As if sensing my presence, he turns to face me. “You shouldn’t be here.” With a slow blink, he licks his lips.
I’m transfixed, my gaze stuck on that devious mouth as I think how soft those lips felt on mine. How wet and hot that sinful tongue was on my most intimate place.
With much difficulty, I drag my attention to his eyes. “Where have you been?” It’s the first thing out of my mouth, and I’m not sure why. Maybe because asking anything else will create a minefield.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been working in my studio, but I haven’t seen you at all.”
“I took a break from work,” he says.
“Why?”
He runs a hand through his messy hair. “Because I didn’t want to see you.” The words tumble out with harsh candidness, and his confession slams against my chest, making breathing impossible.
“Did you change your mind?” I choke out.
His brows furrow. “About what?”
“About us…raising your child with me…all of it.”
“Fuck no.” He crosses the gazebo before coming to an abrupt stop.
So close but still frustratingly out of reach.
“Then why didn’t you want to see me?” My aching heartbeat drums in my ears, and I blink away the moisture in my eyes. “I’ve missed you…so much.”
“Jesus, don’t cry.” Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he gazes at the stone floor under our feet. “I didn’t want to see you because I’m terrified I won’t be able to control this…this…” Trailing off, he raises his head.
“Control what?”
“This fucking need between us!” With a growl, he turns away, sinking both hands in his hair. “Whenever I’m near you, it just rages, Novalee. You consume every fucking thought, and I don’t know how I’m going to get through the next six months.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, unsure of what else to say because I feel the same.
“Don’t be sorry, princess. I live for wanting you.” He lets out a humorless laugh. “I lie in bed every night with the scent of your hair in my nose, jerking off to memories of you, and then I feel sick to my stomach because I can’t stop wondering if he’s touching you the way I did.”
“He’s not touching me at all.” I step forward and place a trembling hand on his back.
His muscles stiffen under my palm. “We can’t.”
My brain agrees with him, but my body has other ideas, because this isolated setting—coupled with the time we’ve been apart with no proper goodbye—is a recipe for disaster.
And yet…welcoming such disaster promises an addictive sweetness only he can give me.
“No one touches me like you do,” I say, reaching around his torso, my hand aiming for his zipper. He’s semi hard, but the second I cover his cock, he turns to steel under my palm. With a sucked in breath, he turns and has me pinned against a pillar, both wrists held above my head.
“No, baby.” His eyes burn with need as they lower to my lips. “We can’t.”
“Kiss me,” I say, ignoring the resistance in his expression. “I need you.”
My choked plea siphons the fight from his bones. Second by second, he relaxes into me, letting go of my wrists to cradle my face. With a shaky exhale, he parts his lips as our foreheads meet.
“No one’s needed me like you,” he says, his voice low and raspy and utterly sexy. The promise of his kiss electrifies the air between us.
“Please.” I arch my neck, thirsting for the taste of him. The world around us dims until nothing exists but him and me.
“Shit.” His mouth presses on mine, tongue darting between my lips, and I open for him, letting his kiss invade my soul. He yanks on my hair, fingers rough and desperate, and whatever fight he had left dies in the tatters of propriety. I moan into his mouth, eliciting a matching sound of desire as he thrusts his erection against me.
Arousal builds, heating my thighs, tingling down my legs. I grow wet and achy, my pussy throbbing. Nipples hardening.
And that’s when I remember the device.
“Sebastian—” His kiss eats up my feeble resistance, and I grip his shirt, thinking to myself that five more seconds won’t hurt anyone before I push him away.
Stop…no…don’t ever stop.
I’m powerless, and his body is incredible against mine—like a shock that brings me to life again. His cock rubs me through my panties, his hot hands on my ass, tugging me closer as we grind through our clothing. I’ve never wanted to be naked as much as I do now.
“Novalee,” he groans against my lips. “We have to stop.”
He’s right, but I can’t help but whimper as he breaks the kiss. I’m tempted to chase those lips anyway, teasing them back onto my own, but he lets go of my ass and engulfs me in his arms, his face buried in my shoulder.
“This isn’t fair.” My chest heaves against his, our breaths coming fast and hard.