Page 49 of Playing for Possession
Chapter 23
Kieran
“Kieran, is that you?” Joanie’s voice drifted from the bedroom.
I took the stairs two at a time. “Yes. It’s me. I’ve been searching for you for an hour.”
My voice came out angrier than I’d intended. Joanie stood at the full-length mirror in the corner, fumbling with the clasp on a thin chain. There was no sign of the sexy list. She must have stashed it away. Adrenaline ran through me at the sight of her. Her emerald-green silk dress clung to her phenomenal body. The low-cut bodice highlighted the swell of her smooth breasts. Joanie always looked beautiful, but I hadn’t seen her like this—confident and oozing glamour and sophistication. A rush of warmth overtook me, and I knew I must be staring, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away.
“I can’t help it if my phone runs out of battery.”
Who gave a fuck about batteries and phone? My pulse pounded. The dress looked so good. It would look great when I slid it off her, or better yet, slid it up and bunched it around her waist while I had her bent over the kitchen table.
She gave a little growl of frustration. “Can you help me get this necklace off, please? It’s so fiddly.”
I moved to stand behind her. She swept her hair up and held it out of the way for me. My fingers brushed her neck lightly as I worked on the clasp. I wanted to plant a kiss on the soft skin of her shoulder and breathe her in.
Her voice was thick. “Are you mad at me?”
“I was.” Now I was so turned on I couldn’t think straight.
“Youweremad at me?”
No. Not over the table.Then I wouldn’t be able to see her pretty face and that luscious red mouth. I’d rather have her laid out for me on the bed, bare and trembling with anticipation.
“I was mad. I’ve been looking for you. But I’m not mad now.” I unclasped the necklace. “Here.”
She spun to face me and take the necklace out of my hand. The movement made her dress pull tighter across her perfect cleavage. We were still standing so close.
“Why were you mad? I haven’t done anything wrong.” She held out her hands and huffed out a breath. “I’m an adult. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Of course I was worried. Why didn’t you make sure your phone had enough battery before you went out? What was I supposed to think?”
“I don’t know. That I’m capable of taking care of myself. I don’t appreciate being talked down to.”
Hang on a minute.“What are you getting angry with me about?” I was the one who’d just run around the jetty for an hour.
“Because I don’t like being treated like a kid. I get enough of that from my dad. I went out on my own because it was important to me. It’s something I wanted to tick off my list.”
My pulse pounded, but I’d have to feign ignorance. “You have a list?”
Her eyes slipped away. “It’s just some silly thing I’m doing. It doesn’t matter.”
My heart thundered as I stepped closer. “You can tell me about it if you want to.”
She peered up at me. “You want to know?”
My skin prickled with anticipation. “Yes. I might be able to... help you with it.”
She nodded to herself. “Skylar suggested I write a list of things I want to do, like a bucket list. It’s a way to... get back to myself, I guess.” She shot me an uncertain glance.
“I see.”
“It’s nothing that exciting. I’d like to go horse riding on a beach. I’d like to try pottery and learn another language. Ollie did one of those zookeeper-for-the-day experiences once. I love animals. I’d like to do something like that...”
OK, but what about the good stuff?I reached out and trailed my fingers down her bare arm. “It sounds like a good idea.”
A tremble ran through her, and she took a step toward me. “Do you think?”
