He growled and gripped my hips, pulling me so close that not even air could pass between us. His tongue tangled with mine, led the dance as we consumed one another. I couldn’t get enough of him or his taste, never mind the feel of his hard body pressed up against mine. It was heavenly, it was the hottest kiss of my life and I never wanted it to end, even though it shouldn’t even have gotten started.

And then Alex slowed the kiss, it was no longer frenzied, but it was slow and deliberate. Every pass of his tongue was intentional with the sole purpose of driving me crazy, of wantinghim more, which I didn’t think was possible. But after the third or maybe the tenth pass of his tongue, I trembled with need as my fingers speared through his hair and pulled him closer.

Alex groaned, gripping my ass cheeks in his hands as he dipped me over his arm and continued to devour my mouth until I was nothing more than a puddle of desire. I couldn’t say who pulled back first, me or Alex, but suddenly we were staring at each other with wide eyes and heaving chests.

“Sasha,” he groaned.

I nodded because I knew what he was thinking and I felt the same way, but voicing it felt dangerous.

“Alex,” I moaned as he pulled me closer for another kiss, just as hot but much shorter.

He pulled back with our hands clasped as he tilted my head back. “Sasha Turner, will you marry me?”

It wasn’t over the top romantic, and I didn’t need it to be, but somehow his simple request with his mussed hair and furrowed brow was enough.

“Um, Alex,” I whispered as I looked down at the ring with the halo setting and a pink diamond set in the middle with tons of white diamonds surrounding it. “This is gorgeous. It’s perfect.” It wasn’t too over the top, but it was stunning. “I love it.”

“So is that a yes?” His lips tugged into a grin.

“Yes, Alex. I will marry you.”

He slipped the ring on my finger and pressed a kiss to the middle of my hand, emerald eyes sparkling with excitement. “See you later.”

“I’ll be right here,” I said, trying to keep my voice light despite my racing heart and damp panties.

“Then I’ll know right where to find you,” he shot back with a wink and then disappeared out of the penthouse.

Right along with my peace.

Chapter 17

Alex

Jack stared at me as I finished laying out the details of my marriage arrangement with Sasha, mouth and eyes wide with shock as he shook his head in disbelief.

“Is she stupid?”

It was a fair question, and about exactly the response I expected from him. “No, she’s not stupid.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded. “She wanted something good to come out of this, and if it makes you feel better, it’s still a good chunk of change I have to part with.” It wasn’t a small amount by any stretch of the imagination, but it was far less than either of us had expected.

Jack shook his head but slowly a smile crept across his face. “I mean she could have gotten just about anything she wanted for this deal, and she chose two things that don’t even benefit her. How odd.” He shrugged it off, not at all fascinated by anyone who wasn’t motivated by money or power. “I’ll get the contracts drawn up before she changes her mind then.”

I understood the way Jack thought, it was what made him good at what he did, but I didn’t worry about Sasha changing her mind, not after that kiss. She might want to keep things platonicbehind closed doors, but us coming together? It was inevitable. Surely she could see that, could feel it in the way our bodies arched into each other, stuck together like magnets. Couldn’t she? If not, she would.

And soon.

“Now we need to start planning the wedding,” Jack said, his voice snapping me out of my obsessive thoughts about Sasha. “The timeline should be a six month engagement while you plan the wedding, and two years of marriage before your hectic schedule becomes too much for Sasha and she leaves you and the baby.”

I frowned. “I can’t do that to her.”

“She had her chance, Alex. Don’t go soft on me now.”

“It’s not soft, Jack. It’s called being a decent human being. You know the hate she’ll get if she walks away from Dixie. It will devastate her.” Shit, not to mention how Dixie will feel. Sasha will be the only mother she’s ever known. “I need to think about that.” It was just another reason to have alone time with Sasha.

“Fine, you figure out the details, all I ask is that you run it by me first. My only concern is your career, Alex.” His dark gaze was serious and I knew he meant business.