World Enough and Time

by Lauren Gallagher

  In fact, I could barely comprehend anything right then except the fact that I didn’t just want him.

  I needed him.

  “Wait.” I gently pushed him away. He looked at me with panic in his eyes, silently begging me not to put a stop to this.

  “Dani—”

  I sidestepped him and went to the door. I paused, listening over my thundering heartbeat. Aside from the usual noises of the horses in their stalls, the barn was silent. Empty. We were alone. Just to be on the safe side, I shut the tack room door and latched it.

  When I turned around, we stared at each other for a second, letting the stillness set in around us.

  The thread snapped.

  We came together in a frantic, violent kiss, grasping clothing, hair, anything that might keep the other from pulling away. Our trembling hands found their way to each other’s belts and zippers, and in between panting breaths and desperate kisses, we both cursed at our uncooperative clothing. When all the fasteners finally conceded, Connor pushed my breeches over my hips and turned me around. He bent me over a saddle, and I’d barely grabbed onto the hard leather when he thrust inside me. He met some resistance, but it didn’t slow him down and I didn’t protest. The hint of friction only emphasized how desperately we needed each other; he always made sure I was wet and ready for him, but this time, we just couldn’t wait.

  My arms trembled with the power of my building orgasm, and every time he slammed into me, they threatened to buckle. I lowered myself onto my forearms, resting them across the seat of the saddle, and the leather creaked and groaned as Connor fucked me harder, harder, harder.

  He grabbed my ponytail in one hand, gripping it just tight enough that he pulled slightly with every thrust. I closed my eyes and whimpered, giving in to the electricity radiating from my G-spot with every stroke.

  “Just like that,” I moaned, struggling to stay quiet. “Just… yes… that…”

  The saddle squeaked furiously beneath us while Connor fucked me even harder.

  “Oh God, you’re close, I can feel it,” he whispered, his voice shaking like he was on the verge of tears. “You feel so good, so damned good, so… oh… God…” He gasped, faltered, and when he released a ragged breath shaped like my name, I lost it.

  As soon as I surrendered to my spine-melting orgasm, Connor released my hair and held my hips, slamming into me as hard as he could. He kept going through the peak of my orgasm, but with every stroke, his rhythm came apart a little more.

  “Oh fuck,” he breathed. “Oh fuck, Dani, I can’t stop, I can’t, I’m…” With one deep, powerful thrust, he was all the way inside me and he shuddered against me, burying his face in my hair to muffle a throaty groan.

  Then everything was still and silent, nothing moving except the air rushing in and out of our lungs and the muffled creak of leather beneath us. After a moment, he kissed the side of my neck and slowly pulled out. He stepped back to fix his clothes and I pushed myself up, the saddle issuing one last, loud protest.

  “That was fucking amazing.” His voice still trembled, as did his hands as he buckled his belt. My hands weren’t much steadier.

  “You’re telling me.”

  He cupped the sides of my neck in both hands and kissed me gently. “And just think…” Another kiss. “After we go out tonight? We can do it all over again.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Murphy’s Law was in full effect that night. My last lesson of the day arrived late, so I left late. Just late enough, in fact, to hit the worst traffic on the bridges across Lake Washington. By the time I pulled into my apartment parking lot, I was an hour late.

  Connor, of course, was there waiting for me. I’d called ahead to let him know, but he still beat me there. When I got out of my car, he stepped around the back of it and greeted me with a long kiss.

  “Sorry I’m late,” I said.

  “You’re here, I’m not complaining.”

  I looked down at my clothes. “I do need to take a shower and change before we go.”

  “Fine by me,” he said with a smile. “We have plenty of time.” He followed me across the parking lot and into my apartment building.

  “I won’t be long,” I said over my shoulder. “But I’d like to look somewhat presentable.”

  He chuckled. “I don’t know, I rather like the way you look right now.”

  “I know you do, you dirty bastard,” I laughed.

