* * *
A tiny catch in her voice made Connor stop.
He was still holding her hand and he was standing with his back to the sea. The last rays of the sun before it dipped below the horizon were doing their best to outshine and out-colour anything that had gone before. The light was so bright behind him that he was probably no more than a dark blob for Kate, but he could see her face with the utmost clarity. He could see the tangle of her dark lashes where moisture still clung.
Good grief… she’d beencrying?
The woman who was so tightly walled off from the world around her that she’d earned the reputation of being an ice queen had been moved to tears. By what? Estelle’s story?
A reminder of some trauma in her own past?
It didn’t matter. Connor knew he was seeing the real person here. The Kate who could dance like a dream. Who could care enough to cry. He also knew that he was seeing something that very few – if any – other people got to see.
A tight feeling in his chest expanded so suddenly it seemed to explode with a curious mix of warmth and… longing.
For what, Connor didn’t know. What he did know was that he had to pull Kate closer. He heard himself sigh as he did so. A sound of surrender that ended in the whisper of her name.
And then he kissed her.
6
The feeling of falling reached an unbearable intensity.
Maybe it was the glow of the glorious sunset. Or perhaps the emotions that Connor’s words had stirred up. Whatever the cause, there was no way of catching herself in time and, for a few memorable seconds when his lips touched hers, Kate simply let herself go.
She fell into the softness of his lips and the warmth of his body as he drew her close. The knot of longing deep in her belly spiralled into a white-hot glow. Kate felt her lips parting beneath Connor’s, but it was in that split second before his tongue touched hers that she realised just how far out of control this was.
With a gasp, she put her hands on Connor’s chest and pushed herself away.
They stood there, staring at each other.
‘We – we need to go,’ Kate stammered. ‘It’s really getting dark now.’
‘Hmm.’ Connor licked his lips and Kate felt an odd melting sensation in the core of her body, but he didn’t say anything else. He reached for her hand again and this time they reached the track.
He held her hand until they came to a narrow section of steps where they needed to go in single file and by the time they reached the sand, they were walking side by side, the same way they had done when they had arrived.
They still hadn’t said anything. That kiss hung between them. An invitation or a solid wall?
Something had to be said. How could Kate climb onto the back of that bike and hang on to Connor for as long as it would take for him to deliver her back home if she had to wonder whether he saw this as the start of a relationship? If he was taking it for granted that it would follow the usual path and she would be panting to get into his bed in no time flat, like she could imagine any other woman he dated would be?
What if it got that far and he ended up being… disappointed? Disgusted, even?
Kate didn’t want that to happen. There was something between them that had become so much bigger this evening. Something that was too precious to risk.
She opened her mouth. ‘I’m not looking for a relationship, Connor.’
‘Okay.’
Oh, God… Was thatreliefin his tone?
For some reason that hurt rather a lot.
‘I’d like us to be friends, though,’ she added. ‘If that’s possible.’
‘Anything’s possible,’ Connor said, sounding neutral now. They reached the spot where he’d parked the bike and he handed Kate her helmet. In the deepening twilight she saw the gleam of teeth as he smiled.
‘I like you, Kate,’ he said. His smile widened. ‘I’m not sure exactly why but you…’ His voice faded, giving his last words a sincerity that took Kate’s breath away. ‘You’re… special. You surprise me.’
