Page 21 of Faking It at Sea

Whatever you do, don’t say...

8

SUTTON

My pulse tripped when I saw the word “Yes” form on her lips. The more evolved part of me wanted to make sure I hadn’t imagined it, but the primitive beast that lived deep inside me was already clambering for a taste of her. He was running hot on want and need, and he thought—no, heknew—that June was mine.

I dipped my head and took her mouth, fighting hard to be gentle about it. The beast could make his demands. He could show me mental images of spinning her around and pinning her to the railing. Of caging her in as I plundered that sweet mouth.

But I wouldn’t give in to that urge.

The images of what I wanted to do played in my head as I held her, coaxing with a soft swipe of my tongue. And when her lips parted for me, my resolve started to crumble.

My fingers threaded through her hair as she rose up on her toes to deepen the kiss, triggering a satisfied growl that rumbled from my chest. She clutched my shirt, sending tiny shocks of fire and ice through me, and it was all I could do not to grab her by the hips and haul her up my body.

Never in my life had I wanted a woman so fiercely.

My pulse was a deafening drum beat in my ears. She leaned in closer, pressing those luscious curves against me, and I ached to be inside her, to bury myself to the hilt and grind into her until her voice was hoarse from screaming my name.

But the flow of the music changed, and the world around us flooded back into my awareness. As much as it might have felt like it was just the two of us on that deck, with the ocean breeze ruffling my hair and tugging at the hem of her dress, we weren’t actually alone.

All we had was the illusion of privacy.

I eased back, letting my hands slip down to the safety of her hips. When her mewl of disappointment hit my ears, I had to grit my teeth against the need to dive back in for another scorching kiss.

Instead, I pulled her tight against me and brushed my lips over the shell of her ear. “Does that make up for my first kiss?” I rasped.

A beat of silence followed. “No.”

“No?” Was she serious? I angled back to find her smirking up at me with an irresistible flush spreading over her cheeks.

“But if you ask nicely, I might give you another chance.”

She was teasing me—tempting me—and goddamn, the woman was all fucking kinds of tempting.

I looked past her and out to the crowd, where I hoped no one was paying attention to us.

Unfortunately, lady luck had taken the night off.

My fingers twitched when I spotted her friend Missy watching us like a hawk from her perch at the bar. Another sweep showed me Brandon dancing with a cute little brunette. He might have been putting a little more effort into making it look like he wasn’t watching, but when our gazes locked for a beat, his face lit up in a knowing smile.

“Not here,” I said, returning my attention to June.

“Why not?”

Despite the swell of want muddling my thoughts and blunting my common sense, the overwhelming need to protect her from prying eyes was riding me hard. No one else should get to see that look in her eyes or hear those intoxicating sounds slip from her lips.

“Because I want you all to myself,” I confessed.

She arched her brow and leaned back. Her chestnut waves caught on the breeze, revealing the sexy line of her neck that was just begging to be licked. “Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose?”

“Of what?” I asked, half-drunk with the need to taste her again.

June stepped back, and even though my hands didn’t want to cooperate, I let her put space between us. “The point is to look like a real couple, right?”

Did she think that kiss was just for show?

I knew I should respond, but my foolish mind was too gobsmacked to form words. I’d never felt a connection like that.Heatlike that.

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