44. Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Four
Maximo
The doors slide shut with a soft thud. A second later the gondola gives a gentle jolt, carrying us away from the platform once more.
Mia is still standing where I pulled her, with my hands around her upper arms. Her breathing is quickening. Whether it’s from anger at finding herself trapped for another rotation or from our unexpected proximity, I can’t yet tell.
Perhaps it’s both. Either way, she’d clearly rather be anywhere else than alone with me.
Unfortunately for her, I have no intention of ending this conversation.
“Now,” I say evenly, “would you like to repeat that little comment you tossed over your shoulder?”
“Not really.”
She turns her head to glare up at me without the slightest hint of remorse.
“You heard me perfectly well. Otherwise we wouldn’t be going for another spin on the Ferris wheel, which, for the record, I have no desire to be on anymore.”
“Noted.”
“But it changes nothing, does it?” she huffs.
“The doors are locked. You can’t leave now, unless you break the glass and jump off.”
“I might,” she mutters under her breath.
I release one of her arms and slide my hand around her waist, turning her until she’s facing me. My free hand comes up beneath her chin, lifting it until her eyes meet mine.
The movement brings our bodies flush together. A blush blooms across her cheeks before spilling down her neck.
Without taking my eyes off her, I sit down on the bench and draw her with me until she’s perched across my lap, one arm still secure around her waist.
“You can’t be serious.” Her eyes widen. “I’m not sitting on you.”
She plants a hand against my chest, trying to push herself up.
“Let me go.”
She fights my hold with more determination than effectiveness.
My grip remains loose enough that she could never mistake it for force, yet firm enough to keep her where she is.
I let her expend the energy, watching the stubborn set of her jaw and the growing irritation in her eyes as she realizes I’m not about to release her simply because she objects.
She stills eventually, letting out an exasperated breath that stirs the air between us.
Unfortunately, several minutes of Mia wriggling against me have produced an inconvenient response, which is becoming difficult to ignore.
Lucky for me, the heavy winter coat between us conceals my hardness, and Mia is far too occupied with glaring at me to notice.
“This is kidnapping,” she says through clenched teeth, giving me another shove.
“You boarded this ride voluntarily. In fact, it was your idea.”
“That was for the first round. I have no interest in spending another fifteen minutes trapped with you in here.”
“Too bad.”
I hold her gaze, making it clear that this discussion is no longer optional.
“I want answers.”
Her eyes narrow. “I don’t owe you an explanation.”
That’s what she might believe.
“Who I kiss is none of your business, Maximo.”
“Everything concerning you is my business.”
She huffs. “I fundamentally disagree with that statement.”
“I’m aware.”
She shifts on my lap and faces me squarely. Neither of us is willing to yield. The fire in her eyes flares.
“You know what?” she says. “Fine.”
I lift a brow. What is she planning now?
Every time I think I’ve worked her out, she proves me wrong.
“You want to talk about it?”
She leans close enough that I can make out the tiny flecks of gold scattered through the brown of her irises.
“Then let’s talk about it.”
She’s changing battlefields. This isn’t surrender.
“Yes, I kissed another man.”
I don’t interrupt.
“And do you know when?”
She lets the question hang long enough that I know whatever comes next is meant to wound.
“The very next day.”
The image forms before I can suppress it. Mia with another man less than twenty-four hours after I’d kissed her.
The muscles in my jaw tighten before I make a conscious effort to relax them. She catches it, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“That’s right,” she says, pleased she’s managed to get a reaction from me. “And do you know why?”
I don’t answer.
“Because that kiss should never have happened,” she says, holding my gaze with remarkable determination. “It was a mistake.”
My thumb digs into her waist. She flinches, and I immediately loosen my grip.
“I never should’ve let you kiss me. So to erase your lips from my mind, I marched myself down to the beach, found the cutest guy I could, and kissed him.”
Silence settles between us.
