“Kiss me,” Vivienne says suddenly.
I suck in a sharp breath as she voices the very thoughts I’ve tried so hard to bury.
“I can’t,” I say, the words paining me more than I thought they would.
“Why not?” Vivienne asks defiantly. “What’s stopping you, Nate?”
“I made you a promise. It may not have been an official contract, but I’m a man of my word.”
She cups my cheeks again and gives me a gentle shake. “Please. Would you please just look at me?”
I shut my eyes as I turn back to her.
The plan is simple: let her down easy—look her in the eyes and tell her I don’t want her—when it couldn’t be further from the truth. But I have no opening to do that when Vivienne takes fate into her own hands and kisses me.
It’s a peck at first. Sweet and gentle. But it’s also mixed with a load of uncertainty—vulnerability. She pulls back not long after, lowering herself from the tips of her toes until her Bambi eyes meet mine.
I can see it all. The thoughts twirling in her head about whether she made the wrong choice in kissing me. The fear that I might reject her like I did once before. And with the shaky step she takes back, she’s thinking about pulling away from me again.
I can’t let that happen. Not when I’ve craved this woman from the moment I met her, and definitely not after getting to know her—the real her.
My arm wraps around her waist without a second thought, and I reel her in until she’s flush against my body. With a quick lift, I set her on the bathroom counter, kissing away her delayed gasp of surprise with hunger.
Her legs tighten around my waist, and her fingers thread through my hair. My hand is holding the back of her neck, making sure she can’t get away from me. I lick the seam of her lips, smiling against them when she caves.
“Why are you smiling?” She pulls back to ask, but it isn’t long until I’m back on her.
I’ve been a starved man, and now that I have what I want, there’s no more fighting it.
“I don’t think you realize how much I’ve wanted this.”
Vivienne leans back in surprise, and I take the opportunity to peck my way down the slope of her neck. I move on to her chest, admiring the taut peaks straining against the baby-blue satin, then kiss one through the material, satisfied when I hear her gasp of surprise.
“This little set looks so good on you.” I tug on one of the straps, letting it slip down her shoulder.
A sweet giggle slips past her lips, but it’s quickly replaced by a moan when I nibble on the sensitive bud.
“Evelyn and Sutton sabotaged me by replacing all my oversized pajamas.”
“Guess you’ll have to thank them for me.” I smile against her skin, licking a path down her stomach to her belly button.
I’d go lower, but something about it feels wrong. It’s too early—too soon—and I like this girl too much to make her believe that anything between us is an act of lust.
I’m looking to stand, craving her lips on mine, when a hand lands on my head, forcing me back down.
“You never actually got down on one knee for me, so I guess you’ll have to kneel on both.”
I groan at the implication behind her words. “Say something like that again, and I won’t be able to control myself.”
Vivienne quirks a brow, smiling wickedly. “Who said I want you to stay in control?”
Every muscle in my body restrains itself from pouncing on her. This is a side to Vivienne I’ve seen before, just not under these circumstances. Taunting. Pulling every one of my strings, hoping they’ll snap.
“You’re playing with fire, Vivienne. I’d be careful with what you say.”
“Good thing I don’t mind getting burned.”
Fuck my life.
