Page 66 of The Suitcase Swap

They paused in the hallway as Mike shut the door, both of them temporarily stuck in the awkwardness of the moment. Then they both lurched forward, Mike going in for a hug, Sophie going in for a kiss on the cheek.

Somehow Sophie ended up kissing Mike’s ear and he ended up with his hands on her hips. Mike chuckled softly as he set the bottle of wine down on a side table. ‘Let’s try that again.’ He leaned in and pressed his lips to her cheek. ‘You look stunning.’

Her breath hitched. ‘Thank you.’ She didn’t step back.

Neither did Mike. His face hovered next to hers as he breathed her in, their skin so close he could feel the heat of her. She smelled like peaches again, like something that would melt in your mouth.

She laid her palm on his chest, sliding her hand up over his collarbone and onto his shoulder. ‘This looks good on you.’

‘Thank you.’ His voice was raspy to his own ears, hoarsened by an overwhelming tide of lust. One of his thumbs was tracing small circles on her hip while the other hand slid around to the small of her back. The air between them was so thick, he was pretty sure it could no longer be categorized as a gas but a solid.

She licked her lower lip and he tracked the movement like his life depended on it. ‘Mike?’

‘Hm?’

‘You should kiss me now.’

‘Oh, thank fuck.’ He pulled her to him as she lunged forward, causing them to not so much kiss as crash into each other, not that either of them noticed. Mike was too busy tasting her mouth, enjoying the exquisite feel of her tongue against his. She was clasping his back with one hand, the other in his hair, gripping the strands tight. He groaned into her mouth.

She nipped his lip, kissed along his jaw, pressing wet, biting kisses down his neck. Mike sucked in a breath, cradling her to him, not knowing how much of this he could take, while also hoping she wouldn’t stop.

He slid his palm down her hip, her thigh, pulling her knee up to his waist, opening her up for him. He wasn’t sure when he’d pinned her to the wall, but he used the surface now for leverage.

Sophie arched against him, pushing herself against the seam of his jeans. He used the hand at her knee to trace down her thigh, fingers dipping down until he could feel the satin of her underwear. He traced around the edge there, his touch a teasing whisper. Now that he had her there, in his arms, panting his name, he wanted to take his time. He wanted her wet and needy. He wanted to spoil her with attention, lavish her with touch, with pleasure. Basically, he wanted her as undone as he was.

He kissed a line down her throat and licked the part of her collarbone that was exposed by the dress. His fingers brushed across her left breast, satisfaction welling inside him when he felt the hard peak of her nipple through the soft fabric. He cupped her gently before drifting further down to the hem of her dress, pulling it up and out of the way until he could see a hint of the fabric hugging her hip, following it along her rounded belly, down to the part pressing against him that was dampening more and more by the second.

Green.

She was wearing the green knickers he’d first spied in her suitcase, and he was pretty sure he whimpered. He brushed a thumb right against the wet cloth and Sophie gasped. Her lips were red from his kisses, her skin flushed, her eyes sparkling – she was so beautiful like this. He wanted to see more of it, more of her. He wanted to be greedy and gorge himself on her.

Sophie started undoing the buttons on his shirt, her fingers trembling, and that hit him hard, too. Knowing that he wasn’t the only one bowled over by their sheer bloody chemistry.

He took over for her, undoing the buttons slowly, his gaze never leaving hers. ‘Is this what you want?’

‘Yes,’ she breathed.

‘Then it’s yours.’

She glided curious fingers over his collar, his chest, his belly button. The soft exploration continued over his ribs, ticklishly, making him squirm.

‘What do you want?’ she asked.

He plucked at the ties of her dress. ‘Can I?’

She nodded and he was undoing the bow, hands pushing back the fabric. Now it was his turn to explore, fingertips brushing over the stretch marks on her hips, the swell of her belly, up to the edges of her bra. ‘Beautiful, so beautiful.’

He kissed her again, long and slow, not dissipating the heat between them, but stoking it higher despite his slower pace. When he pulled back, he kissed her cheeks, her eyelids, the tip of her nose, while his fingers traced along the silken edges of her knickers. He put his mouth next to her ear, his breath making her shiver, and he smiled.

‘I’m going to take these off,’ he said. ‘Then I’m going to get on my knees and taste you. Is that okay, Sophie?’

She let out an unsteady breath.

He clucked his tongue. ‘That won’t do, I’m afraid. I’m going to need a yes or a no here.’

‘Yes.’ The word came out fervently, if still unsteady.

He kissed her mouth, hands sliding over her backside and tickling the backs of her thighs. ‘That’s what I needed to hear.’

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