He straddled her with a smoldering gaze. She was shaking beneath him, already worked up. He lifted his shirt over his head.
There he was, impossibly sculpted, like an ancient god. The expanse of his taut muscles and his ridged abs made her legs instinctively draw together.
“Nicolas.”
“Go on, baby,” he urged, settling back on his haunches to get a better look at her.
Emily’s body screamed with how on fire she was. However, there were more pressing concerns. “I need to confirm something before we continue.”
His eyes were patient.“What is it? Don’t tell me you think I’d go back on my word. I’ve already told you, Emily. You’re not ready.”
She shook her head promptly at the discontentment on his face. “No, that’s not it.”
His shoulders relaxed. “Oh, then what is it?”
“I need to know if you’re serious about this.”
Nicolas became hyper focused, his eyes narrowing.
“I need to know that this isn’t just out of conveniencebecause I’m here. Because we’re in this contract together. I don’t take what we’ve been doing lightly and if you do…then I don’t think I can continue from here on out. I want…something more. I deserve something more after everything I’ve been through these past couple of months. And frankly, I don’t want to be the only one walking toward a future, only to see that it had been a dead end all along.”
There Emily had finally said it.
She’d said what had been pulling her down, like weights tied around her ankles. There was a huge part of her that was scared saying this out loud would put a stop to whatever they were doing and that’s why she delayed it, but her heart couldn’t take it anymore. She needed to know.
“Emily…” he sighed, his eyes softening. “I thought you already knew how I felt.”
“How…how you felt?”
He laughed as if the joke was on him. “Of course I want more. I wantmorethan more. I want all of you: mind, body, and soul.” She was stunned. “I admit that the prospect of getting married was under the influence of my business, but you’re not a liability. You’re...Emily. My partner, remember?” His hand tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I said the rest of my life and I meant it.”
I can’t believe I’m going to have all of you for the rest of my life.
Her lips quivered.
He considered her his partner too.
He wants her forever.
His fingers traced her trembling mouth. “I’m completelyenthralledby you, Em,” he admitted. “Have been since you walked out of that closet and brought light to my world.”
“Nicolas—”
“I’ve never felt this strongly for a woman in my entire life. It’s more than a crush. More than infatuation. What I feel isreal.Your smile makes a cold-hearted person like me melt like a fucking iceberg. The sound of your voice makes my tongue tingle to have a conversation with you. To bicker with you.” He chuckled helplessly. “The way you’re always so unflappable to the outside world, but a spoiled little brat—as you should be—with me makes me weak. Your hair is my obsession. So is the way you’re understanding of who I am. I like you, Emily. A little too much it seems. As it’s always been.”
The corners of her eyes prickled with tears as she looked at this gorgeous man. She grasped the side of his face. “Oh, Nicolas.”
“That too.” He bit down onto his lip. “I love it when you say my name like that. It makes my heart race like a damn fool.”
By the time the last syllable slipped past his mouth, Emily was blinded by a confidence that drove her to kiss him.
Nicolas pulled her in and deepened it. A moan left her. Once he heard it, he snapped. He gripped her so hard she let out a sound that startled her.
“You have no idea,” he grunted, “how long I’ve wanted to do this.”
The pressure of his hardening length pressed against her thigh. He grew desperate. His mouth nipped at her jawline, neck, collarbones.
Emily’s legs wrapped around his waist, frantically moving against him to feel more. He pushed off her, his eyes admiring the length of her neck, the slope of her collarbones as they led to the soft peaks of her breasts, which heaved and fell.
