Page 29 of After Our Kiss

I folded into him eagerly. He was all hands, all teeth; this wasn't a hesitant boy's kiss. His masculine nose ground along mine, the way wolves greeted each other in the wild. Biting my bottom lip he tugged. “Oh,” I sighed, closing my eyes.

Exploring his neck, then his wide shoulders, I dragged my nails down his soaked shirt. His muscles flexed through the material; I could see every perfect line. Nothing was more tempting than getting lost in this moment.

Conway fisted my wrists, holding me steady. I stared at him with my mouth half-open. “What's wrong?” I asked.

I spotted the last flicker of his passion as it died. “We have to go back inside,” he said. The steel was back, masking his emotions away, hiding the soft part of him that wanted me so badly.

My fingers fell, drifting through the muddy sand by my knees. Gentle waves erased all the proof that he'd dragged me here and rescued me. “How can you go back to being so cruel?”

“Nothing changes just because we kissed, Georgia.”

I didn't respond.

Clasping my face tightly, he bared his teeth like he wanted to terrify me into compliance. “Nothing changes!Nothingcanchange. Do you get that?”

Looking him in the eye, I smiled sympathetically. “It's too late.”

Because it didn't matter what he wanted.

After our kiss,everythinghad changed.

****

“What happened to you two?” Lonnie asked.

Conway ignored him, pushing me through the backdoor. We were both dripping water all over the floor. He opened a cupboard, passing me a towel. I clutched it while eyeing Lonnie—had he been watching us from a window, waiting in the house for us to return?

Had he seen us kiss?

No. He couldn't have, the beach was below the cliff.The same rocks meant to break me in two had sheltered me from Lonnie's prying gaze. But here, the closest thing I had to keep him at a distance was Conway.

He'll protect me. He has to.The man had dove into the raging ocean to rescue me. He cared too much to let his awful brother harm me.

I had to believe that.

Crossing his arms, Lonnie wandered closer. “I guess it was a passing storm cloud that drenched you.” His shadow filled the tight hallway; I coiled myself in the towel. “Or did you two take a dip in the ocean for fun?”

Conway put another towel around me, then he dried himself off. “I was showing her that she can't escape.”

Lonnie nodded appreciatively. “Alright, that's a good call. Dad would approve.”

I swallowed down a wave of nausea. I hated hearing that Facile would be happy about anything Conway did.

Lonnie said, “He's expecting you to begin day one of surrogacy.”

I tuned in; this was new information. “I know,” Conway said, his hands digging into my shoulders.

“I'm still wondering if you'll be able to do this.” The younger brother didn't come closer, but his next words punched me in the gut. “If you don't, the job of breaking her becomes mine.”

Imagining Lonnie touching me... doing whatever the fuckbreakingme meant... had me swaying in place. Conway steadied me; I leaned into his touch eagerly. “I know what I need to do, Lonnie.”

“You know, sure, but will you actually go through with it?”

Conway's tone dropped to a rasp. “If you doubt me one more time, I'm going to smash all the fingers on your right hand.”

Lonnie's eyebrows went up. “Whythathand?”

“It's the one you jerk off with. And if you can't do that, you'll be so miserable you'll kill yourself, saving me the trouble.”

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