Lady Hideaway Ch. 04

“Yea?” he smiled.

“About last night,” Tessa let out a breath, she seemed to be concentrating a little too hard on what she wanted to say and it made Conner nervous.

“Tessa, we don’t have to talk about that now.” He replied, even though he desperately wanted to, he was arguing only because he was afraid of what she had to say. He had made his intentions clear enough, and now it was her turn.

“Yes we do.” she replied, telling him what he already knew. “Conner, what I said, I meant it. I don’t know if this is a good idea. I like you, but there is a reason why… I can’t get close to people. There are things you wouldn’t understand, I… I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Conner found it strange that she was afraid for him rather than herself. He would have expected her to tell him that she was the one who didn’t want to be hurt.

“You couldn’t hurt me.” He smiled.

“Conner, it isn’t that I would hurt you, but…” she started to argue, but didn’t have a chance to finish as he leaned in and warmed her lips with his own. He really had a bad habit of interrupting her like this.

“I’m not worried.” He said when he finally parted from her lips, “If you want me here, that’s all I need to know.”

Tessa seemed to study him for a moment, like there was something she needed to tell him but couldn’t. She looked concerned and doubtful at first, but the expression slowly faded and her hand reached out, her fingers gently moving against his recently shaved chin. Conner leaned into her touch, his eyes locking with hers as he enjoyed the feel of her. He didn’t lean forward when she moved towards him. He let her come to him, her kiss landing on his bottom lip, and then her kiss was planted directly on his mouth, her tongue shyly touching his lips before he opened for her, bringing his tongue to feel out hers.

Tessa leaned forward again, bringing her hand to his chest, just as she had before. He leaned into her, feeling the pressure of her fingers against his chest, but she didn’t push him away as his hands moved down her arms and then rested on her waist. He kissed her harder then, their weight falling back until Tessa was against the arm of the sofa, and Conner was leaning into her.

Conner was lost in the feeling, he was excited and there was a definite pressure in his jeans as his male organ pressed against his pants. He fought to keep from becoming aggressive as his hands found a will of their own and one moved to her side, his thumb resting just beneath her breast and the other moving down her thigh, down her leg and up again. He felt the soft skin of her thigh, realizing that he had inadvertently pushed the skirt of her dress up. He was about to smooth her cloths back down, but the way her soft skin felt against his wandering hand kept him from it. He let his hand rest on her bare leg, his fingers sinking down against her inner thigh, this was enough to cause her body to arch, and as a soft sound escaped her throat he plunged his tongue deeper into her mouth.

He let his thumb run over her ribs, grazing the underside of her breast as his other hand moved further up her dress, stopping when he felt her panty line. His thumb moved further as well, tracing the curve of her breast and then moving over it, stopping briefly at the tight knot against her shirt that was her nipple.

Tessa suddenly stiffened then, her hand on his chest gave more pressure, and he quickly backed off. He hadn't meant to go this far in the first place, and he immediately worried that it was a mistake, especially now that Tessa was looking apologetic and troubled.

“Sorry.” She mumbled.

Conner quickly brought his arm around her, lifting her chin so she would look at him and he softly kissed her lips. He would hate it if her reaction was causing her to feel guilty.

“Don’t be sorry.” He stated, “I don’t want anything from you that you’re not willing to give.”

Tessa wasn’t sure that she believed him. It was difficult to believe men could be patient and undemanding. It wasn’t that Tessa didn’t like the way Conner had been touching her, but it was frightening. She never let anyone touch her. She was constantly surprising herself with Conner, the way that she slowly trusted him. Maybe that was what frightened her most of all. She wanted to give him more than she was, and the fact that she still couldn’t made her feel guilty. As much as she wanted to deny it, she wanted him around, dangerous or not. She was beginning to fear that if she continued to be frightened he would give up and leave.

“Conner, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to…” she stopped and nervously looked away, but he quickly tilted her chin back towards him.

“It’s alright.” He insisted, “We don’t have to do anything. I told you, I’m not going anywhere. There is plenty of time.”

Conner smiled at her as he felt her relaxing again. He was suddenly holding his breath as she leaned into him, resting her head against his chest, her arm drawn around him and her fingers resting on his ribs. He wanted so much to just hold her then.

Slowly, Conner allowed himself to relax. He reluctantly returned the sound to the television and his hand found the soft strands of her hair and he let his fingers run through it again. He closed his eyes, taking in the feel of her against him. Holding her was enough for now, and he hoped that she understood that.