Destination Connelly by K. L. Kreig Page A

start thinking I’m the teacher’s pet.”
    Her smart comment instantly grounds the electricity crackling the air, making me chuckle. I let an amused smile curl my lips. “You are.”
    No sense in sugar coating it any longer.
    I want her.
    I need her.
    Fuck…I will have her.
    Her aloof façade slips for a moment and I glimpse a genuine smile. The first I’ve seen from her in so many years. Christ, it’s so heady it’s as if pure, undiluted oxygen was just pumped directly into my bloodstream.
    “Brilliant counterproposal you made, by the way.”
    She watches me contemplatively for a few heartbeats. She’s trying to figure out how to respond. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
    I tamp down my smile. “It was a smart move, Nora. You should own it.”
    An impish smile curls her glossy lips. “You seemed desperate,” she finally counters. That’s all I would get from her, but it was an admission nonetheless. And I was. Desperate. Desperate to get my hands on her .
    “Desperation implies recklessness, and I assure you I am anything but reckless. I just know what I want, I know how to get it, and I make no apology for it.”
    Cocking her head slightly, she asks, “Did you want something, Connelly, or did you just want to lord your power over me again?”
    Did I mention how I’ve always loved that she uses my full name while most everyone else just calls me Conn? Every time those three syllables roll from her tongue, I start to swell.
    A ghost of a smile crosses my face. “You know what I’ve always loved about you, Nora?” I ask, slowly closing the distance she’s intentionally tried putting between us.
    I don’t miss the widening of her eyes at my specific choice of words. I could have used any number of adjectives besides loved. Liked. Admired. Respected. But I chose that one with intent. And it didn’t escape her perceptivity.
    “My feistiness?” she replies a little nervously. Good, I want to keep her on her toes. Actually, I’d love to keep her on her back. Naked. Legs spread.
    “Mmmm, yes.” I nod absently. “That always made me stone fucking hard.” I luxuriate in her sharp intake of breath at my bold statement. Oh, princess, I’m only getting started. “But that’s not what I was thinking just now.”
    With every step I take toward her, she shifts uncomfortably. I have to give her credit, though. She doesn’t move an inch, holding her ground. I’ll bet those stubborn spikes are firmly rooted, even as bad as she’s itching to rip them from the floorboards and flee. But her mulishness is no match for me and my resolve. I’ll shred her righteous determination into so many goddamned splinters they’ll all be embedded in me . Lost to her forever because I’m not fucking giving them back. Then I will own her, just like she owns me, whether she realizes it or not.
    I stop right in front of her, our toes almost touching.
    Breathing deep, I take her perfumed scent into my lungs. Standing this close to her, it’s hard to control myself. My fists open and close at my sides, when all I want to do is brush her hair aside and nip the graceful length of her neck before sinking my teeth into the crook, marking her. I want to dig my fingers into her hips and yank her roughly into me so she can feel for herself how hard she makes me.
    Fuck it , I decide. Self-restraint is overrated.
    Reaching up, I frame her cheek and run my thumb over the plush lower lip she’s painted with berry-red gloss, smearing the stickiness on my finger.
    “Stop,” she breathes unconvincingly. Her body tenses, but she makes no move to pull out of my grip. In fact, I think I may even feel her lean into it. Her words and her actions are a veritable contradiction.
    I drop my voice to just above a whisper, ignoring her weak request. “What I loved is how your expressive eyes always told the truth even when your lying mouth didn’t. And that hasn’t changed. One. Bit.”
    My gaze drops to her lips. I watch her little pink tongue