Free My Love at Last by Donna Hill Page A

he reached out and brushed a stray hair away from her face. His fingers lingered on her cheek. “I thought about you all night.”
    Her throat clenched. “So did I… about you.”
    Connor leaned closer. His hand drifted down from her cheek to rest for a moment on her shoulder before slowly tracing the rise of her breast beneath her white cotton shirt.
    Her breath caught. For a moment her eyelids fluttered.
    She heard his deep groan an instant before his mouth covered hers. This kiss was no kiss of invitation, or one that asked permission. It was immediately raw and demanding and insistent on having its way with her.
    Connor cupped the back of her head, threaded his fingers through the wild tangle of her hair and pulled her close. His tongue dipped into her mouth, explored it, made it his own.
    Olivia gave in, gave all. Her fingers pressed into the hard muscle of his arms to keep from floating away.
    “I could make love to you right here, right now,” he groaned against her mouth. He pulled away, stared into her eyes. “But I’ll wait.” He pushed to his feet and extended his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her up. “I’ll let you get back to work.” He turned and walked away.
    “Damn,” she whispered, as she memorized the way his jeans hung on his waist, and that easy swagger that made you say, “Hmm.” How was she supposed to concentrate on her work after that? She touched her fingers to her lips. “You better not wait long, Mr. Lawson.”
    * * *
    Connor strode down the hill and along the trail that led back to the homestead. He lifted his chin in greeting to several of the crew that he passed. He went straight to the office, and shut the door behind him. The heels of his work boots cracked across the wood floor. He banged his fist against the desk and uttered an expletive.
    What was he thinking? Anyone could have walked up on them. Forget about what they may have thought about him. He’d put her reputation in jeopardy. He wasn’t thinking with his head, at least not the one sitting on his neck.
    He blew out a breath. He needed to get with Olivia and have her put out this fire so that he could go on with his life as if he had some sense.
    * * *
    By one o’clock, Olivia was hot, sweaty and hungry. She’d collected several bags of samples, took numerous photos and made her notes. She arched her back and stretched. She was done for now.
    She gathered her things and began the walk back to her car. The hum and bang of construction had quieted, as the men were on their lunch break. Several groups sat on hoods of trucks or on crates, chowing down on thick hero sandwiches and guzzling cool drinks. Connor was not among them. A distant rumble thundered in her stomach. She pressed her hand against her empty belly and kept going.
    Olivia opened the driver’s-side door and tossed her bag inside. When she came around to the other side she stopped short. “Connor.”
    “You were going to leave without saying goodbye.” It wasn’t a question.
    “I didn’t see you on my way back.”
    He opened her door. “What are you doing tonight?”
    Her pulse quickened. “Um, I didn’t have any plans. Why?”
    “I’ll pick you up at seven, treat you to my famous jambalaya.” He grinned and her knees weakened.
    She rested her weight on her right side and looked into his eyes, which seemed to sparkle with bad-boy mischief.
    “I’m sure I’ll be hungry by then.” She slid into the car and stuck the key into the ignition. She turned to him.
    “What do you like for breakfast?”
    Her nostrils flared. She pulled the door shut and slowly pulled away. “Wow.”
    * * *
    Connor watched her drive away with a self-satisfied look on his face. Tonight couldn’t get here fast enough.

Chapter 6
    O livia returned to her cottage and dropped her bag on the foyer table. She spun around in circles, ran her fingers through her hair, then let out a whoop of giddy delight. She did her own version of twerking, then skipped over to