Page 66 of Keep Me

Ignoring my onslaught of curses, he pins my body against the counter. Taking my wrists in his hands, he holds them behind my back. No matter how much I struggle to get out of his hold, I can’t.

What’s worse is that I stop trying. Because I love the feel of his body against mine. I love the way he quiets my anxious mind.

And I hate how much I love it.

When his face is just inches from mine, he softly whispers. “I don’t know what’s going through your head, but you’re out of your mind if you think all of this has been pretending. Even when we’re alone. Youaremy wife, Sylvie. At the end of this year, you can try to leave, and if you piss me off enough, I might let you go. But I have a feeling you won’t. Because I don’t meannothingto you, and you know it.”

I struggle against his grip. “Oh, I will leave at the end of this. And just because there’s a contract in place doesn’t make me your real wife.”

With one quick motion, he wraps his free hand under my thigh and lifts me until my ass is on the counter and he’s squeezed between my legs. I let out a gasp when I feel the hard length in his pants grinding against my clit.

Still holding my wrists together behind my back, he dives forward and kisses me hard on the lips. It’s embarrassing how quickly I melt into it. A small whimper escapes as his tongue invades my mouth, and my legs wrap around his waist.

“I could fuck you right here, and you’d let me. Wouldn’t you, darling?” His warm breath against my lips makes it hard to think.

“You can’t just fuck me into submission every time we fight.” I mumble in response.

“Can’t I?”

Just as he starts to fumble with the elastic on his loose sweats,releasing my hands, we hear footsteps approaching the kitchen. When I shove against his chest this time, he relents and backs away.

“What’s going on?” Anna asks as she steps into the room.

Killian keeps his back to her, likely to hide his erection, and I play innocent, crossing my legs and staying on the counter as if he and I were just having a simple conversation.

“I was just making coffee,” I say, nodding to the pot.

Her eyes sparkle with the excitement of the holiday. “Lovely. Well, you two have to come back out to the parlor. We have more presents to open.”

“We’ll be right there,” he replies in a deep grumble. She scurries out of the kitchen excitedly.

With a smile, I hop off the counter and continue making the pot of coffee I was working on.

After hitting the Start button, I turn to face him. As I look into his eyes, ignoring that potent connection I felt earlier, I realize what I have to do to get through the rest of this year.

I need to shove aside all of my feelings for Killian. He is still an ignorant, rude, brutish, moody asshole who only cares about himself.

Eyes on the prize, Sophie.

All that matters to me is that ten million dollars at the end of it. I’m certainly not going to let a handsome Scotsman with a big dick and a charming smile get in the way of that.

As I brush past him, I notice the way his scowl curls into a mischievous smirk. He snatches my arm and holds his face near mine. Our eyes meet for a moment, but instead of acknowledging that connection, I ignore it.

We stare into each other eyes like it’s a challenge. Then, he gives a shake of his head, and I know he understands. We both got too close to feeling things we shouldn’t. And it’s best we just go back to the way things were.

“Happy Christmas, wench,” he mumbles with a teasing smile.

I jerk my arm away from his hold. “Happy Christmas…brute.”

And with that, I walk away, feeling as if a heavy weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

Chapter Twenty-One

Lying on the couch in the living room, watching the trashiest British reality show I can find, I hear Killian stomping down the stairs, and I glance up and feel my jaw drop as I take in his appearance.

Normally he’s in boots, and they clunk loudly against the wood floors, and it sounds like we’re being attacked by a giant. But this sound is different. It’s lighter and softer.

I pick myself up from the couch to peer back at him as he enters the room.

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