Page 224 of By His Rule

Rolling onto her side to face me, she blows out a slow breath.

“Kian,” she starts, but I reach out and press my fingers to her lips, stopping her from continuing.

“We’ve got one more night here, and then we go home and return to normal. Can we just have this? We have all the time in the world to argue about what happens once we get back to Chicago. Don’t you think last night was too good not to repeat while we can?”

“It’s not that simple,” she argues.

“Why? Are you worried that you will fall in love with me?” I ask with a laugh. Honestly, the idea of anyone falling in love with the real me is nothing but amusing. Everyone just wants the man they think I am.

She swallows thickly, and panic hits me like a tsunami.

No. Surely not.

“Lorelei?” I whisper, terrified that I’ve totally ruined everything for good.

“No, Kian,” she states coldly. “You don’t need to worry about that. I just mean that things will get messy if we?—”

“They won’t if we don’t let them. We both agreed that us dating was a good idea, for both of us. Why not explore it properly?”

Her eyes bounce between mine. She looks utterly terrified.

Well, she’s not the only one.

She doesn’t say anything for the longest time; she just stares at me, deep in thought.

Eventually, though, she can’t deny the chemistry that’s crackling between us, and she leans forward.

My heart slams against my chest, and my head spins with all the unknowns I’m opening up here, but the second our lips collide, everything goes silent. The only thing that matters is the woman beside me.

Reaching out, I tug her closer, pinning our bodies together as we tell each other with actions what we’re too scared to with words.

“We’re going to get arrested if we don’t stop,” Lorelei says after long, blissful minutes. But she’s right. My dick is trying to rip through my pants, and my hands have definitely roamed a little too far for a public beach.

“It would be worth it.”

“Let’s go cool off,” Lorelei says, jumping to her feet and taking off toward where the waves crash against the sand.

“I’m not swimming. It’ll be freezing,” I call, attempting to adjust my dick so I can get to my feet.

“Pussy,” she calls back as she wades into the water. It’s easy for her—she’s wearing a dress.

She spins around with the water lapping at her calves and a wide smile on her face.

I may not know her all that well, but something tells me that she doesn’t smile like that all that often.

Before I can stop myself, I pull my cell from my pocket and snap a photo of her.

She looks so light and carefree.

If nothing else comes from this trip, then at least I was able to give her this moment.

“Pants off, Callahan. The water is lovely.”

“Fuck’s sake,” I mutter as I undo my pants and kick them and my socks off before taking off toward her.

Our laughter rings out into the silent evening around us as we frolic in the ocean like a couple of kids.

I can’t remember the last time I felt this free, this relaxed.

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