“I mean, I could probably use some more practice to shake the nervous energy dance out of my system. And it’d probably be better for the end product if it looked like something we’ve done more than once.”
Don’t be suspicious. Don’t be suspicious.
He smiles slightly, fingering a fallen curl brushing my cheek. “Anything for the end product.”
“Great.” I offer a tight-lipped smile. “That’s settled, then.” I pat his chest and pick my lean up off the wall, walking a few paces ahead. “Did you want to wander through the gardens first or the glass pyramid?”
A hand falls to the crook of my elbow and tugs me back.
“What are you doing?”
“We kiss all the time; this isn’t out of the ordinary.” The flecks in his eyes swirl, casting an incantation with a low growl. His brow slowly raises in a question. “Right, Peaches?”
“Right. Right. We kiss all the time,” I parrot, stuck in his trance.
He moves a piece of hair off my cheek, tracing the curve of my jaw with his finger. “I can’t get enough of you.”
“I’m falling deeper with every pass of your lips.” The truth bypasses my filter. My lungs squeeze, all but exploding in my chest.
He lowers his head, and his soft, warm mouth covers mine. It takes me a second to catch up before my eyes drift closed, focused on that single point of gentle, sliding contact.
His hands grip my waist, bringing me flush against his body as he tilts his head to take the kiss deeper, sending my stomach into a free fall. I grant him access and wrap my arms around his neck, desperate for something to anchor me. A deep rumble in his chest reaches my ears, and his hold tightens, leaving me with no choice but to press closer until we’re a single entwined body. A second, a minute, an hour passes—and he slowly pulls away, leaving me in a breathless haze. Then he’s there again, nudging my lips back to his, lightly brushing against them before completely stepping back.
He scrubs a hand down his face, and for a second, I think he’s as dazed as I am, but then a spark flashes in his eye. A devastating grin slowly spreads across his face. He turns, tossing over his shoulder, “I think a walk through the gardens sounds nice.”
My trembling fingers lightly trace the hum of electricity on my lips, coursing in the wake of his kiss. I smooth out my trench coat and try to regain composure. After our initial kiss, I hoped my body’s overwhelming reaction to his would filter its way out of my system, but everything has only heightened.
I have to admit it: kissing Liam Kelly was the final nail in my lovesick coffin. Here lies resistance. It was futile.
“Seriously?” I holler, catching up to the broad shoulders strolling ahead of me, hands fastened behind his muscular back as he admires the palace. “Your affinity for teasing me truly knows no bounds if you would still tease me like that as your girlfriend.”
A dark, heavy stare meets mine. He slowly raises a rakish brow. “I imagine it knows some.” He lowers his lips to my ear. “I’d do much worse if we weren’t in public, Peaches, but then you wouldn’t be faking anything.”
A shiver works down my spine as he pulls away. “So confident.” I click my tongue.
He shakes his head. “Determined.”
I swallow, unsure what to make of that statement, of the challenging glint in his eyes. Is heactuallyflirting with me?
Any brain-to-mouth filter I possess goes up in smoke. “Well, maybe you should take me back to the apartment then,” I say, matching the pits of hell with a devilish stare all my own.
“I swear they’re in here.” I chuckle, hands trembling, digging through my purse for my keys. “I mean, I locked the door so they—”
Liam reaches into the pocket of my trench coat, his stare pinned to me, and pulls them out.
“Right.”
“You sure you want to do this?”
I nod with a swallow, plucking the key from his grasp and pivoting to unlock the door.
Liam’s fingers graze the back of my neck, gathering my hair to one side, and then he presses a kiss on my bare skin, wrapping a hand around my waist.
“I can’t concentrate when you do that.” I fumble with the key, electricity flooding my system and jumbling my motor skills.
“Oh, does this fluster you, Evie?” he says, far too pleased with himself.
“I’ll be flustering your ass in a moment,” I grumble.
