DO NOT OWN. Remember this story is rated M? Chapters like this are why.

CHAPTER 7: Meegan, LOCATION: Meegan's room

It was dark in the room when I woke up. It was too early. The clock read five am. So I stood up and opened the curtains. The horizon was just faintly red. I remembered in my morning haze that I had a guest in my room and that I should already be training today. Pulling the hair tie from my wrist I started to put my hair in a ponytail.

"Don't do that," Connor cooed from the bed. I turned from the window and the small amount of light outside made it almost impossible to see inside. Then he was with me taking a handful of my hair gently tugging it toward him, bringing my face to his. I had been waiting for this. I had never felt such an instant attraction to anyone in my life. And it wasn't just physical. I wanted to be around him constantly, make him smile, make him laugh, tell him my secrets and learn all of his. I finally wanted to be in love with someone. For me it just wasn't a natural reaction. I wanted nothing to do with love until now.

"Meegan, what are ya thinking?" His eyes were catching sunlight. God, they were blue.

"I was just wondering why you haven't kissed me yet." I said shyly, hoping I wasn't embarrassing myself. He smiled and snickered.

"Sorry, my mistake." He put his lips to mine so gently. I gasped and breathed in the scorching air between us. He opened his mouth as he put his hand behind my head and pulled me to him. My hands could not get enough of his warm, solid body. He grabbed me around the waist and slammed our bodies together. It was the first time he touched my torso at all so he stopped us for a second.

"Let me feel this," he said putting his hands on my sides and squeezing, but his hands didn't have much to squeeze; I was solid. By the look on his face I was guessing he was impressed. He slid his hands down from my sides to my hips, then to my ass. He got a good hold on me from underneath, picked me up and brought me back to bed.

"Feels so good," I said as he palmed my breast.

CONNOR

I didn't know what to do. Do you wake a girl who's moaning your name, or let her keep dreaming? I knew what I wanted to do, but I wasn't sure how the man upstairs would feel about it. She rolled over and our faces were inches apart; her warm breath on my neck. She moaned.

'Connor Liam McManus get out of this bed right now before you do something you will regret,' I told myself. But I didn't move. It was the honest to goodness first time I didn't care what my conscience said. I reached out and brushed her bottom lip with my thumb. She pulled that lip in and bit it. Sexy. Then I realized looking at her face, this goddam close, with her eyes open would be so much better.

"Meegan," I said softly. I didn't want to shock wake her and have her forget the whole dream. "Meegan, dear?" I said, trying not to watch her hands and where they were going. I couldn't stay in bed any longer. Not next to her. Not anyplace I could hear her either.

I went into the bathroom, turned on the water and sat on the edge of the tub. This was insanity. I met her last night and I couldn't stop thinking about her. Couldn't stop thinking about her naked body, her sexy lips, powder white skin and sleepy voice moaning my name. I was rock hard. I wanted to go back into her room and replace her hand with mine… except… I wouldn't know what I was doing. I knew as much about girls as I knew about rocket science. I knew what I liked about them and why, and I knew the basics of everything. I wasn't stupid about it, but there were… details I was hazy on. Women had tried to do things with me before. Women I didn't love. That made for awkward rejections. I had to tell them my dumb child-like reason why, even though I was ready, I didn't want them to do anything.

I heard knocking on the door. "Connor?"

Crossing my legs, I reached and opened the door from where I was.

"Hi," she said, face flushed, hair messy, lips bitten pink, braless, in underpants. I had to look away.

"Morning."

"You hiding in here?"

"Pffft, no…"

"You're terrible at lying." She said hanging up the towel from last night. I wanted to feel her butt again like when I searched her. "Why hiding?"

"No reason." I lied. She made a face demanding I tell the truth. "I overheard your dream." She made another face, lips forming an 'O'. Then smiled.

"Sorry."

"You're not."

"I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable then," she said more sincere this time.

MEEGAN

It only took me a second more to realize he was actually embarrassed. Then I realized why he was crossing his legs and I was extremely conflicted. I wanted to do all sorts of sinful things to and with him, but he looked so ashamed. I had to find out why before I tried anything. I sat on the floor leaning against the storage cupboard. I read in a psychology journal that sitting lower than someone you're trying to pry the truth from was helpful. Something about making yourself vulnerable.

"You look embarrassed."

"Just, uh, thinking o' something embarrassing." He said blushing. I looked at him open faced and nodded.

"I can sympathize." I looked at the floor, "So, you want to talk about it?"

"No, not now." I felt a strong urge to repeat the way he said 'now' but I stopped myself and got up off the floor instead. I bent over him and before thinking about it, kissed him on the top of his head. I opened my eyes wide, my face out of sight, hovering above his head. Why did I do that?

"Okay, I'm gonna change, uh, out there. I'll be done in a minute or two. Let me know when you're comin' out." I had no idea I could talk that fast.

The minute I closed the door behind me a pit opened up in my chest. I felt like crying. I felt bad he couldn't talk to me, that I had embarrassed him, that I fucking kissed him. I know kissing someone on the head isn't a big deal as far as violation of boundaries goes, but it was really intimate. I smelled his hair, which didn't smell like shampoo or hair gel or anything like that. It smelled like skin and heat and someone I could sleep next to for the rest of my life.

I dressed quickly, putting on skin tight jeans, a sports bra, a white t-shirt. As I sat on the edge of my bed and put on sneakers he came out of the bathroom. I didn't look at him.

"Hey," he said softly. I kept tying my shoes. I didn't want to look at him as he told me not to touch him again. "Hey, give me a minute here." His voice was so soft that I looked up. He was so handsome. He was tall and his face was so sweet. He started talking again.

"I like you. I met you last night and I know that I could…" He stopped. 'Please say, 'love you''. "I could get used to you, really get to know you. But you have to be patient. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah," I agreed. Last time I threw myself into a relationship it never really got off the ground. Maybe it was because we had sex first and then tried to be friends. My appetites got in the way sometimes. It was best that things went slowly with Connor McManus. There was a touch of destiny to that name and it wasn't just because he was a vigilante. There was something about his name that always struck me… because I heard it before he was infamous! "Hey, did you live in Ireland before you came here?"

"Yeah, Murph and I were raised by our mum."

"We've met before."