Page 55 of Too Safe

He presses his forehead into mine and shakes his head. “Not for this,” he murmurs, his lips close enough to tease me into pushing up on tiptoes.

“This…”

A thrill races up my spine, leaving goose bumps in its wake. I desperately want him to kiss me again now that I’m more confident that I’m not just a pawn in some game.

Running my hands up his chest, I relish the heat of his skin pulled taut over the lean muscles under the cotton of his shirt. Craning back to meet his gaze, I link my arms around his neck.

“What is this?” I whisper.

Kylian squeezes my side, then rests both hands on my low back, pulling me closer.

“This is us. Whatever you want us to be.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to answer before he’s taking me with another all-consuming kiss. I let out a ridiculously girlish sound—something between a sigh in a whimper—as he dominates the moment and takes charge.

His tongue teases against my lips, and I willingly open to him. The first brush into my mouth is tentative, testing. My knees wobble at the second dip inside, making me grateful to be leaning against a wall.

Moaning, I meet his tongue stroke for stroke, loving the way he takes control, then backs off and lets me respond.

His kiss is both frantic and unhurried. Passionate yet methodical. It’s intense and unquestionable: black and white, just like him. I moan again, then startle on the next breath when a car horn blasts in the distance.

“Fuck. We gotta go.”

And just like that, the fire is out, and it’s back to business.

Dumbfounded, I stand there for a moment, watching as a switch inside Kylian flips, and he resumes filling the plastic tote on the bed. Like we weren’t just getting hot and heavy against the wall.

I believe what he said, though. He’s given me no reasonnotto trust him, and his explanation makes sense.

He’s a bundle of contradictions in a lot of ways. Hot and cold. Black and white. Clearly brilliant, if not a little socially inept.

So I’ll take him at his word and put my trust in him. It’s not like I have much of a choice anyway.

Resigned, I spin on my heel and take off toward the bathroom as the car horn blasts again, this time for longer.

“I’ll get this one loaded and tell him we need five more minutes,” Kylian says as he follows me out of the bedroom but turns left and heads toward the back door.

“And Jo?”

I pause outside the bathroom door and pivot to face him in the hall.

“Your ass looks so damn hot in my shorts.”

He winks, then he’s gone.

I’m as flattered as I am blindsided.

Chapter 22

Josephine

Wemadeitbackto the mansion with a few minutes to spare. There was far less traffic on the return trip, and Kylian drove the boat this time, so the trip across the lake was much quicker, proving that Kendrick purposely took his time on our way to town. Jackass.

Kylian and I hauled everything to my room. I confirmed how much time we had before we had to leave for the Boatyard, and what, exactly, the dress code was for the event, before taking a quick shower.

I assumed he’d head to the Nest to get ready himself, but I can still hear him in my room as I turn off the hair dryer.

Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I try to force a smile.

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