Page 68

A woman who wants him might too, but I’m not ready to admit I’m that woman.

I lift my hand and knock.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

No answer.

I wait.

Nothing.

I knock again, softer this time. “Nathaniel?” I whisper.

Still nothing.

Maybe I have the wrong room.

Or maybe he changed his mind.

Humiliation creeps up my neck.

I should go back before anyone wandering this way sees me.

Instead, I think of my mother, and I twist the knob and push the door open.

The office is dark and empty.

Then the shadows shift.

My breath catches.

On the other side of the room, a dark figure emerges.

“Nathaniel?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer.

For one moment that feels like a lifetime, he doesn’t move.

Until he does.

In a flash he’s next to me, grabbing me, descending on me.

And he crushes his mouth to mine.

20

NATHANIEL

God, her lips. They’re softer than I imagined. I pry them apart with my tongue and dive into her mouth. She tastes of champagne and the wine reduction served with the filet.

She tastes of innocence and perfection.

And of sin.