On Forgetting Ch. 08

The contact had his blood running hot and he stifled a moan of pleasure as her hands caressed his chest. He dropped his head back, resting it on her shoulder and relaxing to the sound of her calm heartbeat. "You're a liar," he grumbled, his body relaxing into the soft cradle she made behind him.

"Nice come back." Langdon chewed on her lower lip for a moment, weighing the brilliantly terrible plan she had come up with after talking with Eoin. No, she shook herself, there's no way she could work up the courage to do it. With Connor pressed against her, she almost balked. Suddenly, it seemed like a horrible idea. They had reached a very close companionship recently. What if she messed it up? What if he'd changed his mind about her? Connor released a heavy sigh as she found a knot in one of his shoulders and she worked to release the muscle. It was his apparent exhaustion that renewed her frustration, and she steeled herself to be bold.

The progression was so natural, so wonderful, that Connor wouldn't normally have noticed. However, the sensation of Laney's light kisses along the back of his neck had the blood pooling between his legs so forcefully it made him dizzy. He moaned. "Laney," his voice was husky and low.

"Hm?" she breathed against his skin, kissing the angle of his jaw, the pressure of her hands moving down to the small of his back.

He drew in a sharp breath as her teeth nipped at his ear lobe. "Laney, what are you doing?" He wanted to sit up, to stop her, but her hands had him nearly at her mercy and he was harder than he could ever remember, ridiculously tenting the front of his pants.

Her hands dug into his sides, finding every muscle that tried to put up a modicum of resistance. "If you don't know, then I'm not doing it right," she purred.

He felt her breasts crushed against his back before realizing that his hands were stroking up her legs where they were wrapped around his sides. Massaging her with teasing touches as much as she did to him. His finger tips explored the smooth skin of her calves, the crease at the back of her knee, the outside of her thigh, moving higher as her skirt gave way to his searching. She stiffened and sucked in a breath as he traced the lacy edge of her panties, her fingers stilling against his back for the first time. It drew him from the haze she had created, and he started to hate himself. "Laney?"

She opened her eyes, not even realizing she was holding so still. His hand was still against her thigh and she hoped he didn't notice the damp heat radiating where her hips were cradling his ass. What a piss poor choice wearing a skirt today. He had almost brought her to cum with the slightest touch and the thought terrified her. "Yeah?"

Connor shifted, half turning, craning his neck to get a look at her face. Langdon suddenly regretted placing herself in the corner of the sofa. His eyes were an addled mix as his mind tried to scrutinize through the haze of lust. The look made Langdon's stomach flutter with an unease that she couldn't discern. He raised a brow, expecting an answer to an unasked question.

Langdon flushed guiltily then shook her head. "Never mind," she mumbled, struggling to free herself of the sofa and his weight.

"Never mind?" he asked, catching her hands and wrapping them across his chest, pinning her between his back and the couch. "No, no, you stay right here." He entwined their fingers seamlessly and brought one hand to his lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. "What are you thinking?"

Langdon shrugged. "I don't know, Connor."

The corner of his mouth drew back into a wry smile as he feathered kisses across her palm and wrist. "Yes you do, you've been thinking all evening." She flushed again and turned away from his probing gaze. She gasped as he drew one of her fingers into his mouth, her face heating as he drew it back out, nipping at the tip. He released that hand and caught her chin, turning her back toward him. Her eyes swirled with heat and confusion. "Why?" he asked simply.

She furrowed her brow then pressed her eyes shut with a wince. "It's stupid," she mumbled.

His fingers traced along her jaw and lips, drawing tiny sighs from her. "Tell me," his voice held no quarter with its command.

"I... I just thought..." she groaned inwardly. "I'm sick of not remembering, Connor. And I just figured that there must be some reason I'm dating you." She felt his spine stiffen and instantly regretted her words. She had done a horrible job explaining herself. "No, that came out wrong."

Connor released her hands and sat forward, dragging his palm across his face. Langdon was acutely aware of the lack of his weight and warmth against her and mourned the loss instantly. "So," he said stiffly. "You figure that we must be together for the sex? Since you would have nothing to do with me otherwise?" The sarcasm in his voice didn't mask the hurt, and Langdon felt her throat closing up. "No, Connor," she reached for him, his shoulder jerking away from her touch.

He stood sharply and began pacing. "You know, Lang, I've been so patient." She flinched. He had reverted back to using 'Lang.' Somehow that was a blow she couldn't shield herself from. "I have done everything I could think of to make you comfortable, to help you recover. But I miss you." He stopped and faced her for a second. "Not you, but the real you." He turned away and resumed his pacing. "I tried everything. I mean, I took you to the same place we went for our six-month anniversary. I hold you every night until you fall asleep. I just can't take much more of this, Lang."

The words did more than sting. Langdon felt as though she had been slapped across the face. Tears welled behind her closed eyes and her chest burned. She choked back the tears and anger exploded to replace it. "God Damnit, Connor!" She was on her feet. "You just don't get it!" He turned, surprised at her sudden outburst, but regarded her coolly. It enraged her even further. "I see it. I see it all. Every time I don't react the way you expect me to, every time I say something that you feel is out of character, it shows. It's in your eyes, the expression on your face. I see that hurt. And I know that I caused it. What the hell do you want me to do?!"

