‘Why?’ I followed his gaze.
Mistletoe.
Jeez Louise. Who the hell put that there? I most definitely hadn’t requested mistletoe. Then I spotted his clippers on the bottom step.
‘You know you could have just aske?—’
He closed the space between us, and I bit back my retort. That one step stole the breath right out of my lungs.
‘You’re so fucking beautiful,’ he murmured, his voice warm enough to melt any resolve that might have lingered. Bracingone hand against the wall by my head, he used the other to cup my jaw, tracing his thumb over my cheek.
‘Henry,’ I breathed, unsure if it was a warning or a plea.
He leaned close enough that his breath tickled my ear, sending my pulse rocketing. I swallowed hard. My brain practically melted out of my ears. My muscles turned to stone as the heat from his body wrapped around me. All I could do was look up at him and wonder if he could hear my heartbeat echoing in my chest.
‘Amanda,’ he whispered, ‘Wanting to be this close to you has plagued me for days.’
My knees nearly buckled.
I parted my lips to say something, but nothing came.
Absolutely nothing.Not one single sensible thought left. The fucker had emptied my brain.
The heat that rolled through me when he grazed his lower lip with his teeth was humiliating. You’d think I’d never had a hook-up before.
‘Amanda.’ Henry tipped my chin up a touch with his thumb. ‘I don’t need you to control things.’
My breath tangled with his as he tipped his face to mine.
‘But I do need to kiss you right fucking now.’
My thoughts scattered as his lips pressed to mine. Not softly. Not sweetly. Like he’d been yearning for that one kiss.
The heat that tore straight through my spine amplified with each touch. His tight grip on my jaw, the other hand sliding down the wall and gathering my waist, pulling me flush against him. The kiss was slow but demanding, giving me no quarter but to let him lead.
And fuck me, I melted into a pile of wetness.
Pulling him closer, I fisted my hands in his jumper tightly enough for the material to bite into my skin. Heat curled low, building with each stroke of his tongue, his piney scent filling myevery panted breath. I gave an embarrassingly needy little moan, and he swallowed it down like he was starving for it.
There was no teasing, no sunshine comments. Just his demanding mouth and the heat of his body pressed to mine. The soft sparkle of the nearby tree, which I hated a little less when being kissed halfway out of my own body.
Standing on my tiptoes, I gave in to the moment. Breathless and aching. Running my hands up over those deliciously veined arms.
When he eventually pulled back, I had to grip the wall to stay upright.
His forehead rested briefly against mine, his breath hot over my damp and swollen lips.
And then reality punched through my wanton haze.
Someone could walk in. A client could come down and find the gardener pinning me against the wall and snogging like a bloody teenager.
I slipped out from between him and the wall, straightening my top and tucking the escaped strands of my hair behind my ears.
‘Right. That was. Well. Yes.’ I stepped toward the stairs and felt heat fill my cheeks.
Henry’s mouth twitched, amusement dancing in his eyes.
‘Don’t freak out, Amanda.’
