“Later.”
The instant the door closed, she stormed toward me. Her hand swung back to slap me. I caught it, mid-swing.
“Now, now, that’s not very nice.”
“What the hell are you playing at?” She tugged her hand free. “First, I’m a mistake. Now, I’m wife material? Am I just a big joke to you?”
“You’re anything but.”
Her chocolate eyes flicked between mine, a blend of desperation and confusion etching itself between her brows.
“What is it you want with me? I don’t understand.”
“If I had my way, nothing.”
“Right,” she bit out. “Everything a girl wants to hear.”
I placed a finger beneath her chin. “You deserve better.”
“I know I do. That’s why we agreed last night was a mistake.”
The subtle pout of her lower lip was a temptation. I thumbed it. Each time I tried to pull away from her, she dragged me backinto her orbit. My resistance was already cracking. “What if I want to switch things back up?”
“So you can pull the reins again when things heat up? No thanks.” She wrenched her face away. That fire of hers just made me burn hotter.
“I’ll make it worth your while.” I bent closer to her ear. “You don’t have to always be this stubborn.”
“Try not being a standoffish prick. Then we can talk about my stubbornness.”
I twisted her around and pulled her back to my front. No matter how much I resisted, this felt right. This was where she belonged, against me, my body warming hers, her honeysuckle scent in my lungs. My chin brushed the top of her head. My hand slid down the outside of her shirt, pausing to tweak her nipples through her thin, lacy bra. They pebbled, hardening beneath my fingertips. She gasped, a sound so innocent compared to her inner strength. I nibbled at her neck.
“What are you doing?”
“Exploring,” I breathed into her ear. “It’s what you wanted. It was the purpose of those photos in your bikini, wasn’t it? To give me a view of what I couldn’t have and what you wanted to give.”
“Wasn’t I just a mistake?”
“Who said it first?”
She tried to shove me away, but I pulled her closer and tilted her head further back against me.
“This is just more manipulation.”
“Is it working?” My hand slipped down her belly as I kissed her collarbone.
“No,” she said with a moan.
“What’s it going to take for you to agree?”
My hand delved into her loose pants. They weren’t the sexiest clothing to admire her in, but they offered an ease of access that tight jeans didn’t.
“I need you, Ainsley. You have no idea how much.”
Her mound was bare and smooth. My fingers continued lower, spreading her lips, stroking through her arousal. I teased her little bud, loving how she jerked and grabbed at my hand.
“Be my wife.”
With the words said out loud, I liked the sound of it. My wife. Something she shouldn’t be. Something this situation made possible, even if it was temporary and fake. I stroked and stroked, while dipping a finger in and out of her tight heat. Her head fell back against my chest, her breath strangled. I wanted to hear her climax.
