Sapphire Universe (11 page)

“No thanks I’m here with someone.”  I say back, trying to be polite in my brush off. 

“Must be a loser if he left you alone.  If you were my date
, there’s no way I’d let you out of my sight.”  He slurs. 
Is this guy serious?

“He should be back any minute.”

“Well my name’s Jax.  Why don’t you let me buy you a drink and I can keep you company till he gets here.  What’s your name gorgeous?”  My anger rises and I have to force myself to remain calm.  I really hate guys that can’t take no for an answer.  I clench my teeth together as I speak to keep from shouting in his face.

“No thank you
.  Like I said I’m here….”

“With me.” Connor walks up behind me and grabs me by the hips and moves me slightly behind him.
“So, you should probably go find someone else to hit on.” Connor’s eyes are the same darker shade they were with Ricky and despite his obvious anger, I feel the same relaxation spread through me as I did at the mall.

“Who the hell do you think you are?”  Jax spits at him and puffs up a bit.  “If you’re just going to leave your lady sitting here by herself
, someone is going to steal her from you.”

“Believe me it’s not a mistake I’ll make again.  You however, will not be stealing my girl.  Not tonight and not ever.”  Connor grabs my hand and I think he was about to walk away except Jax just keeps on digging.

“You think you’re tough huh?  Well, whatcha gonna do big guy.”  Jax slurs his threat and sets his beer down.  Definitely a frat boy. 

Connor is about six inches taller and 60
lbs. heavier than this poor kid, but I still can’t help but wonder…Yea what will he do?  I remember his move with Ricky and I’m starting to think that maybe Jax is in way over his head.  Connor is tall, broad and obviously works out and I’m convinced the look on his face has sent greater men than this cowering away.  I watch as Jax sizes Connor up and the liquid courage he’s been downing must not be threatened, because he doesn’t back down.

“Last chance Romeo.  Get a move on.”  Connor says letting go of my hand and moves so there is only a few inches between him and Jax. 

“Who the fuck you callin Romeo?”  Jax hollers, shoving his finger in the space between them.  “I’ll fuckin…” 

Connor grabs the hand that Jax was waving around, forces it behind his back, locks his elbow and pushes Jax’s hand down at the wrist forcing him to the ground in a move so fast that Jax can’t even protest. 
Holy shit!
  It was all done so quickly and quietly that apart from the few people around us no one notices the non-fight.  I grab Connor’s arm and pull him away from the scene and he doesn’t fight me.  Without letting go of him, I drag him to the edge of the dance floor and hold one finger up. 

“Wait right here.”  I tell him. 

I step on to the floor and weave my way through the bodies till I find Lo and Drake.  I spot her signature wavy golden locks and she has her arms thrown around Drake’s neck and is giggling while he whispers in her ear. 
Well then!
  I tap on her shoulder and she jumps and unhooks herself from Drake faster than I can blink.  I smirk at her and she looks a little embarrassed which is not an emotion familiar to Lo. 
Interesting.

“What’s up Nins?”

“Connor and I are going to head out.”  I say throwing a thumb over my shoulder. 

“Everything okay?”  She asks looking worriedly over in Connor’s direction.

“If by okay you mean, Connor taking out some drunken frat boy who was hitting on me in less than ten seconds than yea everything is peachy.”  Lo’s eyes widen.

“Damn.  He in a lot of trouble for that one?”  She raises her eyebrow and her lips quirk up.  She knows me all too well. 

“Oh yea you could say he’s in for it.”  Lo laughs at me and makes her hand into a pistol and cocks her thumb.

“Well go get him tiger.”

“Count on it.”  I don’t say another word as I drag Connor to the car and he actually looks a little nervous.  “Take me home, Connor.”  I say finally without looking at him.

He sighs and starts the engine. Connor glances in my direction a couple times throughout the drive but I never acknowledge him.  Once he gets to my apartment building and parks, he cuts the engine and runs his hands through h
is hair.  He gets out of the truck and walks around to open my door and closes it behind me after I get out.  I start walking toward the steps but he grabs my arm and stops me.

