The air between us crackles with sexual tension. I can almost taste it on my tongue.
“You’re engaged to my sister.” Her voice wavers slightly.
“A misunderstanding.” I step closer, eliminating most of the space between us. “Nothing more.”
“A misunderstanding?” she questions.
I tilt my head. “Yes, I approached your father to ask about a possible merger and wedding proposal, assuming you were Olivia Harrison, considering you were staying at Derek’s home.”
“That doesn’t make this okay.” Her breathing quickens, chest rising and falling rapidly.
I reach out, running my fingertips down her bare arm. Her skin pebbles under my touch, and she shivers but doesn’t pull away.
“Tell me to stop,” I challenge, moving my hand to her waist, my fingers splaying across the thin material of her dress. “Tell me you don’t feel this.”
She says nothing, her eyes locked on mine.
My body responds instantly to her proximity, my cock hardening painfully against my tailored pants. I step closer, letting her feel exactly what she does to me, pressing slightly against her.
Her breath catches.
“This isn’t—” she starts, then stops when I raise my other hand to her face, tracing her cheekbone with my thumb.
“Isn’t what?” I murmur, lowering my head until my lips hover just above hers. “Isn’t right? Isn’t what you thought about every night since the cliff?”
Her eyes flutter closed for a moment, and I can feel her resolve weakening. My entire body thrums with need, every nerve ending firing at once.
“Tell me you don’t want this,” I demand, my voice barely above a growl. The scent of jasmine and something uniquely Aurora floods my senses. My hand at her waist tightens. “Tell me you haven’t thought about me every fucking night since we almost kissed.”
Aurora’s hands press against my chest, not quite pushing me away but creating distance. Her touch burns through my shirt.
“It doesn’t matter what I want,” she says, voice stronger than I expected. “You’re engaged to my sister. I won’t be the other woman, Hunter.”
I step forward, eliminating the space she created. “An engagement that means nothing.”
“It means something to Olivia.” Her eyes flash with irritation even as her body betrays her, leaning infinitesimally toward mine. “I won’t hurt her. I’m not that person.”
“And I don’t care.” The truth spills out. “I’ll break the engagement. I’ll buy your father’s company and dismantle it piece by piece. I’ll burn down everything I’ve built.” My hand slides to her throat, not squeezing, just feeling her pulse hammer against my palm. “I’ll do whatever the fuck it takes to have you.”
Her eyes widen, not with fear, but with recognition. She sees me now. The real me. Not the polished businessman but the predator beneath.
And she’s not running.
“You can’t just take what you want,” she whispers, but there’s heat in her voice.
“I can. I do.” I lean closer, my lips a breath from hers. “And I want you.”
“You’re insane.” Her fingers curl into my shirt.
“Probably.” My thumb traces her lower lip. “Does that scare you?”
Her pupils dilate, nearly swallowing the blue. “It should.”
I can feel the dark attraction pulsing between us. She’s drawn to the very parts of me others fear. The ruthlessness. The control.
“Say no,” I challenge, my lips brushing the corner of her mouth. “Tell me to stop.”
Her breathing quickens, her body arching toward mine. Instead of yielding, she turns her face at the last moment.
