Page 52 of The Charade

He got an anxious look on his face, and after seeming to make a split-second decision, he whispered gruffly, "You're my fake girlfriend, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Good."

Before I could register what was happening, his face dipped closer and his lips pressed against mine, coaxing them in a give-and-take. And I was so overcome with the sensation of it all that my brain seemed to short-circuit itself.

"Carter—" I gasped, pushing against his chest so I could try to figure out what was going on. "What are you—?"

He put a finger on my lips to stop me. "Two hundred dollars at whatever store you want if you go along with this."

He was bribing me to kiss him?

Was he suggesting we make out behind this tree so Sofia wouldn't think we'd just been listening to them?

I must have hesitated too long because he leaned close to my ear, his warm breath sending chills racing up the back of my neck as he mumbled, "Please."

Well, if he was saying please…

Who was I kidding? I'd make out with him for free just to see if he was as good as my daydreams from earlier this week.

So even though I wasn't the type to turn down a free shopping spree, I pushed myself onto my tiptoes, wrapped my arms behind his neck, and said, "You can kiss me for free."

And that was apparently all the okay Carter needed because in the next instant, his soft lips were back on mine and coaxing them into the kind of exchange that might just make me forget my own name.

The kind of kiss that told me Carter could indeed excel at everything he put his mind to.

He slid one hand up my arm, along my bare shoulder, and then let his fingers stroke through the hair at the nape of my neck.

Even though it was a warm September night, I shuddered under the gentle touch because having his fingers against the sensitive spot felt so unbelievably good.

He must have picked up the wrong signal though, because he stopped what he was doing. He rested his forehead against mine, concern etched in his eyes as he asked, "You still okay with this?"

I couldn't exactly speak right then, since his kisses had left me tongue-tied and breathless. So I just nodded and mumbled, "Uh-huh."

I was more than okay with this.

I was pretty sure I might be okay with doing this forever.

To prove he hadn't pushed me too far in the least, I let my hands do some exploring of their own, sliding along the muscular ridges of his sides and rubbing up the damp fabric of his shirt so my palms could smooth over the solid contours of his chest.

And wow, he felt incredible. Every bit as good as I'd imagined.

Based on what I'd seen of his dad and brothers so far, I assumed part of his amazing physique could be attributed to winning the genetic lottery. But judging from how solid he felt against me, I knew he also had to spend at least some of his free time working out to achieve a muscle tone like this.

How was a guy like this even real?

And how in the world had Sofia dumped him?

She must be insane.

A huge part of me wanted to continue exploring more of him—maybe see if his butt felt as tight as it looked in his jeans, but since this make-out was only for show, I kept my hands above the waist in the territory appropriate for a kissing session with afakeboyfriend.

Carter's lips traveled away from my mouth as he trailed slow kisses along my jawline. I was vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps approaching—most likely Sofia coming to see who was spying on her.

I should probably care that she was going to witness the hottest make-out session of my life, but I was so beyond caring about anything other than the way Carter was currently making me feel that I sort of blocked everything else around me out.

It was just Carter and me in this stolen moment. The reasons behind its existence didn't even matter to me anymore, because I was currently floating away on cloud nine without another thought other than how I could get more of this.

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