“Listen Nina, I’m
really sorry about everything. I wanted this night to be perfect.  That guy was just…” 

I grab the back of his neck midsentence and pull his head down to crush my lips to his.  He freezes for a second and when what I’m doing finally registers, he starts moving his lips against mine.  Connor wraps one large hand around my waist and tangles the other in my hair, tilting my head to get a better angle.  I open my mouth and run my tongue over his bottom lip then pull it between my teeth.  Connor groans and pushes his tongue against mine, exploring every inch of my mouth.  I have never been kissed this way.  It’s the kind of kiss you dream about.  He tightens his grip on my waist and pushes me till my back i
s up against the side of the truck.  His hand trails down over my hip and when it reaches my thigh he pulls my leg up and hooks my knee around his waist.  When he pushes deeper against me I can feel how much he wants me. Somehow, my brain manages to send me a reasonable thought through my lust fogged mind.

“Connor, I don’t really want to give my neighbors a free show.” I say when I can finally pull away from his mouth.  He continues to trail his lips across my jaw to my ear and makes his way back to my mouth, giving me one last deep searing kiss and releases me.  He reaches into my pocket to take my keys out and laces our fingers together.  After pulling me to the door and unlocking it, he opens it wide to let me go in first.  I squeal when he playfully smacks me on the rear and when I flick on the light and turn around he’s right behind me wearing a wide smile.

“Not that I’m complaining Princess, but I thought you were pissed at me.”  He says when I smile back at him and grab his hand to take him to the couch. 

“Are you kidding me?” I ask him.  I can’t ever remember feeling more alive than I am in this moment.  It almost makes me dizzy.  “You took that guy down faster than a trained navy seal, without even really hurting him.  Not only that but you didn’t spend the usual five minutes talking about it first.  It was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
”  I push my fingers into his hair and smile seductively. 
When did I learn to be seductive?
  I ignore my shock at my actions and just roll with it.  “I couldn’t get you out of that place fast enough.  It took a lot of control not to jump you right in the bar, but I thought you might like some privacy for our first kiss.”  Connor just stares at me with his mouth open when I finish and I wink at him.

“Why you little…You just…”  Connor can’t seem to finish a sentence.  Just when I think I broke him, he throws his head back and laughs harder than I’ve ever heard him.  He pushes me back into the couch and leans over me mid laugh, sapphire eyes bright with laughter and hair disheveled from our kiss.  He is by far the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.  I tell him so
and he stares down at me and shakes his head. 

“Nina Ryan, you are complicated, unique, adorable
and real.  I’ve never had more fun with another woman.  You also happen to be sexy as hell and the most naturally, devastatingly beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”  He leans further down and presses his face to my hair and inhales.  “I’m not going to survive you.”
Oh wow
.

I kiss his neck and try to process what he says.  The most amazing man I’ve ever known thinks I’m the most amazing women he’s ever known.  Connor doesn’t let me think on that too long.  He pulls back up from my hair to capture my lips again.  This kiss is light and teasing.  He nips at my lips and then leaves them to feather kisses on each part of my face.  My nose, my eyes, my cheeks my chin, my forehead, nothing is left untouched.
  It feels like he’s learning my face, by trying to memorize what each part of me feels like.  When he reaches a sensitive spot on my neck, I release a groan and move my hand from his nape to grip his hair.  He laughs and lingers there. 

“So, does this mean you’re ready for more than friendship?”  His breath cools the spot on my neck that he just warmed with his lips, giving me goose bumps. 

“Yea you could say that.”  I breathe on a shiver. 

Connor sits up and looks me straight in the eye.  “I don’t want there to be any confusion here Nina.  You’re my girlfriend now.  We’re in an exclusive relationship.  Your mine and I’m yours.  No turning back.”

I return his look and cup his face, “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a choice in this Connor, I’ve been yours from the beginning.  Maybe I hit my head too hard.  My brain hasn’t worked right since.”  I smile, but Connor’s face is still serious. 

