Page 83 of Who Needs a Billionaire

Then Gus’s eyes met hers again. This time, she saw determination along with a flash of the same look he’d given her last night, which sent a glorious warmth through her. And then his arms were around her, yanking her body against his, his mouth on hers in a matter of seconds.

She stood still at first, surprised by his intensity, but the perfect pressure of his lips against hers had her melting into him, her fingertips taking a journey from his solid chest, over his broad shoulders, and through the soft hair at the nape of his neck. The cheers and whistles in the room grew louder the longer their lips were touching and hit peak volume when Gus suddenly went for it and deepened the kiss.

She couldn’t focus on anything but Gus kissing the heck out of her in front of everyone. And even as the applause died down and the sound of laughter and talking filled her ears, she was still lost in their kiss. She couldn’t stop if she wanted to, and she didn’t.

His arms loosened as his hands gently caressed her back, one sliding up the length of her spine, fingertips getting lost in her hair. She melted into him, lost in the sensation of his touch, his lips, everything about him.

Someone across the room cleared their throat, which finally put an end to their make-out session.

Merritt’s cheeks were on fire as she glanced around the room. Nobody was really paying attention to them anymore. Except Adelia, whose eyes were wide and mouth hung open in shock.

She walked over to them with a smile on her face. “Nice show.”

“Thanks.” Gus looked proud, which filled Merritt with disappointment.

“It looked pretty real to me,” Adelia said quietly.

“Just good acting,” Merritt blurted.

Gus’s mouth opened as if he was going to say something, but he quickly closed it and walked away without a word. What was his problem?

TWENTY-EIGHT

Just good acting? What the heck?

Kissing her was unlike anything he’d ever felt before, and though it had started as a bit of a dare, he’d wanted to kiss her. He hadn’t meant to kiss her like that in front of everyone, but the more she kissed him back, the closer he wanted to get to her. He only took it deeper when he felt like she wanted him to. And he knew she did. That kind of passion couldn’t be faked. Just good acting my foot. There was an attraction there, no matter how much she wanted to deny it. She’d said his name in her sleep, after all. What was he supposed to make of that?

As the night wore on, Thea and her team departed, and the others headed into the house for the night. Gus watched Merritt walk out of the barn with Mom, but before he could follow, Adelia caught his arm and tugged him into an empty horse stall at the end of the barn.

Gus laughed as she peeked out of the stall, making sure the coast was clear.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

She faced him with arms crossed over her chest. “What is happening?”

He gave her a lopsided smile. “We’re standing in a horse stall in the barn where my brother’s getting married on Friday.”

She smacked his arm. “You know what I’m asking.”

He feigned ignorance. “I’m sorry. Could you be more specific?”

Her eyes narrowed.

“I guess you’ll have to spell it out for me.” He chuckled.

“I’m talking about you and Merritt.”

“What about us?”

“That kiss.”

He shrugged his shoulders coyly, which caused her mouth to spread in a giant smile.

“Augustus Schultz.” She gave his shoulder a playful tap. “You like her.”

“She’s okay.”

“Oh my word. You really like her. Just admit it.”

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