Leaning down while keeping hold of her focus, he let his lips graze hers for a moment. Just a soft pass, as if asking her for permission to continue. The moan that escaped her at the contact was all the approval he needed.

Snaking one hand behind her waist and pulling her toward him, he slid his other hand behind her head. Dipping down, his lips found hers and the two moved together as if they had kissed a thousand times before.

They seemed to understand each other’s movements and wants immediately, as if they had been molded just for each other and once they found each other, no one else would ever fit again.

It might have been only seconds long, or maybe hours. Rory couldn’t tell. He was completely lost in what felt like the first kiss of his entire life, which it certainly wasn’t. He felt renewed, like something had changed in him at a core level. As if he was becoming something new. Or maybe he was finally letting free the man he had always been, but had kept hidden from the world.

Either way, he loved it, and when he finally pulled away from her, it was too soon. A small whine left her lips from the loss of contact, telling him she felt the same way.

“Come on, let’s get you home before I really lose control.” He grabbed her hand and started across the street.

“Yes, sir.” She giggled, trying to keep up with his fast pace.

He moaned at the sound. “Clare…” Everything about her calling him sir was really pushing his limits. “That is not helping.”

She just laughed in response and he was sure he could feel it sweep through every part of himself. Her laughter had its own beat, its own music that strummed through his veins. Rory tried to clear his head as they rounded the corner, approaching her apartment building.

“Thanks for walking me home again. I really appreciate it.” She paused. “I had to scrap my car today. Mechanics said it was cheaper just to buy a new one, so I sold the piece of crap for parts.” Her voice went back to normal, pretending that they hadn’t just had a very intimate moment together.

“That officially makes you a New Yorker. No one around here drives.”

“I kind of like the sound of that.”

She seemed to be a million miles away in her head and he wished she would take him with her. He wanted to explore every part of her and learn everything that made her the woman before him. He could see that whatever the problem was, she clearly didn’t want to talk about it. He figured he had pried enough for the night.

“This is me.” They reached the front of her apartment building a few moments later and she pulled her keys out of her jacket pocket.

Rory grabbed the keys out of her hand and opened the door for her, holding it in place by leaning against it. She stepped through, then turned around as he handed her back her keys. She paused, seeming unsure of what she wanted to say, or if she wanted to say it, so he stayed quiet and waited.

“Rory?” Her voice was soft and her expression had a sadness to it while she fiddled with her keys.

“Yes, mhuirnín?” He smiled at her, still leaning against the open door.

“Losing to Santiago wasn’t a failure. Losing yourself to alcohol is.” She spoke softly as she took a step toward him and pushed up on the tip of her toes to place a gentle kiss on his cheek.

He was surprised at her words as the door closed between them. He stepped back onto the sidewalk where Ace was waiting for him, then headed home, repeating her words in his head the entire way. His expression was troubled, as she made him feel emotions he had spent many years locking away. He sighed, knowing that Clare was probably right.

What bothered him the most was the disappointment he had seen in her eyes. It was a look that he had seen dozens of times from friends and family, but something about seeing it on Clare hurt more. She was different and made him feel different.

Something was changing in him. Clare was changing him, and yet it felt familiar. It felt safe, like he had known her all his life. He knew almost nothing about her, but with every conversation it was as if he was remembering something he had long ago forgotten. He found himself wanting to remember who he was, and he had a feeling that he could do that only through her eyes.

Chapter 6

Clare’s hand shot out from under the covers as she fumbled around for her phone on her nightstand. The alarm was blaring, begging to be silenced. Whining when she couldn’t find the right button, she pushed herself up into a seated position and finally shut off the hellish device.

“What the hell happened last night?” Clare said out loud to nobody as she dropped her phone into her lap.

Closing her eyes, she realized that she couldn’t wipe the giant, goofy smile off her face. She had gone to bed smiling last night after Rory dropped her off, and she was still smiling hours later. Leaning back against the headboard, she pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them.

She was happy, and it terrified her.

This isn’t what she had moved to New York for. She hadn’t wanted a relationship. She hadn’t wanted to meet a man who made her heart beat out of her chest every time he showed up in the same room as her. Rory Kavanagh was not part of her plans, yet now he was part of her life.

And he had kissed her.

That kiss.

She exhaled loudly, feeling heat surge through her just at the memory. She couldn’t deny it, she had let him in further than anyone else had been in years, maybe ever. He intrigued her and made her feel special, as if she was worth something. Travis Creighton, her ex-boyfriend, had done the exact opposite. She hugged her knees harder at the thought and checked the clock on her wall.

Seeing the time, she tossed the covers off and scooted out of bed, hurrying to get ready for her early-morning class with Casey at Legends. She moved about her small, nearly empty apartment quickly, munching down a quick piece of toast before brushing her teeth and pulling her hair up into a long ponytail. After throwing on a pair of black lounge pants and a long-sleeve pink shirt, she was ready to leave.

Despite the last two nights when she had taken long walks home with Rory, her commute to work was very short. With Legends being roughly halfway between the two points, she made it to the gym only five minutes after exiting her front door. She scurried right to the locker room to put away her things, not surprised that the gym was already packed at the early-morning hour.

Checking her face one last time in the mirror before leaving the locker room, Clare took a deep breath. Butterflies were dancing around her stomach in anticipation of running into Rory today. She didn’t know if he would be there or not, although it seemed pretty likely that he would be, and just the idea that he might was enough to make her nervous.

Frustrated at her own juvenile anxiety over a man who was way too easily breaking her resolve to stay single, Clare pushed the thoughts away and headed out of the locker room toward the main gym floor. She needed to focus on what was important right now, and that was learning to protect and take care of herself.

She knew it would be hard for Travis to find her, and she hoped the day never came, but she would do everything she could to make sure she was ready. That was where her mind needed to be right now, on herself. Not Rory Kavanagh. Clare sighed in frustration as she headed to Casey’s self-defense class. It was in one of the smaller classrooms at the back of the gym, but she had to travel through the open floor space of the main gym to get there.