Page 59 of Forbidden Game

My Eve has taken a bite of the forbidden fruit and has returned to the garden for another taste, but she’s still wary of the snake within. Everything inside her screams to follow the rules, to act properly, to follow the straight and narrow.

I understand how she feels. I was raised in a family where the world always had eyes on us. Since before I could tie my own shoes, I learnt how to behave in high society and present myself in public. But I never let that stop me from being me, sometimes to a fault.

Sydney wouldn’t even let herself be truthful with herself.

I run my thumb along her jaw and her breath stutters.

“I don’t like you,” she whispers. “Not like that.”

“Are you sure?”

“No.”

“I can wait, Sydney. I’ve waited five years. All I ask is that you stop denying this.”

It feels like a lifetime passes before she leans into my touch, and I watch as the storm clears from her eyes.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.” Her heels drop into the sand as she reaches up to grip the collar of my shirt and closes the distance between us.

Finally, Sydney kisses me.

TWELVE

SYDNEY

Oh God.

I’m kissing Parker Covington.

Again.

I pull him closer, my grip tightening on the soft collar of his shirt. I’m worried that if I let go, I’ll lose all my strength, and I don’t want to lose this moment. I want to savor it.

Every kiss with Parker has been different, tasted different. This kiss is like the first bite of an apple in the fall; the tart skin gives way to a crisp and juicy sweetness.

I’m confused as all heck right now.

I don’t know left from right, but I do know this man in front of me. I know that I want to be kissing him, that deep within me there is a part of me that never forgot our first kiss and held onto it, waiting for this moment. I’m not sure what this means, and the logical side of my brain is screaming at me to stop, to pull back, to really think about what I’m doing right now.

But I’m so tired of thinking.

I rise up on my tiptoes, feeling my toes sink farther into the sand. Absently, I hear Parker’s shoes fall as his hand comes to rest on the small of my back, bringing my chest flush against his.

My kiss is hesitant as it explores every inch of his lips, memorizing every line. I let my grip loosen and snake my hands around his neck, slowly turning it into something heady and intoxicating. It’s the ocean crashing around us and the salt sticking to our skin. It’s the tide crawling closer and closer to our feet, tempting us to swim into the unknown.

Parker nips at my top lip, and I inhale as it sends a flurry of butterflies through my stomach. I could stay in this moment forever, making out with him like some love-struck teenager on their first date.

This might be the worst idea I’ve ever had.

It might be the best.

I could lose everything.

But he might be my everything.

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