Page 76 of Wicked Beautiful (Wicked Games 1)
Her face pinches. It does something to my heart. I reach out and take her in my arms. When she buries her face against my chest and wraps her arms around my waist, I swear I’m so relieved I want to groan.
She’s not dumping me. She had a family emergency. Thank God.
Don’t be such a selfish dick!
I murmur into her hair, “Are you OK? Is there anything I can do?”
She lifts her head and stares deep into my eyes. “Yes,” she says, her voice husky. “You can kiss me.”
It takes me all of a tenth of a second to obey this command. When our lips meet, she melts against me. My body tingles with need. My arms tighten around her. She makes a soft, feminine noise in her throat that sends a flash of heat straight to my groin.
“You have to stop running away from me,” I whisper when we break apart. We’re both breathing hard, and it’s all I can do to keep my hands from drifting toward her breasts. Her perfect, delectable breasts.
“I’m sorry. I told you I’m shitty at relationships. I hate spending the night. All that awkward small talk and eye-avoidance in the morning…ugh.”
She shudders, and I chuckle. “I know. I have a rule against spending the night, too.”
For the first time since she walked in tonight, she smiles. “You do?” When I nod, she turns playful. “Any other of your rules of engagement I should know about, Romeo?”
This new lightness in her makes me happy. I’m so relieved she’s smiling instead of blowing me off that I’m giddy. “There are three. The first, which you already know, is no spending the night. The second is no expectations for the future.”
“And the third?” she prompts.
Because I’m not thinking straight, I answer. “No questions about my past.”
The moment it’s out, I regret it. In other circumstances, I’d never tell a woman about my rules. They only invite more questions, and the inevitable pressure for me to reveal more of myself than I can, or will.
But Victoria, my elusive, enigmatic Victoria, accepts what I’ve said as if it’s the most natural, most commonsense thing in the world. She nods, holding my gaze.
“Very wise. I couldn’t have said it better myself. But there’s only one problem.”
“Which is?”
“You’ve already told me about your past, Parker,” she murmurs. “You’ve told me a secret you’ve never told anyone else.”
“I have. And you’ve told me a secret or two of yours.”
Our faces inches apart, we stare into each other’s eyes. I have the oddest sensation of falling. A sensation of stepping off a tall building or jumping from a tree, my arms flung wide, my feet no longer on solid ground.
I’m not looking down.
Why do I feel like I know you? Why do I feel so damn good when you’re near? How can you affect me like this, so soon?
I blurt, “Do you believe in soul mates?”
Her eyes, gorgeous dark eyes the color of fine chocolate, flare. “No.”
“Me neither,” I lie, and take her mouth in a deep, demanding kiss.
As she always does, she reacts instantly, arching into me, digging her fingers into my skin. The kiss lasts and lasts, getting hotter by the moment, until there’s a sharp knock on my office door.
“Boss! Kai’s got the sous chef by the throat! You need to come deal with this!”
Victoria and I break apart. I mutter, “Fuck.”
Victoria giggles. “It’s OK. I was on my way to have drinks with Darcy, anyway. I just stopped by to say hi.” Her voice drops. “And that I’m sorry for leaving like I did.”
I take her face in my hands. “Promise me you won’t do it again. No matter how freaked out you get, promise me you’ll at least wake my ass up to tell me you’re running away.” I gently kiss her lips. “And I promise I’ll let you go and not stalk your phone if you do.”
