His foot stops the doors from closing, and he squeezes through the gap.
“Doors closing,” the monotone voice says through the speaker.
My heart pounds in my throat. The mirrored space shows Finn all around me, causing the hairs to prickle on the back of my neck.
Once we descend, my stomach flips.
Finn stops the elevator.
I steady myself as the floor shakes. “What are you doing?” I turn around, seeing him in all directions. The air grows thin.
“I need to talk to you.” He steps closer, forcing me against the mirror.
I lower my laptop bag to the floor so my hands are free to push against his chest, keeping a safe distance between us. I don’t trust my body around him. “You could have just spoken to me without trapping me in an enclosed space.”
“You’re not claustrophobic, are you?” His eyes widen in concern.
“Only with you.”
“I miss you. I miss my turtle girl. You have to know I’m sorry I never told you my true identity.” His hand cups my face, his thumb stroking my cheek.
“I can’t go through this again, Finn. It’s too painful. You really hurt me.” I move my head to the side, not wanting to gaze into his eyes.
“I know. Let me make it up to you.”
“Is that what that was in there? You trying to make it up to me?”
“I just want to see you happy again. I want to be the one making you happy again, and if that means defying my father, I will.”
“It shouldn’t be about picking a side, Finn. It’s about doing the right thing.”
“I want to do the right thing, Shelly. Before I met you, I wouldn’t have thought twice about ecosystems and wildlife. You make me want to be a better man.” His nose brushes against mine. I push against his chest, but he’s too strong for me, crowding my frame.
“You owe me a kiss,” he says, hovering above my lips.
My brow furrows as I try to wriggle from hishypnotising gaze. “I’ve given you a hundred or more kisses. I think I’ve paid my dues.”
“Those kisses were given freely of your own wanting. I haven’t taken my ten thousand dollar kiss yet, and I’m going to take it now, to remind you how much I love you.”
I suck in a breath just as he seals our mouths together with a hot, searing kiss. He starts off slow and gentle, his tongue stroking against mine as he licks away the anger in all my unspoken words.
My body melds to his, letting him take what he wants while my mind tries to catch up and protest, but I’m silenced, not only by his mouth, but by my own thoughts turning to a scrambled mess.
His hands roam freely over my silk blouse, tugging the fabric in a desperate attempt to free it from my skirt. His other hand grips my hair in a tight fist, keeping my head in place so he can devour my lips.
I’m mush in his arms. A boneless mess with wet panties, betrayed by my own body and soul. I kiss him back, not because I want to, but because I need to. My body demands it of me. My arms slip around his neck, if only to cling to him and hold me up, or so I tell myself.
If this is our last kiss, let it be memorable. He frees my blouse, tugging it from my skirt. His rough hand slides underneath, against the bare skin of my back, and he pulls me closer to him, my curves fitting snugly against his hard edges, and one very hard thing in particular.
He pulls away with panting breaths. “I’ve missed these lips so fucking much.” He dives back down for a second round, deeper this time, with all the heat of a blazing campfire.
I’m losing myself in him, my hips rubbing against him. I hate what he’s done to us. He made me so happy andnow my heart is broken. No kiss, not even a ten thousand dollar one, can repair it. “I hate you.”
“I love you,” he says against my mouth before slipping his tongue in again.
I fist the back of his shirt, needing to hit something, but I don’t have the energy anymore. With him, I’m a weak shell of the woman I was. I need to find myself again, and this isn’t helping.
Tears sting my eyes. I break the kiss, needing to breathe. “Have you had your money’s worth yet?”
