“What’s wrong?” I cry out in disbelief, shoving his hands from my lap and pushing away from him. How dare he ask me this after the heartache he’s put me through?
“Viv—”
“You!” I hiss, running a hand through my hair. “You, Kyle. You’re what’s wrong with me!”
“Baby—”
“Was it easy for you? To just walk away and pretend that nothing happened between us?” I start pacing, stomping on the rose petals layered on the floor. “You didn’t even have the decency to tell me to my face that it’s over. Fine, I get that we just agreed to be together during the trip, but last night…I thought…”
I turn away when the tears come again, and he’s in front of me in a flash, wiping my tears with his thumbs. “Fuck baby, don’t cry. You’re killing me,” he groans before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into an embrace. I place my hand on his chest to push him back, but he’s so much bigger. So much strongerand…warm. Familiar. So I give up on the fight and let him hold me, my hands swinging helplessly by my sides. “It wasn’t easy for me to stay away, baby, but I had to. I’m sorry I hurt you.”
“It’s your fault,” I sniff into his shirt, wanting to hate him but I love him too darn much. “It’s all your fault for making me fall in love with you and then ghosting me the second we arrive in Chicago.”
I don’t realize what I’ve said until he pulls back, hands on my shoulders and eyes wide as they stare down at me. “You love me?”
Shit.
Is that what I said?
For heaven’s sake. Did I just confess my love to the man I’m supposed to angry with?
I consider backtracking, even though it would be a lie that I don’t think I could pull off. But the other option is confessing and getting my heart broken all over again. “It doesn’t matter,” I whisper, looking away. “I’ll get over it.” Maybe. I doubt it, but a girl can hope.
“I love you, Vivienne,” he says, leaning in and brushing his mouth over mine. I’m too shocked to react. “You’re everything to me.”
Surely that’s not true. “You left me in that car. Alone. Ghosted me.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he says, kissing my brows. “I didn’t want there to be tension between Knox and me, ruining your moment. He would have known, your brother. One look at me and Knox would have seen my feelings for you on my face, and I couldn’t anticipate his reaction. I didn’t want that to overshadow your reunion.”
Beyond the hurt, I realize that he’s right. It would have hurt me to watch the two people I love get into a fight. “You’re here now. Does that mean you’ve spoken with him?”
“I have.”
I run my eyes over his handsome face. Other than the tired lines under his eyes, he’s unscathed. “You guys didn’t fight, did you?”
He grins. “No, we didn't. I’ve been mentally preparing myself to fight with your brother, but he just laughed in my face when I told him I was in love with you. Wasn’t surprised. Gave me his blessing.”
“You told him?”
“I had to,” he whispers, kissing my wet cheeks. “I’ve been dying, Viv. Not being able to see and touch you has been pure torture.”
“Me too.”
I bite into my lip, staring into those pretty green eyes and seeing the need in them. I don’t even have to look down to see the outline of his erection; I can tell he’s aroused.
And darn it, so am I.
We haven't gone a day since we met without touching, and last night was torture. Having to lie down in an unfamiliar bed without his arms around me, his breath caressing my neck and his hands rubbing my stomach and breasts…I couldn’t bear it.
And now, he’s here. All six feet of him with eyes that threaten to devour me. And I want nothing more.
One of us moves. Or maybe we both do, because the next thing I know, we’re kissing. His arm is around my waist and my back against the wall, his mouth moving over mine like a starved man. He yanks me hard against him until our thighs are pressed together and I can feel his erection against me. His fingers combthrough my hair and slide to the back of my head where he cradles my nape, holding me in place as his mouth strokes mine in a heated kiss. I moan when his tongue meets mine and I taste wine on him. So delicious. So intoxicating.
I roll my hips against his pelvis, chasing relief for the delicious feeling that shoots to my sex. The urge to touch him and assure myself that he’s real has me scaling my fingers up his chest to his neck. I’m shaking, I realize. Fingers trembling as I touch him.
“Need you,” I whimper into the kiss, reaching up and pushing the jacket off his shoulders. We break apart as he strips off the jacket and then his hands are back on me, those long fingers sliding under my sweater and cupping my sensitive breasts, fondling them until I’m whining into the kiss. “Kyle—”
He wraps an arm around me and pulls me clear off the floor. My legs go around his hips and I wine into the kiss as the move sends his cock pressing hard on my sex through our clothes, rubbing at my aching clit. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and roll my hips against his cock, the move sending delicious little spasms rolling through my body.
