I groaned and used my tongue to trace the full contours of her lips before slipping inside the warm recesses of her mouth. She tasted like sweetness and fire, her tongue reaching out to tangle with mine as I brought my hand under her body and stroked the curve of her spine. She arched up into me. The kiss took on a feverish intensity as our tongues played. Lust, as sharp and sudden as lightning, arced between us. She felt so right under me. I felt my control slipping, and the shock of that feeling was as surprising as it was worrisome. I broke my lips from hers and stared into her face—her cheeks flushed, her lips wet and red from my kiss, her eyes half-lidded. Stunning. I picked up a lock of her mahogany silk hair and felt it in my fingers. “This hair…” I murmured gently.
She blinked, her expression taking on a cautious confusion. She wriggled and I hissed in a gasp of air as she moved against my hard, aching groin. She slipped out from under me and I sat up abruptly. I reached out to her, but she backed up instead, looking at me almost accusingly. I opened my mouth to say something—I had no idea what—but before I could, she turned, and again, she ran.
CHAPTER TEN
Kira
What the heck had happened? I thought he was going to kill me one minute, and the next minute he was kissing me! I raised my fingers to my lips, pressing gently to feel the tenderness from his mouth on mine as if I might have dreamed the moment.
Even worse than the fact that he’d kissed me was how deplorably I’d responded to him. Again. My mind had been crowded with all the reasons I should pull away. But I hadn’t been able to force myself to move, instead letting him know exactly how much I’d liked it. How humiliating.
Especially after what he’d pulled on our wedding night with peachy Jade. I was surprised he didn’t still taste like her.
I flopped down on my bed, the rusty bedsprings creaking loudly and mixing with my groan of distress. I had been avoiding him, and vice versa, since the day he’d gone on a date with another woman and presumably slept with her. I grimaced as I remembered that day but did my best to shrug it off, as I’d been doing since it happened. Mostly successfully. And, when necessary, with the help of the few bottles of wine I now kept in my cottage. Thus far, being married to Grayson Hawthorn had turned me into a heavy drinker who lived in a dirty gardener’s shack. The plan to improve my circumstances was going splendidly so far!
I groaned again, rolling onto my back. I didn’t understand the kiss because he’d made it so perfectly clear I wasn’t his type, and I shouldn’t get any ideas. And then he’d done that? It had to have been out of anger; there was no other explanation. Surely it was similar to the first time he’d kissed me: an attempt to gain the upper hand. It was confusing and left me feeling glum. But I’d been partially to blame both times. We could move past this. We just needed to go back to ignoring each other.
And I had to control my impulsive escapades for once in my life because they obviously triggered Grayson. He clearly hadn’t enjoyed the tree climbing and had appreciated the tractor dancing even less. But truthfully? I was bored. And my father said too much excess time on my hands always brought out the worst in me. He was probably right on that score at least. But life was full of so many possibilities—why should you spend even one day of it being bored? I’d always had a problem accepting inactivity.
I stared up at the ceiling. What I needed to do was drive to San Francisco and spend a couple weeks working at the various charities I supported. I longed to be busy in a way that made a difference to others. However, I hadn’t gone because I wanted to take some funds with me. I also wouldn’t be able to afford even a temporary place to stay until I got our official marriage license and the trust money came through.
My disjointed thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock on my door. I stood up quickly. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me.” Grayson.
“I’m busy,” I called. I wasn’t ready to face him. “Go away.”
“Kira.” His voice held the vague hint of annoyance. “This cottage doesn’t have a lock. I’ll come in whether you grant me permission or not. I’d rather have permission.”
I fisted my hands. “Fine, come in,” I gritted.
I stood still as I listened to him enter and make his way through the front room. And then he was standing in the doorway to my room. I looked away because I didn’t want to think about how handsome he was and how good his soft, full lips had felt on mine when he actually put some effort into a kiss. I didn’t want to think about how I could still taste him on my tongue.
“We should talk about what happened just now,” he said.
“What?” I asked flippantly, turning my body toward the window.
“You don’t remember?” he asked, and I heard the note of humor in his tone. “If my kiss was that forgettable, maybe I should try again. I thought I’d improved my efforts compared to the first time, but maybe we need even more practice.”
“No,” I said, whirling back toward him. I took a breath. “No, that won’t be necessary. We were both…heated. That sort of thing happens sometimes when emotions are high. It’s no big deal.” I waved my hand around. “You can rest assured I won’t get any ideas from it. No fanciful notions.”
He gave me a boyish half smile filled with the irresistible charm I was sure resulted in women throwing themselves at him every hour on the hour. Women like Jade. The woman he’d slept with on our wedding night. Not that I was thinking about that again because I wasn’t. He moved a step closer. “Maybe I’m the one who’s getting a few fanciful notions.”
“Oh.” My breath had suddenly grown thin, and I took in a lungful of air. “Well, that’s not a good idea either. It would only complicate things. Plus, I’m not your type, remember?”
He moved even closer. “I think I might have been wrong about that, Kira.”
Wrong how? “You wanted to kill me,” I reminded him. But I couldn’t deny that my heart had picked up speed.
“Yes, well, you do need to curb your antics. Climbing trees and dancing on tractors…I can’t have you getting hurt. Also, you taunted me in front of my men and then whipped me and drew blood.”
Well, when he put it that way…
“By accident,” I defended, regarding the whipping part. My eyes moved to the small cut on his jaw, and I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of guilt.
He took a strand of my hair and my eyes watched his fingers at the side of my face as he tucked it behind my ear. His closeness was making me feel all jumbled and confused, his blatant maleness turning my limbs to jelly. I could feel the heat of his body against my own, picture the taut muscles beneath his clothes. My eyes moved to his beautifully carved mouth, and I couldn’t help recalling the feel of it on mine. I licked my lips and his gaze tracked my tongue.
“I know it was an accident,” he said distractedly. My mind scrambled to remember what we’d been talking about. “For some reason, with you I’m especially…” He paused, seeming to be searching for the right word.
“Reptilian?” I offered, standing up straight and trying to shake off his effect on me.