“This is still a terrible idea.”
“The worst,” I murmured against her neck.
She pulled my mouth back to hers.
The kiss slowed down. Got deeper. Her teeth caught my bottom lip and I groaned against her mouth. Would’ve been embarrassing if I’d had any pride left.
I didn’t. She’d taken all of it.
I could feel her pulse hammering under my thumb where my hand curved around her throat. Feel the heat of her through both our shirts. Feel the moment her body stopped holding back and pressed into mine instead, and Christ, I wanted her so badly my hands shook with the effort of not taking this further than she was ready for.
When we finally broke apart, breathing hard, her forehead resting against mine, the fire had burned down to embers and neither of us had noticed.
“I should go,” she whispered.
“Probably.”
Neither of us moved.
“Goodnight, Graham,” she said finally.
“Goodnight, Rose.”
She stepped back. Picked up her phone, her boots. Walked toward the door barefoot, and I watched every step because I couldn’t help myself.
At the threshold she paused. Glanced back at me over her shoulder.
“For the record,” she said, pulling on her boots, “the Iceland series was very good.”
Then she was gone.
I stood in the empty lounge with the dying fire and the taste of her still on my mouth and the absolute certainty that I was falling for this woman.
And the equally absolute certainty that this was going to destroy me.
I gave myself a few minutes.Let my pulse settle. Let the adrenaline fade just enough that I could walk straight.
Then I headed for the side door.
I was almost to the exit when I heard a voice.
It came from the office, door cracked open an inch, light spilling in a thin line across the floor.
Denise.
I stopped.
“—yes, I know,” she was saying, her tone low and clipped. Nothing like the bright, helpful voice she used around Rose. “But we need to give it time. The YouTuber situation changed things.”
A pause. Someone on the other end.
“No, she doesn’t suspect anything. She’s too distracted. Between the video and him and—” A short, ugly laugh. “Exactly. It’s actually working in our favor.”
Every part of me went cold.
“Next week the bank’s going to start asking questions, and then we just... let it play out.”
I pressed my back against the wall. Barely breathing.
