Page 50 of Away With You
“Katie.” I step closer and take her restless hands into mine. “You don’t have to get the dress if you don’t want to. You’ll look incredible in any dress you put on. I just don’t want you to miss out on this dress for a reason that doesn’t exist. If you want this one, if this dress makes you feel beautiful, then you should get it. You deserve a dress like that.”
Her whiskey eyes lock with mine, and I hold my breath until she nods slowly.
“Okay, Nathan. Thank you. I think I will get this dress.”
I blow out a deep breath. “Thank God. Because no one has ever looked more beautiful in a dress before.”
She huffs, pushing at my chest, and I recapture her hand, stepping in even closer. With my gaze trapped by hers, I run afinger along her exposed collarbone, her skin soft as silk under mine.
“Nathan,” she whispers, her eyes now stuck to where my hand is resting above her heart.
“Hmmm,” I mutter, distracted by the way her skin has pebbled in the wake of my finger. Her chest is rising and falling heavily, and my mind is filled with cotton wool.
“Nathan?” she whispers again.
Right. Focus.My eyes move to her lips, and I lick my own, desperate to taste her, as a flash of inspiration takes over me.
“So, I was thinking…”
She tilts her head, a divot forming between her brows like she’s struggling to keep up. “Yes?”
I lift her chin so I can gauge her reaction to what’s coming next. “Well, you know, we’re going to be pretending to be a couple for the next week.”
“I’m aware.” Her words are dry, but her tone is breathy.
“And people are going to expect us to kiss.” I step in closer until our chests are touching.
“Makes sense,” she responds.
“And I was thinking, perhaps, maybe we should, you know…practice? Before we have to do it in public.”
Her eyes widen as comprehension dawns. “You want to kiss me?”
Oh, Katie. You have no idea how much I want to kiss you.
I stroke a strand of hair back off her face, twirling it around my finger. “Yes.”
Her chest presses into mine as she takes in a deep breath. “For practice?”
And for so much more.
“Yes. For practice.”
Her pupils dilate until there’s only a thin ring of honey brown left. “Right now?”
I lean over, running my nose gently across her cheek until it lands next to her mouth. “Right now,” I breathe.
“Okay,” she whispers, her lips tickling mine.
My heart takes off racing, and I take a beat to calm myself. Never has a kiss felt like so much, and we haven’t even started yet.
“Are you sure?” I ask, giving her one last out.
She doesn’t answer. Instead, she pushes up onto her toes, pressing her lips softly onto mine. I freeze as a bolt of something takes over my body before springing back to life. Moving my hands from her hair, I cradle her jaw, tilting her head back and gently parting her lips with mine. A quiet whimper escapes her, and I gather her closer in my arms, tasting her as we sink deeper into the kiss.
Her body is soft against the hardness of mine, and as she grabs the front of my shirt, pulling me even closer, I groan, losing a bit of control. The kiss turns from a gentle exploration into something more, something I feel in my gut and in my heart and in the part of my brain which is blaring,This kiss changes everything!Before I can lose it any further, before I completely forget where we are and why she thinks we’re doing this, I wrench my mouth from hers, leaning back and drawing in deep mouthfuls of air.
Katie remains still, her beautiful face upturned towards me, her eyelashes flattened against her cheeks, and her lips red and pouty from where they were just on mine. I stifle a guttural groan, forcing myself to step away from her when my body wants the exact opposite. It’s like it won’t ever get close enough to this woman.