The Ferris wheel continues its slow ascent, carrying us higher above the city while snow drifts past the glass. Mia doesn’t look away, convinced she’s landed the decisive blow.
“Did it work?” I ask.
The confidence in her expression falters for a second before she recovers.
“Yes, of course.”
I just watch her. She refuses to look away, almost as though she’s daring me to challenge her.
She lifts her chin another fraction, but the fingers clutching her scarf tighten, bunching the wool beneath them.
“Liar,” I say quietly.
Her eyes widen.
“I beg your pardon. I’m not lying.” Her outrage isn’t convincing.
I shake my head. “People think lies begin the moment they’re spoken. They don’t. They begin the instant someone decides what they want another person to believe.”
She opens her mouth, but I don’t give her the opportunity to interrupt.
“You did exactly that.”
She folds her arms, the movement defensive despite the fire in her eyes.
“I did no such thing.”
I almost smile.
“You’ve spent the last few minutes trying to convince me another man’s kiss erased mine.” I let my gaze linger on her face. “Your left eye twitched before you answered.”
Her hand flies toward her face before she can stop herself.
I smirk.
“That wasn’t fair.”
“No,” I agree. “It wasn’t. But who said I was playing fair?”
Color rises in her cheeks. “I still kissed him.”
“You did.”
“And I enjoyed it.”
“You wanted to.”
She glares at me. “I did.”
“You wanted to believe you did.”
She lets out an incredulous laugh.
“You don’t get to decide what I remember.”
“No.” I reach up, brushing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear, my fingers lingering against her cheek. “But I know one thing with certainty.”
She slaps my hand away.
“And what’s that?”
“My kiss has never left you.”
She goes still for a beat before annoyance hardens her features once more.
“But let’s assume for one second you’re telling the truth, and another man’s kiss did make you forget mine.” I move my head closer to hers. “Then I clearly need to do better and make mine more memorable.”
I cup her jaw, her pulse jumping beneath my fingertips. She tilts her face up, her eyes half-lidded.
I close the last couple of inches between us and kiss her.
Her hands shove against my chest, and she turns her face away.
I stop. For one taut second, neither of us moves.
“Tell me to let you go.” My voice comes out rougher than I intended.
I watch the tug-of-war play out in her eyes.
Then her fingers curl into my coat, and she presses her lips together.
Thank God. I’m running out of restraint.
My hand slides from her jaw into her hair, cradling the back of her head as I capture her mouth again.
After a beat, her lips answer mine.
Her fingers tighten in the lapels of my coat, dragging me closer, and whatever restraint I had left starts to unravel. Our breathing turns ragged, our chests rising and falling against each other.
She tastes exactly as I remember. And her lips are so damn soft. It takes only a moment before that familiar hunger takes over and the kiss deepens.
Then there’s only Mia.
The warmth of her in my arms, the press of her body against mine, and the way she kisses me like she’s forgotten every reason she had not to.
When my tongue traces her lips, she opens, a moan escaping her as I delve inside. My hand tangles in her hair, angling her head exactly where I want it.
Her tongue responds, growing bolder. Heat pools low in my abdomen, and the restraint I’ve spent years cultivating suddenly feels inadequate.
I graze her bottom lip with my teeth, and she melts into me.
The gentle jolt beneath us barely registers. It isn’t until a polite knock sounds against the glass that reality finally intrudes.
I lift my head reluctantly.
The attendant stands outside with one hand resting against the gondola door.
“Another round?” he asks with a grin.
Neither of us answers.
Mia blinks first and scrambles off my lap so quickly she nearly loses her footing.
“No,” she blurts, refusing to look at either of us. “Definitely not.”
I step out after her, my attention never leaving the woman hastily winding her scarf around her neck as though several layers of wool might somehow hide what just happened.
She had wanted to convince both of us that another man’s kiss had replaced mine. Judging by the way she can’t meet my eyes, I suspect she no longer believes that.
Whatever patience I’d intended to exercise with Mia agreeing to marry me has just become infinitely harder.