  “Yeah, I guess I gave myself away earlier, didn’t I?”

  When I glanced back at him, he gave me that devilish grin and pulled his hand away, pretending he hadn’t been reaching up to cop a feel.

  I gave him a playful glare. “You’re incorrigible.”

  “It’s your fault,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “Oh, is it now?” I eyed him, trying not to laugh.

  “Well, you’re the one who looked like you needed to be bent over a saddle and given a good hard fuck.”

  He caught me off guard and I tripped on the next step. He put a hand on my hip to steady me while I regained my footing, but he made no effort to pull it away once I had my feet under me again.

  Continuing up the stairs, he slid his hand down over my rear and squeezed gently, then murmured in my ear, “Having trouble walking, are we?”

  “Maybe,” I said. “And if I am, it’s your fault.”

  He kissed my cheek. “Guilty as charged.” We stopped long enough for another kiss, one I knew he wanted to draw out, but I gently pulled away and tugged his arm.

  “We’ll have time for that later,” I said.

  “We have time for it now.”

  “Not if we’re going to go out.” I smiled at him, laughing when he tried to look put out.

  “You’re going to tease me all night now, aren’t you?” he asked, putting his hands on my hips and nuzzling my neck.

  I fumbled with my house key. “I think you’re the one teasing me, Mr. Graham.”

  “Am not,” he murmured. “Because all you have to do is say the word, and I’ll—”

  “Come on, you.” I rolled my eyes and half-dragged him into the house.

  He laughed and shut the door behind us. “Can I at least have a proper kiss, now that we’re away from prying eyes?”

  “If I kiss you like that, we’ll never get out of here.”

  He grinned and shrugged, taking a step toward me.

  I put my hands on his chest. “We’ll be here all night, Connor.” I tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile. “Let me get a shower.”

  “Maybe I should join you,” he said. “You know, make sure you don’t miss a spot.”

  “Uh-huh,” I said. “I’m sure that’s exactly what you have in mind.”

  He put his hands up. “I just want to help you get clean.”

  “Please, Connor,” I laughed. “If you get in the shower with me, I’ll end up even dirtier than I am now.”

  “So?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Stay here. I’ll just be a few minutes.”

  I should have known we wouldn’t get far.

  When I stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in nothing but a towel, he was there, resting his hip against my bed. And he had that look again.

  “Connor.” I tried not to smile when he started toward me. “Wait until we get home.”

  “We are home.” He put his hands on my hips.

  “I know, but—”

  He kissed me, sliding his tongue past my lips and melting my defenses. When he bent to kiss my neck, I put my hands on his chest to try to push him away, but my fingers sided with him and held onto his shirt.

  “We’ve got a little bit of time.” He was freshly shaved, but his jaw was just rough enough to make me shiver.

  “I should get dressed,” I said.

  “That’s the last thing you should do,” he murmured.

  “But we’ll never make it to the restaurant.”

  He tugged at the towel, letting it slide to the floor and pool at my feet. Cupping my breast, he said, “We’ll order pizza
.”

  “But we—”

  His thumb circled my nipple and all I could do was close my eyes and bite my lip.

  “We could go out,” he said, kissing his way down my neck. “Go have a leisurely, quiet dinner down by the water.” He nipped my shoulder gently. “Maybe walk along the waterfront.” He flicked his tongue across the hollow of my throat. “Or, we could stay here”—his hands ran down my back and he pulled me closer to him“—and I could spend a leisurely evening making you come.”

  When his tongue parted my lips, protesting any further was out of the question. My nipples tingled when his shirt brushed across them, and cool denim against my hips gave me goose bumps.

  “I know what you want to do,” he whispered. The hand on the small of my back held me to him, pressing his hips against me so I could feel how hard he was. “I’ve been thinking about this afternoon all day long, and I hope you have too.” A shudder ran up my spine and a soft breath of laughter warmed the side of my neck. “Just say the word.”

