Finding Our Hearts

by Grace Roberts

  His face broke into a huge smile as he brushed his thumb along my bottom lip. “You’re not too bad yourself.” And then his mouth was back on mine, his lips brushing mine softly at first and becoming bolder with each new peck until we were entangled again, his good hand bringing me close to him the moment he moved from the chair to the side of my bed. I wrapped my arms around him and stroked his back in rhythmical up-and-down movements, making him groan inside my mouth—something that was totally, undeniably arousing.

  What was happening to me? I’d never really liked kissing Peter—he was always too rough and selfish, only wanting to take and never give, and I’d surely never liked getting intimate with him, but with David… I found my mind going to places it’d never gone before, like wondering what it would be like if I let my hands wander underneath his sweater and my fingers could brush his bare skin, or how it would feel if his gentle hands moved from my hair to my neck and down past my collarbone…

  “Claire, we need to stop.” He pulled back, just as breathless as I was. His cheeks were slightly pinker than I’d ever seen them. My mind conjured up an image of his beautiful face, all flushed, and with his hair mussed and sticking in every which way after a passionate night. My belly did a back-flip. I was definitely having weird thoughts—well, weird for me, but still…

  “If we keep this up, I’ll have to either lock the door or kidnap you and bring you somewhere nobody can find us for a week or two.”

  I laughed, even though the idea of being cooped up with him forever sounded seriously inviting right now. David brushed his thumbs across my cheeks, his cast irritating my skin a little, but I didn’t care, especially since he was staring so lovingly into my eyes that I wanted to melt right there.

  “You’re so beautiful, Claire.”

  My heart fluttered and I let out an exaggerated sigh, needing to lighten the tension.

  “Well, at least this time you’re sober.” He frowned at my comment and I couldn’t help grinning. “The last time you said these exact same words, you were so wasted I didn’t think you really knew what you were saying.”

  His eyebrows shot up at the realization. “Oh, so that’s what I told you that night! That’s why when I said I didn’t remember much you got upset.”

  “I didn’t get upset,” I pointed out. When he tilted his head to the side and quirked an eyebrow, I looked away. “Okay, maybe I was a little… um… sad that you didn’t remember calling me beautiful. I’d wanted you to notice me since the first time we met, before I knew you had a girlfriend and all. I’ve sort of… well, crushed on you since then.”

  “Oh, trust me, I’d noticed you all right.” His cheeky grin made me blush, but I took his good hand in mine and what was now a familiar touch soothed my nerves. “I’ve never been the cheating kind, but ever since you crashed into me I couldn’t get you out of my mind. I felt awful fantasizing about that gorgeous hair of yours while my girlfriend was sitting next to me. But then again, things hadn’t been going that well between me and Michelle, so when you came into my life I thought it was… well, fate. I’ve always had a thing for redheads but never dated one, and there you came and fell right into my arms.”

  I chuckled. Funny—the thing I hated the most about me was what had made David notice me in the first place.

  “And just so we’re clear, even though I was drunk that night I really meant those words.”

  He leaned closer and placed a soft peck on my lips, one on my nose and a lingering one on my forehead. When he pulled back, I had trouble restraining myself from fisting his sweater and pulling him down on the bed with me.

  “Would you mind getting me a bottle of water, please?”

  His eyes widened a little, probably because of my sudden change of subject. I needed him to leave the room for a few minutes so I could pull myself together and go back to being rational. I’d never felt like this before, and this was definitely not the right place to discover my passionate side, something that up until ten minutes ago I’d never thought I had.

  “Yeah, I guess I need a minute, too.” He winked and left the room.

  I brought a hand to my heart, closed my eyes, and breathed slowly and deeply until my heart rate returned to normal. This guy was definitely bringing out the wild girl in me, and I couldn’t wait to discover her at last.