He said nothing, so she continued, her voice rising in volume and pitch. "I can spout off information from the classes that I have somehow forgotten. I can perform procedures that I learned in the past year that I can't remember learning. Drug names, management plans, stats and epidemiology... It's there. I know it is. I can't remember, but I can do. It scares the hell out of me!" She closed the distance between them, her hands clenched into small fists. "And I come home and get no rest from it. You want me to feel sorry for you. Why?" She jabbed him in the chest. "You know we're missing out on something and I can feel it too. There's more than companionship and staying on opposite sides of the bed. Hell, that already existed when we were friends, so what else is there? You're so afraid of scaring me that we're dying." She froze, realization of her words dawning on her as much as Connor. Her voice dropped, suddenly exhausted and she fixed her eyes on Connor's shoes. "I'd rather be scared than hurt and dying, Connor. I don't know exactly what would be lost, but I know I don't want to lose it."

A long silence stretched out in the room, broken only by the chatting of sports casters on the news. Langdon was afraid to raise her eyes. Terrified that she'd look up and see hate in Connor's eyes. But she couldn't move. Finally, slowly, Connor's hands closed around her upper arms. There was a moment when Langdon didn't know if she was coming or going, if he was about to push her away. But he drew her into the warm protective circle of his arms. Holding her to his chest as though she were something precious. She pressed her face into the warm skin exposed by his open shirt and mumbled, "Stop sparing my feelings, Connor. It's not working."

His arms closed tightly around her waist, and he started laughing. It was a full body laugh that began deep in his chest and shook his entire body. Langdon glanced up, surprised by his reaction, sceptical and mildly annoyed. "I didn't mean for you to laugh at me, Connor." Her anger bubbled back to the surface as he continued to laugh and she tried to push free of his grasp.

Connor struggled to control his laughter. "No, Laney," he chuckled again, holding her firmly against his body.

"Damnit, Connor, if you don't care just say so." She renewed her efforts to free herself, struggling against his hold.

Connor managed rein in his laughter, though only because he was swallowing a moan. "Laney," he groaned. The change in his voice drew her attention and she stopped moving. Meeting his gaze angrily, she started as he leaned in, his face inches from hers. "Does it feel, to you, like I don't care?"

Langdon opened her mouth, but the snarky response died on her lips as the evidence of his arousal pressed into her stomach. She cursed her fair complexion as she flushed a deep shade of red. Then his lips were on hers as he proceeded to kiss her senseless. She didn't have time to consider the strangeness of his kiss or the ramifications. Langdon simply held on to his solid frame as his tongue plundered her mouth, taking without mercy until she was panting and trembling in his arms. Connor's mouth drew up at the corners into a sexy half grin. "You have to forgive me, but you are so gorgeous when you're angry."

Langdon furrowed her brow, but found her mind quite incapable of forming coherent thought. The aftermath of his kiss had her toes curling, and the only thing her body registered beyond the pleasure was that it felt so right. Connor chuckled again and kissed her pouting lips softly. "I wasn't laughing at you, Laney. I was laughing at myself. I am such a fool. No need to expound on that," he pressed a finger to her lips. "It took you practically knocking me on my ass and jumping on top of me before I figured it out last time. And while you took the initiative, there was a blow up afterward anyway. And you told me that you were a big girl..."

"And I can take care of myself," Langdon finished for him. He raised a brow and she blushed again. "I remembered that night over a week ago."

"Oh, well then..."

"Well, it's true."

Connor grinned. "I love it when you put your foot down."

Langdon tried to frown, but Connor was kissing her again, the corners of her mouth, the furrows of her brow, her temples. "I can tell you no if I want to," she muttered petulantly.

"Mmn," he hummed against her neck. "But do you want to?" He found a particularly sensitive spot below her ear and caressed it with his mouth. She moaned, heat flooding her body. She dug her fingers into his arms, holding on as her knees gave out. "Laney," he growled, tearing his mouth away. "You haven't answered me."

She blinked, confused at the whiplash of the sensations. One of Connor's hands stroked idly across her breast, teasing her. "What?" she gasped.

He rested his forehead against hers. "I asked if you want me to stop. Because if you want me to stop, you better say so now."

Langdon growled and pushed him backwards causing him to stumble until the backs of his knees collided with the couch and he fell onto it. He snagged her hips as he fell pulling her down on top of him. She released an indignant squeak as she landed. Steadying herself against his shoulders, she straddling his thighs and glared down at him. "Connor Patrick Kennedy, if you so much as mention doing anything other than screwing my brains out, so help me, I'll..."

He wrapped his fingers around the nape of her neck and pulled her down for another hungry, punishing kiss. His free hand worked her shirt free of her skirt and slid up under the fabric, his palm running up the length of her back. The heat from his hands lit small trails of fire along her skin that had her clutching at his shoulders.

Langdon pulled away from his lips, trailing a path of kisses, nibbles, and licks from his chin to his chest, following her fingers as she unbuttoned his shirt. When she reached his stomach, she sat back and played her fingers across the exposed skin, giggling as he squirmed.

