My brain was still a mess—too much information tonight, too explosive. I needed time to process.
"I didn't expect you'd be here. Especially not that you'd be my ex-fiancé's brother. God, small world."
"I didn't expect my blind idiot brother would actually let go of such an amazing woman. I'm grateful."
"Anyway, thank you for tonight. Huge help."
"How are you going to thank me?"
The air in the corridor seemed to freeze for a second.
My breathing grew shallow. It was too hot here. I was burning up.
He lowered his head, those gray eyes locking onto me. He slowly raised his hand, long fingers touching me with trembling tenderness, extremely slowly tucking a stray lock of chestnut curl behind my ear.
His rough fingertip grazed my sensitive earlobe and the skin along my neck. Igniting every inch of me. In that instant, it was like high-voltage current shot straight through my spine. This man was criminally sexy. Jesus.
"That sex from the plane is the best I've ever had." He tilted his head slightly, warm breath washing over my face. His voice droppedimpossibly low, carrying a darkly hoarse seduction that could utterly destroy me. "I've been missing that day..."
My brain completely short-circuited. My face burned red enough to bleed. My legs went so weak I could barely stand, only the wall behind me keeping me upright.
His gaze slid from my eyes slowly down to my red lips, slightly parted from tension. The heat in that look was enough to incinerate me.
In that moment, all reason, fear, unemployment despair, and that damn wedding vanished into thin air.
This moment belonged only to me and him. I couldn't think about anything else, only wanted to follow the beast inside me. Without thinking, I grabbed his tie, rose on my toes, and kissed him. He didn't hesitate for a second, pressing down with overwhelming, irresistible force, his dominant hormonal presence completely enveloping me.
Chapter Seven
Nikolai
I never let the thing between my legs run the show, but this time? Exception made.
She tasted like sweet cherries and expensive champagne, mixed with that addictive wildness—like gunpowder ready to blow.
The second my lips crushed against hers without holding back, the thin air in the hallway ignited. She didn't pull away. Instead, she turned into a cornered lioness, finally showing her claws, fists twisting into my lapels, going up on her toes, clumsy but aggressive as hell in the way she kissed me back.
Her tongue trembled as it pried open my teeth. That surge of desperation, revenge, and pure biological craving hit like a drop of high-proof liquor straight into my already-frayed nerves.
The last thread of reason snapped clean.
I tightened my arm around her waist and slammed that impossibly lush body against my chest. Through that thin emerald silk, I could feel her racing heartbeat and scorching heat.
"Mmm... take me, please..." She let out a broken whimper, her body going soft from my brutal claim on her mouth.
This was a public hallway. Anyone could walk by. Not exactly the best place for fucking.
I scooped her up. She yelped, legs wrapping around my waist on instinct.
I kicked open the door at the end of the hall—the one marked "VIP Only"—carried her inside, shouldered it shut behind us, and flipped the lock. The click echoed in the empty room.
The dressing room was huge, crammed with the bride's unworn white dresses and accessories. No overhead lights, just a ring of cold LED strips around the vanity mirror casting a dim white glow.
I pinned her against the full-length mirror without ceremony. She shuddered, then started panting hard.
"You're completely insane..." she gasped, chest heaving. That plunging V-neckline rose and fell violently, her creamy fullness threatening to spill free from the silk. But her hands? Still honest as hell, roaming my chest.
"You started this, Vivienne," I growled, biting down hard on the vulnerable curve of her neck, feeling her pulse hammering beneath my teeth. "On the plane. And just now... You sure you want to back out? My little firecracker?"