  Chapter 24

  David

  When Claire was released, I drove her home and spent every evening at her place, since she didn’t want to go out until it was time she went back to work. I brought her takeaway food every time so she wouldn’t have to bother cooking for us, and the couple of times Ciara had gone out with her boyfriend we’d snuggled up on the couch and talked and kissed while watching a movie.

  By Friday night my family understood I had it bad for Claire, since I barely spent any free time at home anymore. During the week I’d started checking out apartments again, suddenly very eager to have a place of my own where Claire and I could spend our moments together, without Ciara or Robbie interfering with our intimacy plans.

  When I walked into the office on Monday morning before my lesson, I greeted Susan and walked straight past her into Claire’s office. She was sitting at her desk, biting the cap of a pen and frowning over something she was reading. I stared at her for a moment before she looked up, sensing my presence.

  “Hi.” A beautiful smile lit up her face and when I stepped closer to her desk and bent down, she looked over my shoulder to check if Susan was there.

  “Don’t worry about her, she’s just taken a call and is busy looking something up on the computer.” I whispered before placing a soft kiss on her lips. “I can’t start the day without a good morning kiss from you.”

  She blushed. She was so cute and sexy when she blushed. I couldn’t help fantasizing about what she would look like after a passionate night, with her curls all wild and mussed and her pale skin all flushed from my touches and kisses. I shook away the vision—this wasn’t the place for those kinds of thoughts.

  “Besides, I may have heard through the grapevine that the grumpy librarian is retiring at the end of the semester, which leaves the place open for a new, much sexier librarian…” I let the words sink in before I waved the form in front of her pretty face. Three seconds passed before her eyebrows shot up and her delicious mouth formed a perfect O, making me want to bend down again, and claim her lips in a breathtaking kiss. Again, I shook the thought away and reminded myself—and my hormones—where I was. There’d be time for that later, away from prying eyes.

  “Are you saying I could apply for the position? I mean, wouldn’t they want someone with a little more experience?”

  “If you wear your nerdy glasses and a plaid skirt you’ll be perfect for the job.” I winked, and she glowered at me. “And there’s more.”

  I handed her the other set of documents I’d requested at the Department of Literature, and she frowned, reading the first few lines. She looked up with wide eyes, and a little watery too, when she understood what the documents were.

  “Aw, David, that’s sweet of you but I don’t think I can.” She hung her head, and put the documents on the desk, clasping her hands on top of them.

  “Of course you can. If your mother hadn’t gotten sick, you would’ve pursued the MA—it’s what you really wanted to do. It’s not too late to enroll, and you’re smart enough to make it.” I brushed her cheek with my thumb, and she closed her eyes for a second. I loved how she seemed to always enjoy my touch, just as I enjoyed hers. “I’ve grown up in a family that always supported one another’s dreams. I’m here to support yours, Claire. Trust in yourself, ’cause I trust in you.”

  She smiled, even though her eyes sparkled a little. “I’ll think about it. Maybe I could give it a shot, see what comes out of it.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  A pretty flush colored her cheeks, and I wanted to climb over her desk, take her in my arms and kiss her senseless. How could this girl cause such crazy reactions in me after barely a week
of being together? I’d never felt like this with anyone else, no matter how long we’d dated. But Claire was the real deal—that was why we were so perfect together.

  I left the office before I let my hormones take control, and told her I’d meet her for lunch. Susan narrowed her eyes at me when I waved goodbye, and I could only hope she wouldn’t give Claire a hard time for my irresponsible behavior. But if everything went the way I was hoping it would, Claire would be working at the campus library from September and Susan wouldn’t be able to bother her anymore. While I walked to class, I fantasized about pulling Claire behind one of the library bookshelves in a secluded corner and making out with her while nobody was around. It would actually be rather sexy—but only if she wore her nerdy glasses.

  So much for always making fun of Colin’s dreamy eyes—I’m turning into his clone.

