watch her walk.
The way she moved in that dress had his imagination running wild. And that was not where he needed to be. He needed to get his little head out of the equation.
Mona had obviously seen her. As had Claire. Both women came over and hugged her. Whatever words were exchanged resulted in Mona pointing in his direction.
When she finally saw him, her face transformed. She smiled radiantly. It damn near knocked him on his ass. She’d never been so completely unguarded before.
Hope, furious and hot, burned in his heart and he wrangled it down. This was not the time to get ahead of himself.
She navigated her way over to him. When she was finally within reach, he debated throwing caution to the wind and taking her in his arms, kissing her breathless, and tossing her over his shoulder and making off with her.
He settled for taking her hand and saying, ‘You look amazing.’
She flushed prettily, snorted rather inelegantly, and said, ‘I feel as if my rear end is on display for the world to see. I should give Victor a piece of my mind.’
‘Victor?’ Her words weren’t computing.
‘He designed this for me.’
She did a 360 and his jaw came perilously close to hitting his chest again. There was no way in hell she had underwear on. In that moment, he didn’t know whether to kick Vic’s ass or buy him a beer to say thank you.
‘Well, you look amazing.’
She smiled again and his heart clenched. She was definitely still under his skin.
A waiter walked by and she accepted a flute of champagne. Turning back to Connor, she waved a hand, taking in the room.
‘I’m so happy for you, Connor. I hope this doesn’t sound patronising, but I’m really proud of you.’
‘That means a lot to me, Bridg.’ He blew out the breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. ‘I’m really glad you came.’
Tender green eyes met his. ‘I wouldn’t miss it for anything, sugar.’
His groin tightened at all that Southern coming his way, but he commanded himself to behave.
‘Would you like the tour?’ Anticipation rolled through him like an itch he couldn’t scratch.
‘Lead on.’ She smiled.
He offered her his arm and she took it. She felt good tucked into his body. He didn’t want to let go of her.
He took her around, showing her the pieces he’d chosen for the show. Many of them she’d seen at his place. A few were new and she exclaimed excitedly over them, making him feel quite accomplished.
Their progress was slow since patrons regularly stopped Connor to ask him about his work or offer their compliments. Finally, they made it to the last piece. A crowd surrounded it. Connor politely pushed through to the front, making sure Bridget’s view was unobstructed, and waited for her response.
Bridget was stunned speechless. Nothing could have prepared her for the sight hanging in front of her.
Connor had taken the image he’d drawn at their first picnic and blown it up to life-size proportions. She gazed out from the canvas with a look in her eyes that could best be described as tortured yearning. It was as if he’d seen into her soul and put it on display.
He’d seen what she’d not wanted to acknowledge. That he’d understood what she’d refused to was evident in the painting’s title:
Tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t know what to say. She’d pushed him away and he’d been right there the whole time just waiting for her to see it. She’d been a class-A idiot.
‘Hey.’ He tipped her chin up. ‘What’s wrong?’
She started to respond, but became highly aware of the people surrounding them. Taking his hand, she led him to Mona’s office. Once inside, she shut the door.
‘Bridget –’ he began.
She cut him off with a kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she clung to him and poured all her pain and sorrow at pushing him away into it. He matched her fervour. His tongue duelled with hers even as he gripped her ass and pressed her tightly against him.
When she finally broke the kiss, they were both panting and breathless.
‘Hell, I’ll paint you every day if that’s the response I’ll get.’
She laughed and felt all her tension drain away.
‘It wasn’t the painting, even though it’s gorgeous.’ She took his hand and pulled him over to the chairs in front of Mona’s desk. ‘It was how you saw me. How you knew I wanted more.’
She looked away from his all too knowing eyes and smoothed her skirt.
Meeting his grey eyes again, she said, ‘I’m so sorry, Connor. Everything you said was right. I did keep you at a distance. I was comfortable in my box, as much as it chafed, and I didn’t take any risks.’
Grabbing his hand, she continued, ‘I’d like to change that.’ She was reassured when he squeezed her hand in return. ‘If you want to try, that is.’
Connor was silent, his eyes suddenly unreadable, and she began to doubt whether or not she’d get her man after all.
When he finally spoke, his voice was soft. ‘I owe you an apology. I was demanding something from you that I wasn’t even doing. It was hypocritical.’
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it.
‘I love you, Bridget. I want to be with you, but I guess I’m asking how you see this going?’
Hope flared in her chest. He was willing!
Tears welled and she couldn’t stop them. ‘I don’t want any barriers between us. I’ve been seeing a rape counsellor and I’ve been talking with Evan and other experienced people about the kinkier stuff. But I only want to be with you. I don’t want to be with anyone else. I want to try these things with you.’
Tears flowed unchecked and she felt ecstatic at this second chance. He tugged her into his lap and held her close. She breathed him in, taking in the scent of soap and clean skin, the warm hardness of his chest and the steady thrum of his heartbeat.
She sighed contentedly. ‘I love you, Connor.’
She felt him grin against her hair. ‘There’s no way you’re getting away now.’
She chuckled. ‘Oh really. How do you plan to keep me?’
Squeezing her tighter, he teased, ‘Maybe I’ll just have to tie you down and keep you in my bed.’
‘Hmm.’ She snuggled in closer, nipping his neck. ‘That might work, but what if I don’t cooperate?’
A deep laugh rumbled in his chest at her flirting, ‘Maybe I’ll have to spank you if you’re bad.’
She grinned into his neck. ‘Promise?’
His cock leaped under her hips and she laughed.
Pulling back, he tipped her chin so that their eyes met. His had deepened to a charcoal grey and were filled with heat. ‘Are you serious, Bridg?’
She nodded, ‘Yes, darlin’. I’m dead serious. I want you to do all that to me, Connor.’
He put her out of her lap and tugged her towards the door.
She laughed harder. ‘Connor, what are you doing?’
He grinned that lopsided grin she loved so much. ‘We’re leaving. I’ve got a lot of time to make up for.’
She was laughing so hard she could barely speak, but managed to force out, ‘What about your show?’
He stopped short and she almost ran into him.
‘Shit!’ He raked a hand through his hair. ‘I guess I can’t run out on my own show. But, woman, you are not getting away from me again. Understood?’
She rose up on tiptoes and brushed a kiss across his lips. ‘I’m all yours, sugar.’
His grin melted her heart. ‘Damn straight!’
Taking her hand, he pulled her back out into the crowd.
