Chapter Sixteen #2
“It kind of is. I’m not excusing what she did or how she did it. But I hurt her, and she wanted to hurt me in return. I can understand that.”
“Lisa said there’s no sign of anything on Kōrero.”
“No. I’m hoping that means she’s changed her mind.”
“Because we didn’t announce the engagement. So if we do, she’ll then retaliate?”
“I don’t know.”
She moves back a little and looks up at me. Her eyes are like green pools, shining in the sunlight. “Maybe you should go and see her.”
My eyebrows rise. “You think that’s a good idea?” My voice is full of doubt.
“I don’t know her the way you do. But I’m sure she’s not all bad. You must have seen something nice in her apart from her boobs.”
I think about it. “Not sure about that.”
“You hurt her feelings when you dumped her,” she says softly, “and maybe if you apologize, it’ll make her feel better. If after that, she still decides to go through with it, at least you won’t feel so bad about it.”
I don’t like the idea of seeing Sabrina again, but I trust Chessie. Her instincts about things like this seem to be spot on. So I hug her again, and we stand there like that quietly for thirty seconds, while she gathers herself.
“Are you okay about last night?” I ask eventually.
She clears her throat. “Yeah. It was just a bit of fun, right?”
“Oh yeah. It’s just… I thought you might feel odd about it.”
“Nah, I’m okay. I feel sorry for your carpet though.”
I laugh, and she smiles, puts her hands on my chest to push back a little again, and looks up at me.
Last night was a lot of fun. I’ve sent naughty messages before, but I’ve never had a sexting session like that, leading to both of us coming.
It was hot and erotic, and a shock that the shy little Chessie I used to know is a firecracker in bed.
I can’t help but wonder what she’s like in the flesh, so to speak. I guess it’s relatively easy to make up a story, but would she be as passionate face to face? I kinda think she would, and now I’m desperate to find out.
I remember the clause in the contract that stated I have to exercise self-control befitting a gentleman. Well, I blew that one last night. So in for a penny, in for a pound, right?
I lift my hands to cup her face and brush my thumbs across her cheeks to dry them. “Don’t cry.”
She swallows and nods.
I scan her face, and my gaze eventually comes to rest on her mouth. “Can I kiss you?”
Her lips part in surprise. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“There’s no one around. Why do you want to kiss me when it’s not for show?” She looks genuinely puzzled.
I run my tongue over my top teeth. “You really have to ask me that?”
“Uh…”
“You can’t think of a single reason I might want to kiss you?”
She stares at me blankly. She genuinely doesn’t realize how gorgeous she is.
“Crazy girl,” I say. And then I lower my lips to hers.
She inhales sharply, but she doesn’t pull away.
The sun is bright and unseasonably hot, and I can smell her new plants and the lavender she put in the ground just days ago. A tui bird is chirping from one of the Pohutukawa trees.
Slowly, she closes her eyes, and I do the same.
I tip my head to the side, changing the angle of the kiss, and brush my tongue across her lips. Outwardly, I appear calm, but inside my heart hammers and my blood races around my body. I don’t move, though, and I don’t breathe, afraid of breaking the spell.
She parts her lips, and I slide my tongue inside her mouth, against her tongue. In answer, she gives a little involuntary moan, and that’s enough to fire me up. I move one hand to hold the back of her head and wrap the other arm around her, pulling her closer, tight against my body.
The heat between us rises by several degrees.
She’s already resting her hands on my chest, and they tighten on my tee, her fingers scrunching the material.
She lifts up a little so she’s on tiptoes, leaning into the kiss, and I murmur my approval, thrilled that she hasn’t pulled away. That she wants to kiss me.
Oh fuck, this is getting out of control. I can’t help but think about our conversation last night… The things she said… Is she thinking the same?
She slides her hands up to my face and then further up, into my short hair, curling her fingers in it as she kisses me. It’s the sweetest, sexiest kiss I think I’ve ever had, the two of us warmed by the sun, and I want it to go on forever.
Eventually, though, I tear my lips away before I’m tempted to throw her onto the soft earth and kiss her all over.
She looks up at me with huge eyes. “I don’t understand.”
“I know.” I give a short laugh. “That’s what makes you You.”
My phone has already buzzed in my pocket once, and now it does it again. I step back, pull it out, and check the screen. “Ah, I have to go, I have an appointment.”
“Okay.”
I smile at her. “Are you going to be all right?”
“Fine.” Her voice is a squeak, and I try not to laugh.
“We’ll talk later.” I bend and give her a final kiss. “How about we go out for dinner tonight?”
She flushes. “Okay.”
“All right. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Okay. Are you going to see Sabrina?”
“I suppose.”
“Well, good luck.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not particularly looking forward to it.”
“Just remember the fable about the North Wind and the Sun—persuasion is always better than force. She had you, and she lost you. I can only imagine how that feels.”
My lips curve up. “Yeah, okay. Bye.”
I walk away, heading for the club. Already, doubt is setting in. I shouldn’t have kissed her. I can comfort myself that the contract stated that kissing would be necessary at times, but Chessie’s not as good at lying to herself. Is she already worrying about what it means?
Glancing over my shoulder at her, I see her bending to look at her new plants, and I can just hear her voice joining in with the sound of the tuis and fantails—she’s singing.
I turn the corner and head off to the lobby, smiling.