  “There’s just one problem,” I said. He raised an eyebrow. Grinning, I tugged at his shirt. “You have entirely too many clothes on.”

  He looked down. “So I do.”

  ***

  Lying on our sides, he played with my hair while I draped my arm over his waist. For a while, we didn’t speak, but then I couldn’t help but laugh when a thought crossed my mind.

  “What?” he asked.

  Snickering softly, I said, “You know, we still have yet to make it to that restaurant.”

  He smiled. “You’re right, we haven’t.”

  “Seems like every time we try to go there, we end up in bed.”

  The smile turned to his mouthwatering devilish grin. “Maybe I should send them a thank-you card, then.”

  “I wouldn’t put it past you,” I said.

  “So do you want to go there tomorrow night?” he asked.

  “Do you really want to go, or should we just cut right to the chase and meet here?”

  He leaned forward and kissed me gently. “Let’s just meet here.” Pushing himself up on one arm, he kissed my neck. “Assuming we even make it out of this bed tonight and we’re not still here tomorrow night.”

  “I don’t know what’s gotten into you today,” I said. “But I’m not going to object to it.”

  He settled back onto his side. “What got into me,” he said, running his fingers through my hair, “is seeing you looking the way you did today.”

  I furrowed my brow. “The way I looked? Connor, I was sweaty and dirty. I looked like hell.”

  “I know. That’s what was hot.”

  “What? How is that sexy?”

  “Babe, look at it from my perspective,” he said. “I show up and see you disheveled and sweaty. What do you think is the first thing that crosses my mind?”

  I shrugged. “A shower?”

  “Maybe with you pinned against the wall with my cock inside you.”

  I shivered. There was something deliciously sexy about Connor being so brazenly filthy.

  He smiled. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

  “I just can’t imagine being turned on by that,” I said.

  “Let’s put it this way,” he said. “When I think back to the night we met, what do you think I think of?”

  “Probably all the things we did in my bed.”

  “Exactly. And by the time I was done with you, you were sweaty and disheveled, weren’t you?”

  “Just like I always am when you—” I paused.

  “See what I mean?” He trailed his finger down my arm. “So when I saw you today, the first thing that crossed my mind was how much you looked like you’d just been fucked.” He kissed me gently. “And that turned me on so much I couldn’t see straight.”

  I laughed and released a breath. “What’s funny is, the whole time you were there with me, I thought you were upset or something was bothering you.”

  “No, no, no,” he said. “The only thing bothering me was having a hard-on and no way to take care of it.”

  “So I found out.”

  It was his turn to shiver. “And Jesus Christ, that was hot.”

  “Yes, it was. So if I want to turn you on, I just need to get sweaty and mess up my hair?”

  “As if you have ever had any difficulty turning me on, Dani.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  He put his hand over mine. “There are plenty of ways to turn me on besides that.”

  “Do tell,” I said. “What else turns you on, Mr. Graham?”

  “Besides you?”

  I rolled my eyes, certain my cheeks were red. “Yes, besides me.”

  “Honestly, all you have to do is touch me,” he said. “The right touch can drive me absolutely out of my mind.”

  “Pity I can’t do that in public.”

  “Of course you can,” he said. “There are plenty of places you can touch me without anyone else even batting an eye.”

  “Such as?”

  “Anywhere, really. All depends on how you do it. Touch is one of the sexiest things in the world,” he said. “Everyone gets so hung up on touching erogenous zones, they forget that anywhere can be erogenous if it’s touched just right.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Sure. I mean…” He trailed off, and at first I thought he was searching for the words. Then, goose bumps suddenly prickled my arm. He gave me a knowing grin, and when I looked down, I realized he’d trailed his thumb along the inside of my wrist, a place I’d never thought of as being particularly sensitive.

  “I’ll bet,” he said with a grin, “that if you gave me the chance, I could show you just how sexy a simple touch can be.”

