Chapter 21
James
Surely, I can get through some harmless kissing?
“You’re right. We need to get comfortable with each other, so that when we kiss before our families, it comes across as genuine.”
Her eyes fill with surprise, then she swallows. “Okay.”
I lower my gaze to her mouth.
Instantly, her pulse flutters at the base of her throat. I lean in until the scent of coconut and vanilla fills my senses. The blood rushes to my groin. Fuck, I’m so hard, and I haven’t even kissed her yet.
“Ready?” My voice comes out gravelly.
“Ready.” She swallows.
I lean in. So does she. I raise my eyes and hold her gaze. Then I close the remaining distance between us.
I touch my lips to hers. Our breaths mingle.
I look into her green eyes and notice the gold in them.
Little striations like dew drops shining on fresh leaves.
Soft. Sweet. She’s the very epitome of lushness.
Of nature. Of everything nurturing. She fills something deep inside me.
Something I didn’t even know I was lacking.
That’s what I sensed when I kissed her five years ago. I tilt my head, deepening the kiss.
Her lips part. I sweep my tongue inside her mouth, and the taste of her, something utterly feminine, like the nectar of flowers, seduces my palate.
My heart stutters. My chest feels like it’s opening up in a way I’ve never experienced before.
My fingers tingle to hold her close.
Don’t touch her.
She moans deep in her throat. The hair on the back of my neck rises. My shoulder muscles bunch. I need to touch her.
Her breath hitches. My entire body shudders with this need to simply get closer to her.
Don’t. Touch. Her.
The words ricochet around my head. My arms stiffen. I curl my fingers into fists, so I don’t reach for her. Every muscle in my body locks tight with the effort.
Her sweet breath mingles with mine. Her body trembles.
I sense everything she’s feeling. I feel it too.
My cock stiffens. My balls harden. And when she sighs into my mouth, every pore in my body seems to pop. My brain cells melt. The yearning I’ve quelled for so long boils up my chest.
Her pupils dilate until there’s only a circle of shining green around the black. And when I look into the longing mirrored in her eyes, something inside me snaps.
Don’t. Touch… "Fuck it!"
I wrap my fingers around the nape of her neck and pull her forward.
Our mouths fuse.
Our teeth scrape against each other.
She moans, and fuck, the sounds she makes unlock something primal inside of me.
That need inside me takes over until I’m one big mass of seething lust. My focus narrows. All of my senses are concentrated on her. Her scent. Her trembling curves. Her taste. Her.
I tighten my hold on her neck and hold her in place. Then I devour her. Eat her up. Consume her like the starving beast she’s turned me into.
Is that why I turned to food? To satisfy a hunger she ignited all those years ago?
She digs her fingers into my hair and tugs. I feel it all the way to the crown of my cock. Fuck.
All of my senses seem to detonate at once.
I haul her even closer, until she’s half sprawled in my lap.
Her heartbeat thunders against mine. It’s like gasoline to the fire that rages inside me.
I lick into her mouth and over her teeth, exploring every inch of her beautiful mouth.
She dips her fingers down to tease the column of my neck, down to my biceps. She squeezes, as if testing my strength. The butterfly touch of her slender fingers reminds me of how much smaller than me she is. How fragile.
The contrast between our strengths inflames me. I feel that deep, dark place inside me open up further. It drives me a little crazy. Enough to bite down on her plush lower lip and suck on it.
She whimpers.
The sound cuts through the sexual haze in my head. With a start, I realize where we are. On the couch in my office. Where she just signed the contract for our arrangement. This is a marriage of convenience.
A pretense.
That’s all it is.
I tear my mouth from hers. My breath comes in pants, like I ran a sprint. My heart thunders in my chest. My pulse refuses to settle. I came so close to losing control.
She raises her heavy eyelids and looks up at me with her still-dilated pupils.
Her features are flushed. Her lips are swollen. Her hair has come free of the messy bun she likes to wear it in
Unable to stop myself, I tuck the strands back behind her ear. She flinches.
It reminds me of how physically close we still are. I ease her back onto the couch, take her hand in mine, running my thumb over her knuckles.
“That answers the question of our compatibility.”
I mean to say it to lighten the mood, but the intensity in my voice only makes her flush deeper.
She draws in a sharp breath. "James, I—"
There's a knock on the door, followed by someone immediately opening it.
"Did you know—" Phoenix stops just inside the threshold.