“My head hurts if that tells you anything.”
“It does, and trust me, it’ll hurt worse. Wait until you get to bonds.”
She groaned and dropped her head into the book. Walking over to her, I pulled it away, marked the page with her highlighter, and helped her up. I drew her into my arms, pushing a strand of hair back that had fallen from her ponytail.
“If this happens at the end of each chapter, I’m willing to keep studying.” She laced her arms around my neck, and Ileaned in to capture her mouth. Kissing Tori was like soaking in the sun on a summer day. It warmed my veins and left my body tingling.
“Come eat, and we’ll watch a movie since you’ve been a good girl.”
She shivered deliciously, and I nibbled on her neck, breathing in the scent of vanilla and cherry blossoms.
“Told you I could top your book boyfriends,” I said, dragging my cheek over hers and stealing another kiss. Her body went limp, and I wondered why I hadn’t taken this farther yet. It was torture living on just her kisses when I wanted to devour every inch of her.
Our lips separated slowly, her eyes opening to meet mine. They were dusty, and I wanted to ingrain their color in my mind forever. This was why I was taking my time. Because everything about Tori was special, every minuscule gesture and look. And I wanted to take all those moments and cement them in my memory before I made love to her.
Tori talked through what she’d learned while we ate, asking questions which I readily answered. I’d immersed myself in the finance world since I was sixteen, a necessity for building our fortune through portfolio and real estate investments. All legitimate and with a proper paper trail. Once we’d had enough, I had scoured business opportunities and Liv had vetted them. We’d accumulated enough businesses over the past four years to become a threat to businesses like my father’s, but we weren’t ready for that step.
“Where did you learn to cook like that?” Tori asked as she loaded her dish into the dishwasher after insisting on cleaning up.
“My mother. Her family immigrated from Italy a few generations back. She loved cooking the recipes her mother taught her and would bring me and my sister in to cook with herany time she could.” Any time my father didn’t drag me back out by the ear, bitching that it was woman’s work and he wouldn’t have his son doing domestic duties. I could still see the pain in her eyes and feel the sting of his belt. From then on, she invited me into the kitchen only when he was away on business.
“Well, she did a good job. It was excellent.” She dropped onto the couch, rubbing her stomach. “I’ll have to unhook my skirt if I eat anything else.”
Her eyes met mine, and I couldn’t stop myself from taking three strides to her and kissing her. The kiss deepened, and I leaned further over, catching myself on the back of the sofa. Her hands skirted up my chest, fisting my shirt and the urge to take more from her, to taste every inch of her and discover what those hands felt like on my bare skin roared through my veins.
My knee hit the cushion, and I pushed her back on the couch. Hand moving up her waist, I curled it below her and brought her chest to mine. Her hands threaded through my hair, and my resolve almost faltered. The need to discover every facet of Tori before I explored her body and claimed it screamed for me to stop, and I drew back, letting our kiss end.
Her lips were red from the kiss, her cheeks flushed.
“You’re gorgeous, Tori, and you make it extremely difficult to be a gentleman,” I confessed.
She rubbed her hand over my jaw. “I don’t remember ever telling you to be a gentleman.”
“No, I suppose you didn’t, but I am,” I admitted, dropping my head into her neck.
Kissing her collarbone, I gently lowered her body and released my hold on her.
“It’s the stock exchange talk, isn’t it?”
I squinted, trying to figure out what she was saying.
“That’s the turn-on.”
My laugh burst from me, and I dropped to the other side of the couch, scooting her legs over and putting them on my lap.
“I can promise you that was not the turn-on.” Her soft skin was smooth as my hand rubbed her calf. “You up for a horror movie or action?”
“Horror, but don’t laugh when I hide my eyes.”
Patting my chest, I said, “It’s here when you need someplace to bury them.”
“Good to know. Is there a fee for using your chest to shield my innocent eyes?”
I feigned thinking. “A kiss.”
“Done.”
She repositioned herself so that she was tucked into my side and proceeded to kiss me with each scary moment before burying her head in my chest and asking me if the scene was over through the entire movie. By the time it ended, I was ready to kiss her for the rest of my life.
