Page 39 of The Penalty

This kiss felt different. More desperate than possessive. Almost as though he needed to devour every last bit of me to survive.

When he pulled away, he asked “Would you like to get back to your celebration?” while brushing his fingers along my jaw.

“I’d rather hang out in here with you a little longer.”

A wide smile pulled at his lips, softening his face. “Wow. Me? I’ve been a bit scattered tonight. Thought you might want an excuse to mingle with a better product.”

The room echoed with my laughter.

“Impossible.” I kissed the soft spot beneath his ear. His body shuddered. “I’m perfectly content sitting on this rock hard piano with you.”

“It is a bit rough on the ass, isn’t it?”

Granted, I’ve only known this man for a few months but I could sniff out a baited phrase like no other.

“Nice try.”

“What?” He feigned innocence.

I leaned close, kissing beneath his ear again, gently biting and flicking my tongue on his skin.

“Is this helping you relax?”

“Yes.” A hint of flirtatious arrogance crept back into his tone. “You can’t resist me, can you. I don’t think you’d stop if I told you to.”

“You underestimate me.” I scooted to the edge of the piano and got down. Without looking back at him, I walked toward the opposite end of the room.

I loved how it was decorated in here. The furnishings were ornate, opulent, and sensuous. But the attention to detail is what intrigued me. Subtle hints of gothic inspiration mixed with the overall renaissance vibe.

“How often do you come here?” Xavier’s smooth voice broke the silence.

“It depends.” I drank in every inch of him as he walked toward me. Something about the way he moved with sleek fluidity always sent a shiver skipping up and down my spine. “Hannah and I came here for meetings a few times. It’s not like I hang out on the weekends or anything.”

“Meetings? In this room?”

“No. Ethan’s office. Hannah and I come in here to decompress. That’s why I knew about it. Otherwise, you and I would have wandered through the house for hours and gotten lost.”

“That sounds familiar. Took me a bit to get used to Bennet’s place. Cade actually got lost in there a few times. He was rather vexed about us not coming to look for him.”

“Vexed?”

“Angry.”

“Be nice to Cade,” I mock-scolded. “He’s a sensitive soul.”

Xavier’s jaw dropped. He laughed so loud everyone could probably hear him in the solarium.

“How the fuck did you say that with a straight face?” His wide, genuine smile lit up the room.

I shrugged, staring up at him through my lashes. “Years of media training.”

“You are something else.” He wrapped me in a tight embrace, still laughing.

The longer I stayed secured in his arms, the more I felt the tension continue to melt from his body. Tonight hasn’t really gone like I thought it would. It started off pretty on brand for us with the flirting and the dirty talk and Xavier’s simmering jealousy.

It all seemed to change when Bennet pulled him away for that mysterious conversation.

As if reading my thoughts, he held me tighter. “Think anyone will care if we stay in here the rest of the night?”

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