Page 62 of Pretend for Me

A towel I should have thrown in long ago.

Shit. I am in so much trouble.

For a moment we both freeze, our lips locked and our breaths colliding. For a moment, time stops and the world ceases to exist. For a moment there are no fireworks, no castles, and no one else.

Just us.

Me and him.

Then, as if a button has been pushed, everything snaps back, setting us alight.

Dev crushes me to him, one hand splaying across my back, pulling me closer, while the other travels up to tangle inside my hair. His lips move against mine, no longer frozen, deepening our connection with urgent need. They’re plump and soft, completely in contrast to the rest of him, making me melt into him.

His kiss is as gentle and tender as it is brutal and demanding. Like he’d been waiting for this, yet resisting it.

My hands travel up his chest before I wrap my arms around his neck. My tiara falls somewhere as I arch my back and pull him closer.

Dev kisses me like it’s all he knows before his tongue travels the seam of my lips, asking for entrance. And God, do I give it to him. Like I’ve been starved for it my whole life.

I don’t know if it’s the magic of this place or the way hejust groaned into my mouth, but I think I can safely say this kiss destroyed my rule.

This kissobliteratedmy rule.

Because, if this is what he has to offer with kiss number one, then I can only imagine kiss number two, or kiss number four-hundred-and-sixty-three. There is no way I’ll miss experiencing kiss number four-hundred-and-sixty-three!

Our tongues brush against one another as our kiss deepens, transforming into something even needier, more desperate. As if we’re trying to make up for all the time we lost. All the time we could have been doing this.

Dev kisses me long and slow, the taste of him—a mix of the cotton candy we’d shared not too long ago and the beer he’d had earlier—practically causing my knees to buckle. His tongue sends currents through my spine that pools inside my feeble thong. I press my thighs together, feeling the drenched fabric between them and moan into his mouth, fisting the collar of his shirt.

God, please don’t stop. Please don’t ever stop.

When we finally part, both gasping for air, Dev’s hand cradles my jaw. He thumbs my beestung lips before pressing his forehead against mine.

Our labored breaths subside as the world around us comes humming back.

The corners of his lips rise as he glances behind me. “Right on time.”

I turn to follow his gaze and my mouth hits the floor. The castle dazzles with dancing stars and colorful lights, forming a message that has my breath halting inside my airways. I swing my head back to him. “You didn’t!”

His smile broadens as he pulls me against him, my back to his chest, his arms encircling my waist. He brushes a kiss against my temple as we watch the words,Happy Birthday, my beautiful Piper, dance across the castle walls.The crowd cheers and the final spectacle of fireworks light up the night sky.

But as the last sparks fade from the sky, a terrifying thought cuts through my intoxicating euphoria.

Rules are meant to be broken, yes. And I have a feeling I’ll be breaking all of mine, courtesy of this man who is starting to burrow under my skin.

But so are hearts . . .

twenty-three

dev

Five Schlongs Hen Party

Garrett Meyer

[Link to Finance Focus Weekly magazine article: Billionaire Dev Menon’s Magical Birthday Gesture for His Fiancée]

@Dev Menon, you romantic fuck. Not gonna lie, I’m a little offended we weren’t invited.

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