Page 60 of Gray Hair Don't Care
Lela had imaginedDonovan saying many things to her, but she never thought he’d say he no longer wanted to be friends. “You’re breaking up our friendship?”
“Our friendship is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. So, no.”
“Then what?”
He reached for her, taking her hand. He rubbed her knuckles with his thumb, back and forth, like he was marking the time he needed to think. It made tingles run up her arm, and heat bloom in her chest. “Do you remember the day we met?”
“Of course. Art history. You asked for my notes because you kept falling asleep during the lecture.” It was a miracle she’d managed to write down anything at all. The view of Donovan, even when only in profile, and in a pitch-dark room, was still so enthralling that she’d had a hard time looking away.
“In my defense, no one should put a college student in a dark classroom and show them slides of renaissance art at eight o’clock in the morning.”
Lela laughed, remembering how much time Donovan spent trying to hold up his head. “Fair enough.”
“We talked after class, then I walked you to your dorm and we hit it off.”
She wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but these happy memories of the time when everything was shiny and brand new, yet somehow familiar, made her smile. “I remember.”
“I felt like something inside me was being fed for the first time. I’d never known someone who understood me from the beginning. It was like we were picking up a conversation that had been going for years. You understood where I was coming from, what I was thinking, and why.”
“I felt the same way, Donovan. I always have.”
“It was so great. Then everything changed.”
“Well, yeah… we’ve talked about this.”
“I sometimes wonder what would’ve happened if we’d never had sex.”
The tingles he’d given her moments ago turned into something else—a prickly realization. How would she have felt if that had never happened? “I think we would’ve always sensed we had unfinished business.”
“But I still feel that way.”
Yes. She felt that way, too. It was this thing that loomed over her day and night. It permeated every conversation they had, even when they were looking at spreadsheets. But it wasn’t just sex or getting to see Donovan naked. It was that unfinished business part. Like there was an ellipsis at the end of their relationship… Something was waiting. “I do, too.”
“It’s like there’s an unwritten chapter between us. Maybe more.”
The tingles raced back. They frantically buzzed around her body. They procreated and had tingle babies. “Careful, Donovan. That sounds romantic and sappy.”
“Good.” He threaded both hands into her hair, curling his fingers at her nape and lifting her lips to his. The kiss was so soft and tentative at first that it stole her breath and made it hard to stand. This was not a kiss he took lightly. This was serious business. It was time for her to take note. And she did. Every inch of her did.
And just like that, it felt like she was tumbling forward. Their mouths opened, heads slanted, tongues swirled, deep and passionate. She wrapped her arms around him and clawed at his back, arching into him. Any doubt she’d ever felt the other times they’d kissed showed no sign of life. All that was standing between Donovan and her was heat and need and too many clothes.
And one thing that needed to be said. “You’d better be sure about this.” Her eyes fluttered shut when he kissed her neck, momentarily putting her off track. “Because if you leave, I will hunt you down and murder you in your sleep.”
“I won’t leave. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” He switched to the other side of her neck, pressing his lips against the most sensitive spot beneath her ear. It made her insides wobble.
“Well, I hope we’re going somewhere. I hope we’re going upstairs.”
“God, yes. Please.”
Lela held on to his hand tightly and led him out of the kitchen and down the hall. Adorably, he shut off each light switch they passed.Click. Click.Who knew that being environmentally conscientious could be so sexy? Up the stairs they went, without a word, she first and he behind. As soon as she stepped onto the landing, she turned and tugged him into her room with their fingers twined. Once inside, he made the same move he had downstairs, hands gripping her neck, possessively claiming a kiss with every bit of urgency she ever could have hoped for from him.
She wanted to counter his enthusiasm. Match him. So she kissed him harder and pushed on his shoulders until they stumbled together and with a thud, his back landed against the wall. He broke their kiss and looked at her like she’d just set him on fire. He groaned his approval and reached down for her leg, palming her thigh as she braced her knee against the wall. He pulled the straps of her dress down her shoulders, then went for the zipper.
“Buttons. In the front,” she said.
“Got it.” It became Donovan’s turn to do the pushing, and he walked her backward across her room until her calves met the bed. He dropped to his knees and looked up at her with more adoration than she’d ever seen from any man, ever. The times she’d dreamed about him looking at her like that… they were too numerous to count. He kissed her belly through the dress, gripped her hips with his hands, then one by one, popped the buttons down the front of her dress. It only took a few until it dropped to the floor and she was standing before him, not feeling as vulnerable as the other times. Heat and blood coursed through her as he unhooked her bra and cupped her breasts with his hands. When his lips found her nipples, her eyes clamped shut as she soaked up the sensations of his warm tongue against her taut skin. Everything about this felt right in a way it hadn’t before. They’d earned this. Tiny step by tiny step. Falter and all.
Donovan stood and Lela climbed on to the bed. On her knees, she rocked back and forth to get her balance, untucking his shirt and waging her own personal war against buttons. Finally, she had the chance to spread her hands across the expanse of his glorious chest. She kissed his shoulder, then across his pecs, while her fingers traced the length of his arms, from his biceps to his wrists. Her hands went to his belt, the metal clattered, then a pop of the button on his jeans. She gazed up into his eyes, drawing down the zipper and slipping her hand inside the front of his boxers.
