Part 25
Lisa had asked to stay with him but he'd said no. Well, not no, but that it wasn't a good idea.
"I only have so much willpower, Cuddy," he'd told her, eyes peering directly into her.
Now, he was kissing her outside her dorm, his mouth moving soft and slow over and against hers, making her shiver with delight. His hands were framing her face, warming her skin while their noses, cold from the night air, aligned.
When he delicately skimmed the tip of his tongue along the seam of her mouth, she opened to him automatically. She let out a soft moan when he so lightly caressed her tongue with his. She was rising against him in response, her right arm, wrapping around his shoulder while the left reached for the back of his neck.
Then she felt the beginnings of that damned panic and he gentled as if he sensed its rise. He just kissed her twice more, delicately, then eased back.
"Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked when she opened her eyes and looked up at him.
He answered with a question of his own. "Want me to come get you?"
"Yes," she said, watched her hands caress his shoulders, then his upper arms. The leather of his jacket was cool and creaked beneath her grip. She wished she could feel him unhindered, but she understood why he needed distance right now. Especially when he suddenly breathed, "You're an extraordinary temptation, Lisa Cuddy."
Lisa looked up at him and nearly forgot to breathe. The intensity of his gaze was staggering. The desire she saw, the…
"House," she whispered, not quite sure she was seeing what she thought. Or if it was fanciful thinking, wishing on her part. He gave her no chance for further study.
He just leaned down and kissed her again, his arms sliding around her this time. He pulled her up against him. Her toes barely touched the ground but it wouldn't have mattered if she'd been standing flat-footed. His kiss made her feel like she was floating. It was so slow, soft, and deep. He hadn't waited this time. He'd just taken her mouth and she was possessed. And she wanted it as much as it scared the hell out of her.
Then just as quickly as he'd begun the kiss, he ended it, placed her back down on her feet and left without a word or look back.
Lisa watched him go, understanding why, more than she wished she did. She wished she had more courage. She knew she needed to find it soon. To ease the growing ache between them.
It wasn't about sex any more.