fire glittered from his eyes as his fingers became almost brutal on her chin. "Legs. Closed."
She felt the color bleach from her face as she pulled away from him and fled into the apartment. Closing and bolting the door, she leaned against it, her heart beating rapidly, and waited for the sound of him driving off.
Finally, many minutes later, she heard the hum of his engine and she moved away from the door and sank down on the couch, her mind in a whirlwind and her heart more confused than ever.
****
The next two days crawled by as Jessica waited for Wednesday night when she knew in her heart that Connor would be waiting for her again. She'd been in contact with Anthony via text messaging and she knew he still wanted her to go with him on Saturday. She liked Anthony, he was both attractive and pleasant to be around. He wasn't full of himself or conceited in any way, and Jessica imagined if he had continued to pursue her and she'd never met Connor, she might have been tempted to start something up with him.
But she had met Connor, and Anthony was too nice of a guy to lead him on. If she went with him to the water park on Saturday, she would have to spell it out beforehand that it was only platonic, just a favor so he wouldn't have to show up to the mixer alone.
She told herself that she'd give Connor until this night, Wednesday night, to come to his senses before she committed to Anthony. Anthony assured her that he didn't mind waiting because he was out of all other possibilities for a date, with school not in session and most everyone back at home for the summer.
She managed to make it through her evening shift without going completely batty, and when she walked out, she found Connor leaning against his vehicle as she suspected he would be. Giving her best attempt at a smile, and batting down the butterflies in her stomach, she didn't wait for his order to get in his car; she headed him off at the pass and opened the passenger door and slid inside.
He climbed in beside her and didn't look at her, not once. He started the engine and within minutes they were pulling up in front of her apartment. He motioned with his head for her to get out, and it reminded her so much of his non-verbal commands of weeks ago that a liquid heat slid down her spine and landed between her thighs.
Sliding her hand to the door handle, Jessica acted as if she were on the verge on opening the door when that wasn't her intention at all. She turned back toward him, and pretending it was just an afterthought, asked, "Are you still going to the wedding on Saturday?"
His lips thinned and tersely, he nodded his head.
She pursed her mouth, lifted her brows and shook her head as if she couldn't believe he was really going to do it. She held his eyes and trying to shock him, and shocking herself in the process, she enunciated clearly, "Keep your pants zipped."
Surprise lit his features before he cracked a half-grin. She didn't smile back, trying to let him know that she was dead serious. She could forgive a lot of things, but there were two rules she'd always promised herself she'd live by. If a man hit her one time, she was gone. If a man cheated on her, he was history. And the way she saw it, if Connor was demanding her fidelity through all this messed-up shit, she had every right to do the same.
When her face didn't change expression, his smile dropped and his eyes became hooded. As he continued to stare at her in silence, his scrutiny became more pronounced, almost tangible, and her hand fell from the handle and dropped to her lap. His eyes moved from her face, down to her throat and finally, they landed on her breasts, which were lifting and falling with each jerky breath she took. Tension filled the darkened interior of the vehicle, and her heart turned over. She wanted him so badly, so very desperately. Suddenly, she couldn't take anymore and in a rush of movement, began to open the door to escape before she did something or said something stupid.
He reached over her, slammed the door shut again and his hand fell on her wrist, holding her in place. Her lungs seized up and the breath snarled in her throat. His eyes fell to her lips. "Fuck it. Fuck. It."
Jessica heard the hiss of the door locks sliding into place, and Connor's mouth fell on hers furiously, the force of it pushing her head against the backrest where he held her pinned. His tongue slammed between her lips and went deep inside her mouth and stole her breath immediately. Heat and lust clouded her mind and with the hand she had free, she clutched his hair and held him tightly. The kiss he gave her was violent, wet, hot, deep. She hung still in his arms, relief so intense she couldn't think, couldn't focus on anything but the smell of him, the touch of him. The hours and days without knowing what was going on inside his brain, not knowing if there was hope or no hope--it had almost killed her. And now he was kissing her as if he would devour her whole.
And then she remembered to kiss him back, and when she did, the kiss turned even wilder. He sank his hand into her hair and grasped her scalp, lifting her face for better access. Their tongues tangled, their breathing mingled roughly, she could hear her heartbeat thrumming through her ears.
Or was it his?
She hung in a state of blissful heat as his tongue lapped at hers wildly, before moving his lips to the side of her mouth and nipping at her, biting and sucking her lower lip into his mouth. She panted for air and wanted more than anything to drag him inside her apartment, and put everything behind them.
The kiss continued, and his hand dropped to her breast, kneading it and pulling at her nipple through the layers of material covering it. A spiral of heat clawed down her spine and she tightened her grip.
Connor pulled his mouth from hers. "You're mine, Jessica. Don't forget it."
His lips met hers again but Jessica pulled them away from him, breathing harshly. "Tell me you're not going to that wedding, Connor."
Jessica felt his breath stall. He wrapped his hands around her face and lifted, until his eyes were only inches from hers. "I have to go."
Even though she heard the agony in his voice, she couldn't care, not at that moment. "No, you don't. Please, don't." Jessica knew she was begging, but nothing in her life had ever seemed as important, and her pride had no place in this.
"I have to go," he repeated.
"No, you don't. I don't want you to go, I can't stand it. You don't know what it's doing to me, Connor. It's tearing me up inside." She shuddered and recognized that tears were streaming down her face. "Why? What's the deal that you think you have to go? I don't understand! You keep insisting on my fidelity, don't you understand how sad this is making me?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know what to say . . . I need time."
"How much time, Connor? I can't stand this. I can't stand thinking about you going with her, sitting next to her in that church, holding her chair, her introducing you as if you were hers, and not mine. You're mine, Connor. This is killing me. She's going to try to touch you . . . " Jessica's eyes slipped closed, " . . . sleep with you."
"Baby, I'm not going to sleep with her."
"If you do, I'll never forgive you. And I'll know it, Connor."
"I'm not going to sleep with her, I don't want to sleep with her, and I'd never lie to you."
