“You’re very welcome.”
“You look tired.” I point out, noting the dark circles under her eyes.
“It’s been a long week,” she sighs, her shoulders relaxing like she’s been desperate to tell me that, the weight of the week and the stress now a shared burden.
“You still look beautiful.” She works so hard. Too hard.
Pink blotches fill the apples of her cheeks. “Thanks, and I think you’re really handsome.”
She thinks I’m handsome. I like that. A lot.
“Is this confession corner?” I ask.
“If you want it to be.” She swallows hard as if she’s waiting for me to say something radical and life-changing, but instead, I lead with something I have wanted to tell her for a few days.
“I really want to kiss you.”
Tilting her head to the side curiously, she asks, “You do?”
“I do.” I’ve imagined what her lips would feel like on mine more times than I think is healthy.
Reaching up, I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear and cup her face. My heart pounds because I don’t know if kissing her might spark a recollection. All I know is that I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want her. That doesn’t make sense, considering I’ve only known her a week, but while my mind might not know her, my body seems to.
“Kiss me.” She breathes out her words almost inaudibly, staring at me longingly.
Millimeter by millimeter, I close the gap and press my lips to hers.
My mind spins with the sudden thrill of touching her.
I pull her in, threading my arm around her waist, and open my mouth slightly. When she responds, I deepen our kiss andtouch my tongue to hers, just enough to taste her, enough that it has me wanting more.
There’s no rush, no desperation, but it’s a kiss that has my cock bouncing in my boxers, and it hits me that while she might have kissed me many times before, for me, this is the first time. A moment I will remember forever.
Eventually, we break away naturally, and when we do, I rest my forehead on hers, breathing her in, loving that my lips now taste of her lip gloss—strawberry, I think. “You taste nice,” I confess.
“I’ve missed this,”she says on a shaky breath. “I miss you.”
I bundle her in my arms, rubbing her back, holding her as close to my chest as I can get her. “I’m so fucking sorry. I didn’t want this for any of us, baby.”
She leans out of our embrace quickly, laying her hands on my shoulders to push me away, her eyes wide, then asks, “What did you just call me?”
“I don’t know.”
“You called me baby.”
“Did I?”
“You call me that all the time.” She blinks up at me, gifting me the biggest smile, as if I calculated the mathematical equation that could solve world peace. She’s happy.
“Maybe you’re starting to remember?” she suggests, sounding hopeful.
I wish I was but it doesn’t trigger anything in my mind. “Maybe.” I give her false hope.
“And maybe when we get you home, maybe being in your house will help, too,” she sounds giddy with excitement.
If only it were that simple.
“Your driver is here, sir.” Stash, my new bodyguard, who has sat outside my room since I got here, informs us it’s time to make a move. “I’ll take your belongings down, but I’ll wait foryou outside the door.” He grabs my things and leaves us alone again.
