“Regretting your fieldwork already?”
“Because one night is a fluke.” I took a step, cutting the distance by half. “Two is a problem.”
She didn't flinch. She didn't move at all.
“And I’ve never been good,” I said, stepping into her space until the heat of her was a physical weight, “at leaving a problem half-finished.”
The air between us was heavy with woodsmoke and the sharp, dark edge of the Malbec. It was a physical intake.
“I’ve spent twelve hours trying not to remember the sounds you made.”
Her gaze held. Then her pulse jumped—a frantic, tiny thrum in the hollow of her throat.
“And?”
“And I’m done trying.”
She stepped into my space, her chest nearly brushing mine. “Then stop talking. Take me back and get me out of this dress before I change my mind.”
I didn’t need the order twice. My hand locked onto the small of her back. The silk was a thin, useless barrier. I pulled her flush against the heat she’d started.
“Protocol’s dead, Juliette.”
We didn't walk back to the jeep.
Wemoved.
Chapter 10
Hostile Takeover, Part II
NICK
Noresistance.Thiswoman—Jesus.
We threw ourselves through the door and the world narrowed to the sound of sliding silk and the frantic, uneven pull of our breathing. There were no words, just the raw urgency of hands finding skin and clothes hitting the entryway until I lifted her, her legs locking around my waist as her back hit the frame.
"Nick."
My name. Just my name.
But the way she said it, all breath and edge andfinally, went straight to my cock like a goddamn kinetic strike.
I kissed her. Not gentle. Not slow. This was all teeth and tongue and the kind of frantic that happens when you've spent twelve hours trying to be professional and your control is nowhanging by a thread thinner than the lace I'd just ripped off her body.
Shit. I’ll replace them.
Her fingers clamped onto my shoulders, her nails digging in as she fought for leverage. She wasn't just holding on—she was anchoring herself to me while I rocked against her.
No friction. Not yet. Just the threat of it.
“You don’t know where my head went,” I growled, my grip tightening as my mouth found her throat again, “watching you like that in the mud.”
"Show me." Demanding. Breathless. Her hips rolling against my dick.
Fuck.
"Look at me."