He captured her hands suppressing a chuckle, "Hey now. None of that." She leaned in and kissed him hard, her tongue splitting his lips and tasting the corners of his mouth. He groaned, releasing wrists to seize her hips, pulling her flush against his body. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms, trapping them momentarily against his sides.

She cupped his face and gave him the most devastating kiss she could muster. He was so enthralled with the sensations she wrought that he didn't recover to try to free his arms for a few seconds. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to hold her. He wanted... Argh! He growled and flailed, nearly tearing his shirt off.

Connor caught the hem of her shirt and whisked it over her head, leaving her free just long enough to discard it on the floor before pulling her close and latching onto her breast. Langdon gasped and wove her fingers into his hair; the combined feeling of his mouth and the lace of her bra left her squirming, tension building in her belly, and a rosy heat spreading across her chest. It was sweet torture. Her hips rocked against his, looking for the friction that would bring her relief.

He groaned; his slacks were becoming painfully restrictive, but did little to protect him from the heat radiating from her core, which now was only shielded by a thin lace barrier. A primitive part of him wanted to throw her down and reclaim her in the most basic of ways. He knew she wanted it too, or she would want it if she knew everything about herself. He switched to her other breast, his fingers filling the void left by his mouth, rolling her nipple between his fingers.

Langdon was slowly losing control of her body and mind. All she could focus on were the sensations wrought by his clever fingers and lips. "Oh!" she burst out suddenly. Pushing at his arms to free herself.

"What?" he froze, trying to get a handle on his lust before he embarrassed himself.

Langdon shifted, sliding off his lap and pushing herself up to standing. "I just remembered something," she whispered, a look of wonder passing over her face.

"What?" Connor sat forward, an eager look in his eyes.

A playful grin pulled at her passion-swollen lips and she dashed off.

Connor darted after her, her giggles taunting him as she disappeared into the bedroom. "Laney," he growled, ducking through the bedroom door. He stopped short, glancing around the room in wonder. Every flat surface from the dresser to the nightstand was littered with softly glowing candles. He finally met her warm gaze from where she was leaning against the bathroom doorjamb. "When did you have time to do this?"

She nibbled on her lower lip, glancing at her hands before meeting his eyes again. "Before dinner," she whispered. "Do you like it?"

The corner of his mouth drew back into a lop-sided smile, a dimple punctuating the boyish expression on his face. He crooked his finger and beckoned her. "Come here." She couldn't resist the look on his face and scurried to his side. He spun her around, hugging her back to his chest. "You know, you shouldn't run away from me like that." One large palm splayed across her bare stomach, the other arm wrapping around her shoulder, fingers dipping into the lacy cup of her bra and tweaking her nipple. He kissed her bare shoulder, tracing a line to her neck and behind her ear, pausing to tease her, "Of course I like it, it's beautiful."

Langdon sighed, her body relaxing into the protective warmth of his sturdy frame as he resumed his tormenting kisses, the heat of his mouth on her air-chilled skin raising goose bumps across her entire body. His fingers traced small, delicate patterns across her stomach and he dipped his other hand into the cup of her bra to caress the entire weight of her breast in his palm.

She stretched an arm behind her to weave her fingers into the hair on the nape of his neck, holding him to her. It wasn't enough to satisfy her. She craned her neck, turning to look over her shoulder and guided his mouth to hers. His fingers tightened reflexively against her stomach and the pure possessiveness of the action sent a shiver down her spine. He chuckled darkly against her lips. "What are the bags for?"

Langdon started, she had completely forgotten about the bags. "Oh, the bags." She tried to form a complete thought, but his hand had left her stomach and lay against her thigh, slowly drawing up the hem of her skirt with small teasing movements of his fingers.

"The bags?" he reminded her.

"Um, I packed one for you and one for me," she said, her voice sounding husky.

He had successfully worked her skirt up high enough to slide his palm along her bare thigh, his thumb stroking the crease of flesh where her leg met her hip. "And what are they for?" He kissed her lips to smother a moan.

"I was going to take you away this weekend," she breathed.

"Oh?" He turned her in his arms, backing her toward the bed. "Was?"

"Am?" Langdon let her fingers trace the flat planes of his bare chest, trying to drag her brain from the haze Connor had created. "I booked us a room out in Dingle. The train leaves early tomorrow morning." She let out a squeak of surprise as the backs of her legs came in contact with the mattress. "If you want."

Connor raised a brow. "You seem to think you're going to be able to get up out of this bed early tomorrow."

Langdon shivered at the lust darkening his eyes and the promise in his voice. "We can sleep on the train?" she offered lamely.

"Girl, I don't plan on letting you sleep for the next month."

~~o~~

I think one or two more chapters and we'll wrap this sucker up. I hope you're enjoying reading as much as I am enjoying writing. I have appreciated all the comments and feedback I've received so far. Most of it has been quite helpful.

Again, this one is being submitted before the previous is posted, so I hope it is to your liking :)

As always, comments, questions, and feedback are all welcome.

Thanks for reading,

~ewebie