Page 43 of The Charmer

She hummed the second I pressed the napkin to her skin.

"Not when your ankle hurts, you won't. If it's indeed nothing, then the ice will make the pain go away. Otherwise, the ice won't do jack shit."

"How do you even know that?"

"Years ago, I took a first aid course. I sucked at it, but I do remember a few things."

“How come you took one? Never occurred to me to take one."

"Zachary wanted to do it, and I figured he could use someone with him, though it turned out he absolutely didn’t. My little brother was a pro at it. He truly loved learning all that stuff. I bailed, but he stuck it out until the end.”

"That's so cute that you took the course with your brother. Do you often do stuff with them?"

"All the time. Since I’m the oldest, I watched over them often. I used to give Mom grief about it, but I actually secretly enjoyed it."

"And you hang out with your family a lot these days too?"

"We get together as often as we can. There's always something happening at my parents’ and grandparents’ house."

"They live together?"

"Yes, in a huge mansion not far away from here, actually."

I was keeping a hand at the back of her ankle and the ice at the front where she was hurting. Almost involuntarily, I started to feather my hands over her leg. Seconds later, it turned to goose bumps.

Shit! This isn’t helping at all. I was already fantasizing about moving my hand under that red dress. In fact, I was fantasizing about getting rid of the dress altogether.

I swallowed hard, looking down at her skin. It was so damn smooth, so inviting.

The room went completely silent.

"They stopped the music," Georgie said.

"They’re probably serving food." I looked sideways through the cracked door. "Exactly, the waiters are—oh, for fuck’s sake. Kyle is coming this way."

She groaned. "I’m not in the mood for him anymore."

A self-serving thought crossed my mind. "I know a way to get rid of him without having to utter one word."

"Do share!"

"You trust me?"

She nodded. "Yes, of course."

"Good, because I'm about to kiss you again."

I sealed my mouth over hers, and she instantly parted her lips for me. I sucked her lower lip into my mouth first before giving her my tongue. She moaned, and it nearly brought me to my knees. The way she responded to me was out of this world. I kissed and kissed her without ever intending to stop. I simply couldn't. She tasted too good. The way she gave herself to me only made me need her more. I put a hand at her back, bringing her closer so I could explore her even deeper.

I felt her body vibrate against mine. I wanted to relieve her of that tension right here, right now. To take her somewhere no one could see or hear us and make this woman come. Several times.

She was so fucking exquisite. I'd never enjoyed a kiss as much as I did this one. I took my time, slowing the rhythm, turning it into a lazy exploration. She shuddered, sighing against my mouth.

"Here you two are. Oh, for fuck's sake."

I jumped backward. Xander was standing in the doorway. He glanced between the two of us with a raised brow.

"That would explain why Kyle Deveraux looked pissed."

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