Page 12 of The Sweetest Devotion

His nearness caused me to suck in a breath as something below my belly clenched.

I was sick of people deciding my wants or needs.

Boldly, I reached out and grabbed his baseball cap and took it off his head. He glowered at me, but made no move to reach for it. His hair was nicely styled in a fade with a neat wave pattern on top, letting me know he brushed his hair religiously.

Smirking, I fanned myself with his cap.“I’ll say what I want and don’t want.”

Keith stared at me silently, as if he was restraining himself.

I was only messing around, but a part of me did want to break that empty mask on his face. Didn’t he ever laugh? Or?—

Keith picked me up, the abrupt action leaving me stunned and breathless, before setting me on the desk. He came close, his face inches from mine. “Is this what youthinkyou want?”

I had only been kidding, but the moment swelled over into something else. Something hazy and heady.

A voice in my head told me to stand up and behave, but the order fell upon deaf ears.

It was the night of my engagement party and I was here with another man. One I didn’t know any more than I knew Cain. That didn’t stop the devil on my shoulder from goading me. From pointing out the electricity stirring in the air. I didn’t know this man, but Iwantedhim.

I was sober as could be, but drunk on him, because his gorgeous face, his hypnotic voice, and his presence had me nodding. “Yes.”

Keith’s eyes were focused on my lips. His hands were planted on either side of me and I felt caged in, but I didn’t want to be free.

He came to my ear. “I think you bumped your head when you ran over that glass.”

My breathing seemed to heighten and I couldn’t think straight. I wanted what I wanted, and I couldn’t explain it if I tried.

I gave in and touched him, feeling the sleeve of tattoos across his silky skin.

“Kennedy,” Keith seemed to warn in my ear. He was ruining my fun and rebellion.

“Prick,” I teased as I continued tracing his ink.

He reeled back, staring me in the eye. “Brat.”

In another moment he dove close and his mouth hovered over mine. We were sharing the same breath, the same temptation, the same want, the same need.

Something told me if I didn’t stop now, there was no going back. And for just a sliver of a minute I hesitated, questioning the rationality of the situation. Could I really do this? Go all the way?

I’m doing this for me, I decided as a quick once-over confirmed that Keith was too good looking to pass up. I hadn’t been this wild and reckless since college, and with my parents obviously pulling the strings these days, there was no telling when I’d get the chance to feel alive again. One more flicker of my gaze at Keith and I suddenly didn’t care about the consequences of my actions.

He wouldn’t be my first, or my last, but this was different. There was a heartbeat below my belly button I didn’t know existed until this man looked at me the way he was. A beat so strong it was painful. It only symbolized the carnal need I felt for Keith in this moment.

“It could be fun,” I offered with a shy smile.

Still, Keith blinked, standing in front of me uncertain. “You for real?”

There was still time to go back. To do the right thing. But fuck it. “Yes.”

A husky chuckle rolled off Keith’s breath as he shook his head, soon looking away as if to question things further. And then he came back to me, all trace of humor gone as he studied my face and where I sat waiting for him to make a move.

He licked his lips, an action that was dizzying, reminding me…

I placed my hand over his mouth. “But no kissing.”

Ow.

Very swiftly, his teeth sank into my skin as he bit me.

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