  The week flew by. Claire told me that, as soon as I left the office on Monday, Susan had asked her what was going on between us, and she’d finally decided to face her head-on. She’d told her we were a couple, and when Susan tried to remind her about the no-socializing rule, Claire had told her she knew there were no such rules and that Susan had only made it up to make Claire stay away from me. Claire had only taken a guess, hoping she’d been right in her assumption that Susan was simply crushing on me and didn’t want Claire anywhere near the object of her desire. My girl had been lucky, though: Susan had taken the bait and thought she’d been busted. From what Claire told me, Susan had looked like the cat who ate the canary, and she’d let the subject drop. She’d even stopped harassing her, like she often seemed to enjoy doing. I was glad I hadn’t been the cause for Claire losing her job, but most of all I was glad we could now have lunch together and hang out in the light of day without having to worry about someone in the university seeing us.

  On Friday night, Valentine’s Day, I’d offered to take Claire out to a nice restaurant for a candlelit dinner, but she’d insisted she wanted to cook something special for me, and, since Ciara would be spending the weekend in Dublin with her boyfriend, we’d have the house all to ourselves and we wouldn’t have to worry about keeping our hands off each other. That had been the thing that had won me over.

  I’d never really been the mushy type, and usually made fun of Colin when he acted like a lovesick puppy around my sister, but when Claire opened the door wearing an apron over a black, tight dress that had my blood pressure instantly spike up, I found myself fantasizing about coming home to this gorgeous woman every night, kissing her lips and asking how her day had been, before closing the door behind me, leaving the world outside.

  “Happy Valentine’s,” I said, handing her the bouquet of red roses while holding on to the bottle of red wine I’d bought. Her face brightened as she took the flowers and stepped aside, letting me in. I locked the door and spun around, placing my free hand on her waist. I couldn’t wait for the annoying cast to go and to finally be able to hold her and touch her like I wanted to.

  I pulled her close to me and lowered my lips on hers, brushing them with a soft kiss that was only meant to be the entrée to a feast of kisses and cuddles that would last all night long.

  Robbie came trotting toward me and barked a couple of times until I pulled back from Claire and gave him the head scratch he’d gotten used to receiving from me whenever I walked in. I really hoped he’d go to sleep by the fire and leave us alone, because as much as I liked the mutt, I had other plans for the night.

  I followed Claire into the kitchen, and the mouthwatering smell of tomato sauce and basil made my stomach growl. Claire giggled and stirred something inside a pot, saying it would only take another couple of minutes. I closed the distance between us, and while she had her back to me, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her flush to my chest, nuzzling her neck. She let out a gasp, and I smiled against her soft skin that smelled so good from a lovely perfume she was wearing coupled with the sweet scent of her. It was intoxicating.

  “Um… why don’t you open the wine?”

  She was nearly breathless, and I couldn’t help smiling when I saw her cheeks were a nice shade of pink. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who’d been affected by our proximity. I was starting to feel like an addict—I needed my daily fix of Claire if I didn’t want to go crazy. I was sure that once I’d known what it felt like to be skin-to-skin with her, I’d never be able to keep my hands off her ever again. I’d probably start having withdrawal symptoms the moment I let her out of my arms.

  When I didn’t move and just stared mesmerized at her, she reached for the corkscrew and handed it to me.

  Waking up from my dazed state, I grinned and stepped aside, proceeding to open the bottle. When I turned toward the table to fill our glasses, I took in the neat way she’d set it up. Red napkins were folded inside crystal goblets, two long, red candles were alight next to them, and cut-out hearts were scattered on top of the runner.

  “Wow. This looks nice.” I placed the bottle on the table and spun around, just as Claire came toward me holding two plates of steaming spaghetti. With meatballs. I had to laugh. “Tell me this isn’t a reference to that Disney movie my sisters made me watch until I got sick… you know, the one with the dogs that eat spaghetti at an Italian restaurant?”

  “Ah… I may have had Lady and the Tramp in mind when I picked the recipe. I thought it would be romantic.” Claire winked and smiled, placing both plates on the table, but by the way her cheeks flushed bright red, I knew she was hiding her embarrassment behind that grin. Maybe she really had planned this dinner with that movie in mind, and yes, maybe it had caught me a little off guard, but I thought it was sweet all the same—just like her.

