His hands hover on my hips, barely touching, but then he spreads them over my back in a slow tease of fingertips and thumbs that press me to him. “Sweetest Miami Sunshine,” he whispers in my hair as the tip of his nose traces a line across my temple. His lips nestle against the upper curve of my ear and goose bumps chase down my neck to my breasts where my nipples harden against his chest.
God, he feels so good. Closer. I need him closer. I pull tight into his solid warmth and safety, and his hands settle, his thumbs brushing leisurely strokes in time with my breathing. I turn my face into his neck where sensitive skin and the springy beginnings of a beard brush my cheek. I can’t let go despite him releasing the pressure of his touch, signaling that he wants to let me go. In the soft curve of my underbelly, I feel him react to me, as I’ve been reacting to him from day one.
“You’re running about a million hugs short of the usual quota, aren’t you?” he whispers.
A sob ripples through me at his words, which he might have intended to be light, but they come down heavy and hard.
“Shhh,” he hums. His fingers slip into my hair as he cradles my head. “It’s okay.”
He gives me time and all I know is that nobody has understood me like this before. He’s right. I am running short of a million hugs, and this one seems to fill the gap of at least ten thousand of them.
Eventually I loosen my grip, but he doesn’t let go, only shifts his one hand to my lower back to keep me pressed against every inch of him as his other hand cups my cheek in a gentle caress. My body rises into his touch as he runs a thumb over my lips and when I open my eyes, I find him right there, wanting it as much as I do. He lowers his mouth to mine, and I meet him halfway in the softest, most tender kiss that sparks a rush through my body. My fingers splay into his hair to pull him to me with the need to have more of him.
Raiden doesn’t hold back as his hand on my back urges me even closer, his lips opening to break the seal of my own. Soon our tongues are involved, and his urgency matches mine as every longing and desire that has built up over the past week ignite between us. By the time we drag ourselves apart to breathe his length is rock hard against me and I’m wet with want.
“How’s that for chemistry,” he whispers against my lips.
“Jack wouldn’t know what to do with it.”
We both chuckle softly and as he strokes tendrils of hair from my face, I moan and press a kiss to his palm.
“Georgiana,” he murmurs. “The most beautiful name I’ve ever heard.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm.”
I lean up to kiss him again, but he stops me with a groan. “I’m driving through to Boston early tomorrow morning.”
My hands ease down his chest. I don’t want this to stop. I don’t want him to leave. “You are?”
“I want to check in with Cash and get a few things from my apartment.” He leans in and presses his forehead to mine. “I’m usually the perfect rebound, Georgiana, it’s the only thing I’m good for really. But with you, it’s the last thing I want to be. Let’s keep this professional, shall we?”
He tugs my hands off his chest and with a last squeeze of my fingers, he lets go and disappears into his room.
18
GEORGIANA
As if last night’s kiss with Raiden hasn’t left me raw enough already, this morning hits me with another blast all the way from Miami.
Since waking up, I’ve replayed our kiss a thousand times. Every moment of his mouth’s soft pressure on mine. His tongue’s slow sweep over my lips, opening me up and connecting with my tongue before going deeper. His kiss was wind to the fire already burning in me, hardly doused by his need to keep this professional. The mere memory made heat swell between my legs and everything in my body contract with need.
But Raiden doesn’t want more—he doesn’t want anything. I want so much more I don’t know where to begin.
In an attempt to get control over my mangled emotions, I avoided him this morning. I listened until he left for Boston, feigning sleep behind closed doors. Once he left, I got up and dragged myself to the barn where I opened my inbox to check my mail and get some work done today.
But now… Raiden thinks I’m on the rebound from a messed-up relationship that left me broken. That’s why he doesn’t want to get involved and wants to keep our relationship professional. He’s got a point, but there’s no rebound from the relationship I now declare officially messed-up and over.
In the quiet of the barn, I re-read the email in my inbox as waves of helpless anger crash inside me.
Georgiana,
We count on you every summer to step in and step up. This business is intended to be yours one day. You know the workload over the summer is intense, and with our clientele becoming increasingly more exclusive, we need to live up to our promise of being the benchmark everybody else aspires to reach.
You’ve ditched us at the last minute, leaving your mother and me scrambling for extra hands to complete various jobs that were poised for completion with your help and management.
As much as you want to spread your wings, flying off to Vermont was not an acceptable option at this time. If you wanted more responsibility, you could have asked, but now you’ve let go of all responsibility and can’t be trusted.