“You good?”Nerissa asked, eyes sharp, knowing.
“I'm great.Fantastic.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Your sarcasm isn't appreciated.”
“Neither is the sexual tension between you two.”She laughed when I threw a frosty glare her way before we both walked up the stairs.
I helped Benji with the door and he threw me a grateful smile.Then we watched as he logged Ari to the bedroom.Jaxon's gaze heated my neck, but I made a point to not look at him.
Seconds later, the door down the hall slammed shut.
“You'd think being blind drunk would make him pass out.”Benji shook his head.“They went straight to it the minute I put him on the bed.”
“Yep, that's Ariyo for you,” Jaxon said from behind me.
My spine straightened at the proximity of his voice, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
“He could at least wait till I close the door,” Benji responded, then yawned.“I'm calling it.See you in the morning.”
“Me too,” Nerissa added, walking down the hall after Benji, her hand on her own door.
“Sweet dreams, you two.”
The wink she threw my way was less conspicuous than a flashing neon sign on a starless night.
When both of their doors closed, Jaxon's palm pressed against my back.I tensed and walked forward, eager to get away from the tingles he brought.I made my way to his bedroom, stepping inside first.The room was dark and quiet except for the moonlight staining the wooden floors.
The light flicked on behind me.
The door clicked shut.
I stood there for a moment, my heart beating a mile a minute, my gaze dropping to the bed in the center of the room.Silence stood with us, wild and waiting, neither of us willing to break it.The tension was stifling me again, the sight of the singular bed in the room bringing every feeling—every cruel want and desire—to the surface.
Slowly, I turned to look at him.
And he was already looking at me.
There was nothing casual or teasing about the way he was looking at me.No, this man was staring at me as if he was sentenced to damnation and I was his only saving grace.I could feel my resolve cracking, splinter by splinter, under the weight of his attention alone.
He took a slow step, stalking toward me like a leopard fixated on his next meal.I lifted my hand, palm out, but he didn't stop.
“The contract,” I said, forcing my voice to be steadier than I felt.“This isn’t—”
“Fuck the contract.”
He closed the distance before I could argue—before I could think.His hands framed my face and his lips slammed against mine.The kiss was everything he wanted it to be—wild, frantic,claiming.
My resistance collapsed the second his mouth moved against mine, heat blooming where control used to live.Hate didn't exist when he was kissing me.Our history faded into nothingness when he bit my lip and slithered his tongue into my mouth.A moan surfaced between us, but I didn’t know if it was his or mine.
Was it wrong to want him after everything he'd done?
Someone please say yes.
My hands made their way up his chest and into his hair, my body tingling with dangerous desire.He groaned when I tugged him closer and his arms moved down my body, resting on my hips.As his body pressed against mine, a feeling of need pulsed through me.My mind was whirling, trying to make sense of the blinding sensations taking over my body.
My body relaxed in his hold, leaning and arching into his every touch.His taste and his body made me forget who I was, and that was exactly what I needed right now.All I could think of was how good this felt and how soft his lips were.
