Page 191 of Tall, Royal Hater
I’d made the rules, so I could break them and change them too. I’d never been one for following rules exactly anyway.
“Kisses anywhere but on the lips don’t count as part of the three anymore,” I said, pushing one hand into the back of his thick, soft hair. “And if I initiate, it doesn’t count either, understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he breathed out.
“Don’t ma’am me,” I just about got out before clamping my mouth over his.
I kissed him eagerly and he gave himself over with the sexiest little moan. The sound did things to parts of me that throbbed for him, and well…things got very heated and grabby very quickly.
Teeth nipped at lips, tongues latched onto each other, and the taste of chocolate and coffee mixed with his warmth was my new favourite flavour. Somehow his hand found its way under my hoodie, gripping onto the clasp of my bra but never flicking it open. Keeping my lap still became an impossible task when all I wanted to do was rub my needy sex over his bulging erection.
Yet, I found just enough sanity to put it to a stop before we crossed into territory I wasn’t sure I wanted to return to just yet. Only I wanted to dive right back in because of the stunning flush on his face and feral look in his dilated eyes.
Fuck, no. No sex. Not yet. No way. Too soon.
But if we stayed in my apartment…
“Actually,” I said through panting breaths. “I think we should go out. I wanna buy books.”
Chapter 46
Mariyah
My last full working week passed by quickly and in the same fashion with Shehryar picking me up or dropping me off to work, or us going to the gym together.
Except thehemade dinner turned intowemade dinner. The time he spent over grew longer with more banter, endless soft pecks, a lot more touching, and lingering gazes that led to “I like looking at you” confessions.
And the kisses? The actual kisses? Those officially became multipacks of long, deep, slow moments of intimacy. They turned into my ultimate weakness and addiction that torturedme at my own hands. Because the afterquakes of desire and longing were tearing me apart.
By Friday, I had no idea what I was doing anymore.
Shehryar’s idea of grovelling and proving himself was the kind of seduction I had never planned or anticipated for. The deadliest kind; question what I was even angry about kind.
He flirted, but he respected my boundaries. He was arrogant but patient to a fault. Was stubborn but so meticulous with the way he paid attention to me. Nothing about what he did or said screamed never to be trusted again. It was more like “can I just jump him and forget this ever happened”instead.
I was beginning to feel like I was digging my feet in for no reason. But at the same time, I still questioned whether letting it go so quickly was going to assure me he’d never do it again.
It was on my mind constantly, so on Saturday, when my older sister, Lily, and her family stopped by Mum and Dad’s place for our bi-monthly family lunch, I was grateful for the distraction.
“So…” Lily said, passing me a plate from the sink. “Does the fact he’s here mean you’ve worked things out and forgiven him?”
Or not…
I should’ve known Lily wouldn’t have been able to stop herself from pointing out the fact I’d brought Shehryar home after I’d told her what had happened in Touma. I hadn’t told anyone he’d shown up outside my apartment one night, so they’d all been surprised to see him.
Dad had been a bit wary, Mum had given me a pleasantly surprised look, and Drew, Lily’s husband, had been the cheery one who clapped Shehryar on the back in greeting. Lily, though, hadn’t stopped throwing amused, questioning glances in my direction the whole afternoon.
She was nine years older than me, so I’d confided in her a lot throughout my childhood and teenage years, but her hardcore motherly instinct also meant I’d received more lectures from herin my lifetime than I had from our mum and dad combined. The most recent ones were about Shehryar. She was the reasonable“be the bigger person”to my vindictive“no, I’m gonna be a bitch.”
Dad and Drew had cooked lunch, Mum had made dessert, Shehryar had helped with teas and coffee despite Mum’s insistence for him to make himself comfortable, which left Lily and I on cleanup duty in the kitchen. And she’d decide to take full advantage of us being alone.
“Not exactly, no,” I answered, lining the plate in the dishwasher rack with the others.
“What? Why not?” She passed me a glass, her blue eyes narrowing.
“Because,” I said, slotting the glass into the top drawer.
“Mariyah.” My older sister leaned her hip against the worktop to face me. “Answer me. If you haven’t forgiven him, what on Neves is going on?”
