This is a pretty short chapter, but I just felt like there was a little more to this scene, and I wanted to hear from Harvey. Hope you enjoy. I'll continue on the story soon. As always, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. Reviews make my day, I love to hear your feedback! Thanks everyone!
Harvey stood in the hallway willing his feet to move. He couldn't go back inside. He could NOT go back inside. He just kept repeating it over and over.
Harvey. You're hurting me.
Donna's heartbroken voice and anguished expression had ripped up his insides and he felt as though someone had gut punched him. His body ached with his need to go back through the door, but she was right, staying was a very bad idea.
He forced an image of Paula's face into his mind's eye. He conjured up her blonde hair and blue eyes, but no matter how hard he concentrated, Donna's fiery red hair and hazel eyes kept supplanting the picture in his mind. The vision of her curves wrapped in emerald green satin made his body harden. The nightgown had made the fiery red highlights in her hair stand out more prominently, making him want to crush the cool, silky strands in his fists.
He stood in the hallway trying to get control of his body and make his feet move, when he heard a sound that made him feel like he might be sick. The sound of Donna's sorrowful sobs carried through to him in the hallway. He felt his knees go weak slightly as the realization hit that he was cause of her suffering.
Without conscious thought, without reason, he wrenched her door open again. It was pure instinct that carried him across the floor to where she stood in the same spot she'd been in when he left. Her expression was a mixture of heartbreak, astonishment, and embarrassment.
In seconds, however, he gripped her upper arms and pulled her up against his chest. He didn't give her time to protest again. He followed her example and simply covered her mouth with his.
His tongue swept into her mouth and he tasted every bit of her that he could reach. After so many years he felt like he wanted to devour her, consume her, let her consume him. His hands slid into her hair and finally he could slide his fingers through it as he'd been imagining.
Soon though, very soon, it wasn't enough. His hands drifted down her arms to land on her hips. He gripped them with both hands, pulling the lower half of her body closer, pressing his arousal into the soft heat of her. As he did he realized that she wasn't wearing underwear. He groaned against her lips and heard her moan in reply.
He needed to feel her skin. He began to gather fistfuls of her nightgown, hiking it up in bunches. He managed, finally, to slide one hand underneath the satin. He ran it up the length of her bare thigh before reaching down and grabbing her leg behind her knee and hitching it up on his hip, bringing them into even closer contact.
He walked them back a few steps so that she was pressed up against the back of the couch. He lifted her onto it and her legs wrapped themselves around his hips. She was moaning, breathless and flushed as he left a scorching trail down her neck. He began to pull one of the thin spaghetti straps on her nightgown down over her shoulder, anticipating the sight of the soft, creamy flesh of her breasts when she called out.
"No, Harvey, no!" She shoved him back and he stumbled slightly, both physically and mentally knocked off balance.
She ran around the couch to the front, using the piece of furniture like a shield. They stood panting and staring at each other for a few heartbeats.
"No?" Harvey asked between ragged breaths.
Donna took a steadying breath. "No, Harvey." Tears were back in her eyes. "You'll hate me, Harvey. If we do this, you'll feel guilty forever, and that will eventually make you hate me."
Her words were like knives, slashing him with the truth. Or, part of the truth. He could never hate her, but he knew he'd never forgive himself if they spent the night together. As it was, he could feel the heavy weight of guilt settling in his chest. Why hadn't he actually left when she'd asked him - begged him - to? As always, Donna was right, and was still trying to help him to be a better man.
He ran both hands over his face and back through his hair, desperate to clear his mind and gain some semblance of control.
But he made the mistake of looking back at Donna. He took in her swollen lips and tousled hair and all he wanted to do was carry her to the bedroom he knew was just down the hall, lay her down on her bed, and not let her up for hours.
He needed to leave, right now. "I'm sorry, Donna. I'm…I'm so sorry…I…" He left the sentence hanging, not even sure what it was he wanted to tell her. In the end he simply turned on his heel and walked out, and this time, he didn't stop walking.