Page 31 of About That Rule

His heart was racing. He pushed off the side of the wall and stepped out of the ally so she could see him.

Her smile did nothing to slow down his heart. “I love that your hide-and-seek game has not improved since we were kids. You always got impatient waiting for someone to find you and would pop out not even five minutes into the game.”

He crooked a finger, urging her to get closer as he leaned against the wall again. “So, you shouldn’t be surprised by my lack of patience.”

Samantha joined him on the side of the restaurant and swatted at his arm. “You’re right. I guess I’m more surprised about what a jealous man you are. Who knew all it took was for you to say I do to make you lose it?”

He grabbed her hand and turned them around so her back was now against the brick wall. There was no more playfulness with the firmness in his hold.

“Nate?” she whispered, more as a question.

Her sparkling brown eyes were wide. He rubbed his thumb along her jawline. Embracing the calm before the storm. Taking in the quiet moment because everything was about to change.

“I’m not sorry,” he whispered.

She arched her head to the side. “Not sorry for what?”

His hands slipped around the back of her neck, and he felt her pulse racing under his touch. She licked her lips, and his dick got hard. Fuck, he wanted her so badly, it hurt. The should we, shouldn’t we debate was long gone. He had to kiss her.

Nate wasn’t gentle when his lips crashed down on hers, bruising her mouth with his. There was no patience as his teeth pulled on her bottom lip, demanding a reaction from her. When her mouth slightly opened, welcoming more, his tongue swiped in, possessively taking control. He had to explore every inch of her.

There was no way he could get enough of her. His hands gripped her hair, only to tilt her head up to deepen the kiss. He tasted her mouth like it was his last meal. Samantha hummed with pleasure against him.

This was the match that lit their world on fire.

Her hands wrapped around his waist, grasping at him to get closer so she could rub herself against him. Nate moved his mouth to kiss along her jaw before biting the skin below her ear. Fuck, when she moaned his name, he swore he was seconds away from coming.

There were zero fucks given about being outside. He grinded against her, kissing her so passionately, it was as if he was marking her for anyone to see. She slipped a hand under his shirt and touched all over the smooth skin of his chest. They devoured each other, tongues fighting for control. It was intoxicating. Nate was becoming unglued from every touch they shared.

His hands yanked her hair back so she had no choice but to look at him. They were both panting, sagging against each other.

The only gripe about the situation was how they were in public against a restaurant wall. Nate was desperate to rip her clothes off and sink inside her. What a joke it had been mulling over this, wondering if it was a mistake. He was ready to kiss her again—he never wanted to stop—but she put her hand over his mouth.

Apparently, she didn’t want the same thing he did.

He was the one who got burned from their fire.

NO BIG DEAL. At all. She was making out with her husband against a wall, where their friends who had no idea they were married were in close proximity. What were they doing? This wasn’t part of their rule book on surviving their drunk wedding scandal. She had to pull away or she was scared she would say fuck it to indecent exposure and let Nate have his merry way with her.

He rested his forehead on her shoulder.

“What the hell is wrong with us?” Nate panted out against her.

Good question. That had been on repeat ever since their first dry hump session a couple weeks ago in his apartment.

The insatiable need to rip his clothes off had spiraled out of control. Part of her wished he was an awful kisser so she didn’t want to keep coming back for more. But that wasn’t the case. Every time they kissed, they got closer and closer to being more than just friends. Without a doubt, if they let desire take over, the sex would be the best she ever had. But it wasn’t worth the crossfire. Nate didn’t do long-term.

She couldn’t forget that.

“I think we’re attracted to each other,” she was careful with her wording because she wasn’t sure what these feelings meant. She confided she also wanted him naked, but also hesitated to tell him she wanted him in a relationship. A real relationship, not fake, which she was sure would only result in a mess—one she didn’t want to clean up alone. “Only because we’re the only option we have, you know?”

Nate stood straight and took a step back from her. He crossed his arms and glared at her. “That’s what you think? That I only want to fuck you because you’re my only option? Is it impossible for you to imagine maybe I want more?”

Did he? That would be a shock if it were true.

“Nate, let’s just both admit we’re attracted to each other, but it’s probably amplified because of our situation.”

He dropped his arms, but still held the glare.

“If we go back to my place and fuck this out of our system, what happens next? Will we just be fuck buddies until we get our annulment? Or do we settle for a divorce since we consummated the marriage? Or what about when one of us gets tired of the other? What do we do then?” she rambled on, confessing thoughts that kept her up at night.

The glare dissolved. “Fuck, I didn’t think of it like that.”

Of course he hadn’t. He wasn’t thinking long-term—another reason for them to ignore the chemistry.

“Let’s chalk it up to we’re players being benched right now and we’re just desperate to play,” Samantha half-heartedly told him.

He shrugged, not giving his opinion, then guided her away from the wall toward his rented car. They didn’t talk much as he drove her home, and it was probably for the best.

She didn’t want to make the mistake and invite him inside.

Her self-control was on its last leg.