  “I think you already have.” I shivered, and the goose bumps lingered.

  “I mean I think I could make you come absolutely unglued without ever touching your pussy.”

  “I’m not stopping you,” I said.

  “Just wait.” He kissed me gently. “One of these nights.”

  “Why not tonight?”

  “Isn’t the same when you’ve already come a few times,” he said. “I’d rather start when you aren’t turned on already.”

  “Like that could happen when I’m around you.”

  He laughed. “Well, then I’ll just have to move in quickly, won’t I?”

  “A sneak attack?” I grinned.

  “When you least expect it,” he said.

  “I’ll just have to keep my guard up, then.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  “Bring it on.” We both laughed.

  After a moment, the humor faded from his expression, and the creases between his eyebrows suggested deep thought. Deep thought I doubted had anything to do with the two fingers playing with a loose strand of my hair, even though his eyes were focused on them.

  “You’re awfully quiet all of a sudden,” I said.

  “Sorry,” he said, but the smile that flickered across his lips seemed forced. When our eyes met, there was an intensity in his that surprised me in the wake of such playfulness.

  “You okay?”

  He nodded. “Just thinking.” His cheeks colored a little and he watched his fingers again. “And this is going to sound incredibly stupid, but...” Scratching the back of his neck, he took a breath. “But this has never happened with any other woman before.”

  “What? Sex?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, that’s it. I was a virgin up until the night we met.”

  “You’re a fast learner then.”

  “Brat.” He paused to kiss me lightly. Though the seriousness returned to his voice and face, he held my gaze this time. “What I meant was—this—I don’t know what to call it, it’s…” He made a frustrated gesture and sighed. “I mean, it’s not just today, or tonight, but whenever I’m around you, I have to have you. Always. It’s like, no matter how much I have you, it’s never enough.”

  I moistened my lips, blood pounding in my ears. How could he possibly be thinking the same t
hing I was? Though I hadn’t found the words, and even someone as eloquent as he had difficulty, the meaning came across loud and clear.

  Apparently taking my lack of an answer as confusion, Connor took a breath. “Honestly, Dani,” he whispered, “I’ve never met someone I was so desperate to have. It’s like, there are times I just completely lose control around you. Like I always have to have you right now. I can’t wait.”

  “Like tonight,” I said.

  “And this afternoon, yes,” he said, his voice soft. “I thought it was because we only had limited time. You know, like I wanted to have you as much as possible before I have to leave.” He smoothed my hair and looked into my eyes. “The thing is, all day long, and all evening, this whole time we’ve been talking, until now I hadn’t even thought about the fact that I’m leaving.” He touched my face and took a breath. “To be honest, I can’t help but think that if I wasn’t leaving, I’d still need you just the same.” He paused, offering a look that was a mix of shyness and uncertainty. “Am I making any sense at all?”

  More than you know. I swallowed. “Actually, yeah. I know exactly what you mean.”

  “Thank God,” he said with a huff of laughter. “Then it isn’t as crazy as it sounded in my head.”

  “Apparently not,” I said quietly. My heart thudded in my chest. It didn’t sound crazy at all, but it did scare me. Pushing those fears aside, I pulled him a little closer and kissed him. When I broke the kiss, there was something in his eyes again. Something else.

  “Thinking again?”

  He smiled. “I’m always thinking.”

  “So what are you thinking about now?”

  His eyes darted away for a second, and when he looked at me, there was something like shyness and apprehension in his eyes. “I’m flying down to San Francisco soon. That area, anyway. To look for an apartment, talk to some professors.”

  My heart sank. Another reminder that his time here was short. I swallowed.

  “Would—” He paused, as if searching my eyes for something. “Do you want to go with me?”

  I blinked. “Are you serious?”

  He shrugged. “I’ll be down there for a week, and I was planning to check out some of the touristy stuff while I’m there. I just, you know, I thought it would be fun if you came with me.”