  I took her hand and pulled her to me, placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face up. I kissed her before she said another word, and my kiss said it all. Nobody had ever done anything so romantic for me, and even though I’d made fun of my sisters at the time, deep down I’d always liked that movie—mainly because the dog was cool.

  “This is perfect, Claire. I love it.” I nodded toward the table and grinned. “Maybe we could try to reenact the part where they pick up the same noodle and end up kissing. I’ve always wanted to do that.”

  She laughed and the insecurity that had clouded her beautiful face only a minute before disappeared.

  Dinner was perfect. We did try that scene from the movie, and I nearly choked when the food went down the wrong pipe as I swallowed without chewing so that I could turn the chaste peck into a mind-blowing kiss. Once I’d scoffed the delicious chocolate cake she’d made, and we’d cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher, something I normally didn’t like doing at home but that I seemed to love if Claire was involved, we went into the living room and snuggled on the couch, talking and kissing in front of the fire with a romantic comedy playing in the background.

  Robbie was snoring by the hearth, since he’d understood there’d be no cuddles or playtime for him tonight, and the whole thing felt so homey my heart swelled with love. I wanted this. I’d never wanted to feel homey and cozy with anyone before, but after only two weeks with Claire, I knew this was all I’d ever want. Claire was it for me. She was what my sister was to Colin. In just so little time, she’d become my world, my life—my future.

  “I love you,” I whispered against her lips when we came up for air. I didn’t care if it was too soon and maybe it’d scare her. I couldn’t deny the feeling that was burning my heart, making me feel alive and happy again.

  “David,” she breathed out, and I closed my eyes, bracing myself for what would come next. Something along the lines of “It’s too soon,” or “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure how I feel about you,” or another kind of rejection. Her lips brushed my eyelids, trailed down to the tip of my nose, and across my left cheek until they hovered over my ear, where her warm breath caused all the blood to rush from my brain to a southern part in my body. “I love you, too. So very much I can barely believe it.”

  My eyes shot open and I turned my head
to look at her. She was blushing, and I was sure it wasn’t only because of the twenty minutes of passionate kissing we’d just been through.

  “I wasn’t even sure what loving someone really meant until I met you.” Her voice was barely a whisper. It was sexy. “That day outside the cemetery when we talked about our lives and I shared my pain with you, I just knew I’d fallen in love. I finally got to know what it felt like.” She tucked a curl behind her ear, and her long, sparkling earring dangled, catching my attention. I couldn’t help conjuring up an image of her head on a pillow, her curls sprawled across the white cotton and those earrings the only thing she had on.

  “Sorry, baby, but I’m afraid you’ll never get to know what loving another man feels like.” She smiled as I brushed her cheek with my thumb. “I’ll never let you go.”

  Our lips mashed again, and I decided to play boldly, pushing her gently down on the couch, hoping tonight would be the night. I’d wanted to take it slow, the way she deserved, maybe wait for her to say she was ready to take our relationship up another level, but that had been before I’d known how addictive she’d be. Now I knew I’d never get enough of her.

  Things got a little frantic afterward, and when my hands started roaming her body, itching to get that dress off her and whatever else she was wearing underneath, she placed both her palms on my chest and pushed me slightly off her. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to hide the disappointment I was feeling. I’d promised myself I’d never force her if she thought this was too soon, but I was a guy after all, and after half an hour of heavy making out it would take a little for my brain, and other parts of my body, to understand it was time to stop.

  “Sorry, I got a little carried away. I didn’t mean to—”

  She placed two fingers to my lips, shushing me. Her pupils were so large her eyes almost looked black, and a fire smoldered inside them. Her chin was slightly pink from where my stubble had scratched her pale skin, and her lips were swollen and still wet from my kisses. She’d always looked cute and shy, but now—wow, now she looked downright sexy.