“You always have a choice Nina.” 

I know what he wants to hear so I say, “I choose you Connor.” 

He closes his eyes and when they open, the blue of them shines through me.  “I promise you won’t regret it.”

Now that we have declared our relationship, I realize I need to have “the talk” and it’s like being doused with cold water.  I get up from underneath him and walk into the kitchen pulling Connor with me by the hand.  I’m going to need some cider for this.  I know this is the 21st century, but I have some pretty hard rules regarding sex.  I’m not really a “no sex till marriage” kind of girl, but having sex with someone I’m not in love with has never appealed to me.  More importantly, having sex with someone who doesn’t love me terrifies me.  My one time mistake taught me that.  How can you trust someone not to hurt you when you’re at your most vulnerable if they don’t love you?  I will never do that to myself again and even though I was falling hard for Connor, I wasn’t even sure how long he would be here. I finish making the two cups of cider and hand Connor his.  Sitting across from him at the kitchen table seems way too formal for this conversation. 

“Let’s go back into the living room.”
I stand and nod towards the couch.

“Sit down Nina.  I can practically hear your mind whirling.  Why do you always do this as soon as I think we are finally getting somewhere?  You can tell me anything.”  I sit back down and sigh.  How does he always know?

“I can’t have sex with you right now.”  I blurt, eloquent as usual. 

Connor raises his eyebrows and I can tell he’s trying to process this information.  “Why do I get the feeling you’re not trying to tell me that it’s your time of the month.” 

Now it’s my turn to be shocked.  Nothing is off limits with this man.  “Um…no its not.”  I say embarrassed.  “I wish it were that simple.  I just want to wait till its right.  It’s important to me to be sure it’s something I’m ready for and it’s a deal breaker.” 

Connor takes a deep breath and reaches across the table for my hand.  This is where the convincing starts. 
But baby, I just want to show you how much you mean to me.  I promise it will only hurt for a second.  You’re making this a big deal.  It’s just sex.
  But when Connor speaks, it’s nothing like what Ricky said. 

“Nina, I’m not going to lie and say I don’t want you, because I do.  Desperately.  But, that kiss you gave me earlier, I could live off those kisses.
  Actually, I’m sort of impressed.  Most girls these days are more eager than I am.  As long as you let me kiss you and hold you and call you mine, I can wait for the rest. You call the shots on this Nina.  Your rules, your pace.  I meant it when I said I was patient.  Especially when something is worth waiting for.” 

It’s a good thing there’s a table between us, or else I might have forgotten all about my rule and thrown myself at him.  Either there are a lot of really stupid women in New York, or this is all an elaborate sch
eme to get me on my back and he’s doing one hell of a job. 

“The women in New York are idiots.”  Is my reply
and my guess.  I hope I’m right.

We move into the living room and Connor pulls me into him as the movie starts playing.
  It’s the most comfortable I have ever been on my couch.  I try to keep my eyes open but Connor’s warmth and the rhythm of his heartbeat lulls me to sleep.  I wake up a while later to strong arms carrying me.  I snuggle closer to Connor’s warm chest and nuzzle his neck.

“What time is it?”  I say softly, still half asleep. 

“Late.  Go back to sleep Princess.”  Connor kisses my hair and sets me on my bed.

The mattress is cold compared to him and I already miss his arms around me.  I glance at the clock on my night stand and notice it’s already three am. 
Despite the time, I can sense that neither one of us is ready to leave the other after such an important day in our relationship.  I look back at Connor as he brushes my hair off my forehead and I lean into his touch. 

“Night Princess.”  He says kissing me softly.  He seems reluctan
t to break the kiss, but he does and then stands to walk out of the room.  I think about all the nights I have slept alone wishing that I had someone who could hold me through the night to keep my dreams at bay.  I was never able to have that before because the risk of letting someone that close was too great.  I have already gotten that close to Connor and I know that all I have to do is ask and he will give me whatever I need.  He is worth the risk.  I open my mouth and say one word.