Page 84 of Stolen Fate

He lowered his lips to my cheek, down to my jawline, and when I couldn’t take it anymore, I closed my eyes and surrendered myself to him.

He took my lips gently. And he kissed me, quietly, tenderly, reverently.

I had never experienced this kind of kiss before.

Every kiss, every touch, of his that I had experienced prior to this one was desperate and frantic. Wild and messy and loud.

We didn’t make a single noise as our lips touched, and he didn’t take it any further than the simple touch of his lips against mine, moving in closer and closer to me so that there wasn’t an inch of space between us.

His hands moved down to my waist, and I kept my hands on his chest, not wanting to lose any contact between us.

I was afraid to move.

To breathe.

To do anything that might break the spell we suddenly found ourselves in. I didn’t want him to let me go.

But like anything good in life, it had to come to an end. Jace broke from the kiss first and rested his forehead against mine.

I kept my eyes closed.

“Evelyn,” he whispered, and I didn’t know what my name on his lips meant. Regret? Yearning? Or… love?

The intercom on his desk buzzed and my shoulders sagged in disappointment. “Mr. Reed, your nine o’clock is here,” a feminine voice rang out.

“You have to go back to work,” I said, trying to keep my emotions from showing too much.

“I have to get back to work,” he repeated regretfully.

I nodded and straightened my back, looking him in the eyes. “I want Simon back.”

He opened his mouth, and I knew he wanted to say no. I covered it with my hand. “Listen to me. I’m not interested in Simon, okay? But you can’t do this every time you think someone is interested in me. That’s not fair, and I don’t want it.”

We stared at each other for a long while, his blue eyes unreadable to me. Then, he gently clasped my wrist with his large hand and pulled it away.

“You’re right.”

I relaxed my posture. “Good.”

I could see a hint of amusement in his eyes, and I didn’t know why. I narrowed my own at him and his lips tilted slightly upward in a smile. “I will just have to work harder.”

“Work harder?”

“Yeah. For your affection. I can’t stop thinking about you. About the way you look, the way you feel, hell, even that sweet floral scent you bring with you everywhere you go. It drives me crazy. You can have your precious Simon back,” he said, and he said Simon’s name like it was a curse word. “Because I’m not giving up. So, prepare yourself, Evelyn.”

He tapped my chin slightly and his smile widened. “Close your mouth, baby. You don’t know what might fly in if you keep it open like that.”

I closed my mouth.

Then I opened it again, but before I could say anything, he was kissing me again, and it was different from the one we had shared just moments ago.

Thisone was rough and passionate and frenzied, and it made my knees go weak. I wrapped my arms around his neck to keep myself upright and felt his hold on my waist tighten just a fraction before he plunged his tongue inside my mouth and took me thoroughly.

I moaned against him, loving the vibration between our lips and unable to get enough.

I wanted him closer, and closer, and closer.

I needed him closer.

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