Um… Okay, think this through for a minute.
He probably didn’t mean what she thought he did. It had to be something else. Something different, and she was being stupid and naive.
Except he was still stroking his thumb over her skin with featherlight sweeps that were driving her crazy. And his breath was still warm against the side of her face.
She bit her lip, struggling against the need to close her eyes and just go with the flow. If he did mean what she thought he meant… would she say yes?
Yes.
“I don’t have to be home right away. Why?”
How was that for prevaricating? She gave herself a high five for quick thinking.
“It’s a beautiful night. I thought we might start with a walk in the park.”
Start with?
Her stomach dropped a little lower. Central Park was one place they’d gone when they’d been dating. To either walk or study… or find a secluded spot.
They’d been kids back then, though.
So thirty-year-olds didn’t make out?
He doesn’t want to make out with you, Tessa. Get real!
“Do you go to the park a lot these days?”
“Sometimes. It’s a good place to clear my head after surgery.”
Had he gone there after she’d broken things off with him—walked around all by himself? Somehow that thought made her heart ache. But he’d never called again after that scene at her dorm, or even acted as if it had been a big shock.
They’d been fighting on and off for months before that. It had been inevitable that things would eventually come to a head. If he’d just heard the cry of her heart back then, maybe the end of the relationship wouldn’t have been so bitter. They could have parted as friends and gone their separate ways with nothing but fond memories of their time together.
But, of course, that’s not what had happened. And she couldn’t take back what she’d said to him, even if she wanted to. She still felt justified in breaking things off, in some ways.
She hadn’t wanted Clay’s gifts or to have him fix things or take care of her. She’d just wanted his love and respect. He’d never been able to understand that. And maybe he still didn’t, judging from his offer to put in a good word for her with Dr. Wesley.
Enough, Tessa. Let it go.
One thing she did want to do was go for that walk he’d suggested. Just to put to rest any animosity between them. Although she definitely wasn’t sensing any from his side right now.
So she gave his hand a quick squeeze. “The park sounds good.”
Twenty minutes later they were looking over the pond as a couple of runners glided past on silent feet. “I remember when I was a teenager,” Tessa said, “Mom told me to stay out of the park at night. Things sure have changed over the years.”
“My folks were the same way. In fact, I doubt my mother would come here after dark even now unless she had a police escort, and even then it’s iffy.” He gave a low chuckle. “I probably won’t admit I came here, even now.” Clay probably wouldn’t admit it to anyone, actually. Especially his mom, who’d been stunned by the abrupt end of their relationship, although Clay had broken it to her in a completely different way, telling her that the decision had been mutual. There’d been no reason to poison his folks’ attitude toward her, and at the time he’d had no idea that his parents’ scholarship had had anything to do with how Tessa saw him.
Evidently it had.
He was doubly glad he’d handled it the way he had with them. They’d be hurt. Devastated, actually, if they thought they’d had anything to do with her dumping him.
He wished she’d said something. Anything. Maybe they could have worked it out.
No, they couldn’t have. If not because of Tessa, because of him. He’d failed at two relationships. There was no reason to think he’d be successful at a third. He had Molly to think about should things get messy.
And they always got messy. Especially when there was lust pumping through his veins that was as strong as it had ever been.
A police officer came walking by, pausing to glance their way as if mentally assessing the situation. Clay nodded at him and the cop returned the gesture, continuing on his way.
“That’s why things are so much better,” she murmured. “And it’s been cleaned up. It’s beautiful here.”
It was, with the soft glow of the park lights gleaming off the water… and off Tessa’s hair.
Hell, part of the reason he’d suggested coming to the park had been to give himself a chance to think about what he was doing. Kissing her… or anything else was sheer madness.
Yes, it was. The madness of a single summer night.
The words whispered through his skull, a terrible litany that demanded to be heard. Demanded an answer.
Kiss her.
The urge he’d had at the restaurant was back. Stronger than ever.
As if sensing his thoughts, Tessa turned her face toward him, and her eyes widened. Damn. She always had been able to read him.
And since she could…
He moved a step closer, waiting to see if she’d back away from him. She didn’t. So his fingers went to her face, tracing across her right cheekbone, her skin warm and soft, just as it always used to be. He couldn’t remember feeling anything softer. Not even Lizza, who always had some kind of cream or ointment smeared over her skin.
Tessa’s felt… real. That was the only way he could think to describe it. Flesh and bone, and the softest, silkiest skin known to man.
“Hey.” Why he’d said that particular word, he had no idea, except it had always been a kind of signal between them. And it had almost always been followed by a meeting of their lips.
Right on cue, hers curved up at the edges. “Hey, yourself.”
That was all it took. His hand went to her nape and drew her closer. It wouldn’t be the first time people in the park had seen couples kissing—or more.
And as much as he wanted to just plaster his mouth over hers and grab at everything she’d let him take, he didn’t. Instead, he barely touched her. Just a gentle press and release. When her hands went to his shoulders, he repeated the move, his fingers sliding into the hair at the base of her skull as their lips met again. Parted.
As if protesting his teasing, her teeth nipped his bottom lip, sharp enough to sting.
Okay, honey, don’t say I didn’t try to resist…
This time, when his mouth met hers, all hesitation was gone, and he let her feel the frustration and desire he’d been fighting for the past week. Out it came, spilling over him in a torrent, making him crush her to him as he continued to deepen the kiss.
A quick wolf whistle by another passing jogger almost made him smile. Almost.
Still holding her, he edged her back a little way until they were behind a stand of landscaping that was just tall enough to give them a modicum of privacy. If the cop came back, he’d probably scowl at them and send them on their way.
Clay was willing to risk it. And more. He crowded her against a tree as his mouth again took possession of hers. Tessa made a small sound at the back of her throat, the hands that had been on his shoulders winding around