Page 70 of Hypnotized By Love

He was right. He could. I’d felt mesmerized by him since he’d come back to Playa Placida, as much as I’d wanted to deny it.

He moved his fingers away and held his lips just above mine. “What is it you want?”

That was a loaded question I wasn’t ready to answer.

“It’s too fast,” I told him. “Slow down.” I wasn’t sure exactly what I was referencing, but I knew for sure that I couldn’t hook up with him in my father’s study while my nana was out there telling yarn stories.

“Are you sure?” I felt him smile as he asked. “I could take my shirt off.”

I wanted that so much I felt almost panicked by it. “You can’t.”

“Fine. I’ll take your shirt off.”

That did make me smile. “It’s a dress.”

“Those come off, too.”

“Clothes on.”

“Whatever you say.” And although it seemed to defy the laws of physics, his mouth got even closer to mine without making actual contact. “Whatever you say, I’ll do it.”

That sent a shudder through me, causing shivers to break out along my nerves. This was so, so bad.

I really was under his spell, and I would have done just about anything to get him to kiss me again. Even humiliate myself.

He moved his head slightly so that there was this frustrating phantom feel of his lips, so close but not close enough. “Tell me what you want,” he said.

Swallowing down every bit of pride and anger I had left, I admitted, “I want you to kiss me.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Another self-satisfied smile from him before he bent his head slightly to capture my lips, and I immediately put my arms around his neck to prevent him from going anywhere. His response was to deepen the kiss, sending me into a thick spiral of heat and desire.

“Mason,” I breathed against his lips, not able to help myself.

“I want to spend the rest of my life listening to you panting my name like that,” he growled in a possessive way that made little pinpricks of sweat break out on my temples. “Do you know how many years I’ve waited to kiss you?”

It was an admission that I couldn’t deny or dismiss. I’d told myself that he hated me, didn’t want me, but he had just told me that he did.

I chose to ignore it. “You are so good at this.” I had been a bit too passive in this exchange, overwhelmed by him, and that wasn’t usually our dynamic. I wanted to win. I wanted him on his knees, dying for me.

“Very good?” he asked and then let out a choked sound when I pressed my lips against his throat. His skin was warm and smelled like him. I dragged my lips along his neck, and he said, “In that session,when you said I was doing very good, it took all of the willpower I possessed not to grab you and pull you on top of me and kiss you senseless.”

Now it was my turn to smile. I liked the feeling that I had power over him.

I was kissing my way up to his mouth, letting his stubble rub against my lips, my jaw, and I felt a tremble pass through him. Since he’d brought up the shirtless option, I had been intrigued. I kissed him softly and tugged at the back of his shirt, pulling it loose so that I could run my fingers along the strong muscles of his back.

“If you keep doing that, I’m not going to be able to keep my promises to behave,” he said, nuzzling his nose against mine.

“What is it you want?” I asked.

He pulled his head back and looked into my eyes.

Only I didn’t see desire there. I saw something softer, inexplicable. He reached up and brushed my hair back, tucking it behind my ear. He let his fingers trail down the side of my face.

“You’re the one I want, Sinclair.”

Something important was happening, but it was like he’d scrambled my brain so much with his kisses that I couldn’t figure it out.

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