Page 52 of The Best Wrong Move

“You say you’ve been fooled. By which parts?” he asks again, dragging his knuckles up my ankle and back down again.

“That.” I point to his hand against my leg.

“This?” He drags his knuckles higher, pressing into my skin as they go.

“Yes.” I crack into a smile, nodding. “Very convincing.”

His knuckles trail up to my knee, squeezing it in his palm, like he’s done dozens of times. But this time it’s different. Because this time we’re all alone.

“And that.” I smile. “You have very convincing hands.”

He erupts into that deep laugh I’ve grown to love, and it makes me grin harder. He shifts on the couch, closing the gap between our bodies. “There’s one thing I’m not sure we’re fooling anyone with.”

“Which part?”

My heart begins to race as I wonder which part of our whole charade is coming next.

“In fact, I was thinking that we might need a little more practice with it. For the sake of being believable, of course.”

“Of course,” I mumble back quietly. “I want to make sure we’re on top of our game.”

He smirks, placing both hands on my legs, dragging them slowly up toward my lap.

My heart starts pounding so loud that I can hear it between my ears.

He leans in closer. His hands reach my mid-thigh the same time his lips meet mine, beckoning them to open. My eyes close and roll back in my head, giving into his kiss as I take it all in.

The fact that no one is here.

There’s no reason to put on a show.

Unless we’re really going to do this.

And the show is just for us.

I moan into his kiss and pull back from him, already feeling a bit lightheaded and breathless.

“Dom,” I mumble, not wanting to open my eyes yet. Not wanting to break the spell. “Do you think I need practice kissing to be more convincing?”

I crack one eye open, hoping I’m not just imagining what I think is taking place here.

He grabs my face between his hands, the weight and heat of them grounding me back in place.

“Liv . . .” He gently kisses my forehead, my cheek, then my other cheek, moving my face right where he wants his lips to go. Finally, he leans in closer, until his lips are brushing against mine as he speaks again. “Your kisses have fooled me so intensely that I think I might be fooled into falling for you.” I can feel him smiling against my lips as he pauses to take a breath. “The only thing here that needs more practice is us trying to figure out what the hell this is.”

I open both eyes so I can look into his while he talks. Hoping I’m not the only one imagining that this charade between us has become far more than a game.

“But, if you’re so unbelievably good at faking this, whatever this is, that I’ve somehow misunderstood, then I’ll—”

“You haven’t.” I push him back onto the couch, pressing my lips against his.

He swings me beneath him, enveloping me in his arms. Then he kicks both feet out over the edge, shifting again while he tries to find a position that doesn’t leave him hanging half-off the couch. But within seconds we’re both laughing. He’s too big for us to both lie down.

“The bed.” I shift up off the couch.

Without a word, he jumps and sweeps me off my feet, swinging me up into his arms like a rag doll. In under ten paces, we’re in the bedroom, where he tosses me down across the bed and climbs on top of me, pressing me down into the mattress.

I pull back.

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