“Only if you agree to travel the world with me,” he says, his lips against my ear now.
I want to utter words I’ve only shared with my family, with people bound by blood.
People who’ve left me.
I decide to save them for when I’m no longer afraid.
I wet my lower lip with my tongue and say instead, “Draw up the contr?—”
But he shuts me up with a kiss.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
WHERE TO NEXT?
EZRA
“How cheesy wouldit be for us to make a wish right now?” I lean down and whisper in her ear.
I can’t see her smile, but I know it’s there. That’s what unrestricted access to her has granted me; a knowledge of all the things I wasn’t able to pick up on when she was trying so hard to hide herself from me.
“You sure know how to kill the mood,” she tells me, watching me step away from her, my empty champagne flute on the ledge beside her.
She was gorgeous in Milan. Stunning in the Bahamas. Soulful in Beijing.
But nothing compares to her here, in New York, on the balcony of my apartment.
The city lights illuminate her skin as she stares out in wonder before looking back at me.
“It’s 11:11,” I inform her, my eyes lazily taking her in. I have all the time in the world to see her, to touch her, to love her body with my own.
She sips from her own glass before setting it down and turning to me, the skirt of her golden gown swaying with her movement. “I don’t need to wish anymore.”
“Even after that boring gala tonight?”
We’ve been gone for a month and in that time, moments were created, and trust was built. But it’s time to build here, in the penthouse I once used to wish for her in.
Her nod has me reaching for her, as I remain leaning against the building, beckoning her to me.
“One month on, one month off, right?” I murmur when her touch finds me.
It was something we agreed on the day we left Cherry Cove, that we’d alternate between New York and anywhere else in the world she wanted to be. We’d crammed a few destinations into a month-long adventure but now we’re settling in for a few weeks so I can show my face around the office before we jet set again.
“Where to next?” she asks, settling an arm around my neck. Her other hand presses against my chest.
The air has a chill, but I’m determined to keep her warm.
“I thought you were deciding,” I say, placing my hand right where the gentle curve of her ass begins. I can feel skin, just as I can feel a need brewing inside of me. One that’s been long kindling since she stepped outside in that gown of hers.
“That’s right,” she muses, a sexy grin spreading slowly over her lips. “I’mthe boss.”
My hand slides down to her ass, and I squeeze, loving the plump fullness of it and the way her lips part before spreading into a larger smile.
“Truth or dare?” I ask, my own lips so close to hers, I may give up the game and take her for myself. I want to taste her smile.
“Dare,” she answers and reaches up to tug at my bowtie.
I know she’s naked under that dress. It fits her like a second skin, like they somehow melted the fabric against her frame.