Page 84 of Off the Wall

“Nori …”

I hear him say my name with my earsandmy heart, and the rest of the world disappears. In this moment, all I want is for Cash to want me. To be the one who gives him everything. “Tell me what you need.”

A tremor racks his body. “I need to kiss you,” he rasps. The words are gravel-ragged, but all the worry and hope and fear I’ve been carrying is suddenly hijacked by total certainty.

I’ve never craved anything more.

“Do it,” I whisper. Light spills into every dark space, and an avalanche erupts inside me, jarring loose all the emotion I’ve been denying. “Kiss me.”

Cash slowly lifts his hand, sliding his palm around the nape of my neck and tugging me toward him. When our bodies are flush, he walks us backward until I’m pressed against the hallway mirror.

Lifting my face, I fill my lungs, preparing to dive underneath a layer of something bigger than I am. Bigger than both of us. If I’m not careful, Cash’s kiss will shatter the fantasy and become my new reality.

Maybe that’s exactly what I want.

He places his free hand along the base of my throat to cup my chin and cheek. As he tilts my head—gently, tenderly—his gaze dips to my lips. The heat in his eyes says he wants to devour me, and my body responds. I’m tingling and trembling.

Ready to be devoured.

I’m officially on fire for this man. The truth is, I have been ever since I saw him reaching for me in the mirror.Thismirror. The one I’m pressed against now. As he lowers his mouth to mine, his eyes remain open. Mine do too. Two sets of lasers boring into the other. At the same time, I know thatjust behind us is another Nori and Cash. The reflected image of us.

He pauses just before our lips meet, and my insides quiver with anticipation, all five senses buzzing and humming. Our eyes are still locked, and I’m helpless against the pull of him. I could so easily go up on my toes and initiate the kiss, but I’m waiting for Cash to make the final move.

I want him to surrender to what I’m feeling too.

As he slowly dissolves the last bit of space between us, my lips part, dying to be captured. He grazes them softly at first. Then a low growl originates in the back of his throat, an admission of how much he wants me too. And this small loss of control drives me wild, flooding my body with desire.

When our mouths finally crash together, the heat is instantaneous. Not just from his lips, but from the internal connection. The severing of our separateness creates a wholeness in me. I am lost in his arms. But I’m found here too.

Never in my life have I felt such security and belonging. There’s always been a sliver of distance between my heart and everyone around me. Like something was missing. An emptiness no one else could fill.

Until Cash.

His hands slip down now, both arms wrapping around my waist, somehow gathering me even closer to him than I already was. I sigh into his strength, and he lifts me up off my toes. And in some kind of primal rush, he spins us around until he’s up against the mirror now, still holding me in his arms.

My body is weightless, but my need for him keeps us grounded.

His mouth blazes a path across my lips, then over to my cheek before feathering along my chin. He’s taking his time, the exploration slow—almost torturously so—like he’s savoring every inch of me. Finally he journeys down to mythroat, igniting my neck and collarbone. I’m an uncharted roadmap he’s tracing. This is brand-new territory, a land I’ve never dared to explore.

He continues to kiss me, our lips entwined, as he lowers my body. When my feet return to the floor, I arch backward, and he bends over me, one arm at my waist, holding me upright. His embrace is the only thing keeping me from sliding into a puddle.

How long have we been like this? Two minutes?

An hour?

Eternity?

Finally, his lips detach from my skin just long enough for him to meet my gaze and gasp, “We shouldn’t be doing this.” The raw honesty in his eyes—his words, his breath—completely overtakes me. I can’t think about anything else. Anybody else.

“Why?”

“You signed a contract.” He shudders. “We’re risking the money Swipe Rite promised you. And I won’t be the reason you break your word to them.”

My focus slips to the glass directly behind him. For once, the image reflected there is actually happening. I’m with Cash Briggs for real, and he just kissed me. The best kiss of my life. The best kiss of anyone’s life. So what if this makes no sense, or if some magic mirror on the wall is what brought us together? For whatever reason, we’re here now. And I’m willing to throw caution to the wind. To let him in.

To take the risk.

“Wait for me,” I say, as warmth fills my entire heart. For the first time since I met Cash—or maybe in my entire life—I feel in charge of my future. “Just a couple more weeks and this campaign will be over. Being together at the wedding this weekend might be a challenge, but IthinkI can keep myhands to myself.” A shy smile drifts across my face. “Then afterward …”

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