Page 44 of Forsaken Oath

“I’m saying never.” My voice is breathless, betraying my feelings like a traitor. I swallow and tell my body to get with the program. He’s not going to be our boyfriend after a couple of desserts and hand-holding. He’s our fucking competition.

Maybe. He’smaybeyour competition. The results aren’t in yeta voice inside my head snips.

“Never is an awfully long time, Peach. You sure you wanna commit to that?”

His words hang in the air between us, a challenge and a promise all at once. I feel the heat of his body, the magnetic pull that seems to draw me closer despite my better judgment.

“Beau,” I whisper, half warning, half plea.

His hand cups my cheek, his thumb brushing over my bottom lip. I can’t help but part my lips, my breath hitching in my throat. His eyes, those deep blue pools that seem to see right through me, flick down to my mouth.

“What am I going to do with you, Eloise?” he murmurs, his breath ghosting over my cheek.

I swallow hard, my fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. “I think the better question is: what am I going to do withyou?”

His lips curve into a smile, and then he’s leaning in, his mouth a whisper away from mine. “Anything.Everything.”

I rock onto my toes, whispering against his mouth, “Then kiss me, Beau.”

“With fucking pleasure,” he growls.

His hand slides up, fingers tangling in my hair, as he cups the back of my neck. The warmth of his touch seeps into myskin, igniting a slow burn that spreads through my veins. There’s a heartbeat of stillness, a breath suspended in time, before he lowers his head and captures my lips with his.

I sink my fingers into the hair at the nape of his neck and push onto my tiptoes for an even better angle. My other hand roams over his upper back and shoulder, mapping out his carved muscles.

The kiss is a revelation, a perfect storm of gentle and demanding. His mouth moves over mine with exquisite precision, coaxing and teasing, stoking the embers of desire into a raging inferno.

A low, desperate noise groans from the back of my throat, and if I wasn’t so deeply enmeshed in the kiss of a lifetime, I’d be embarrassed. But I don’t need to worry, not when the sound seems to spur Beau on, his hands sliding lower to my waist, anchoring me to him.

His free hand skims down my side, his touch electric even through my dress. When he reaches the hem, he toys with it, flipping the edge between his fingers.

I slide my hand over his bicep, feeling the firm swell of muscle beneath my fingertips. His skin is hot to the touch, like he’s burning up from the inside out. Slowly, I trail my fingers down the length of his arm, and when I reach his hand, still toying with the hem of my dress, I cover it with my own.

He breaks the kiss, resting his forehead against mine as we share oxygen. In a moment of boldness, I guide his hand underneath the hem of my dress, just an inch.

My breath catches as he palms my leg, his thumb sliding over the sensitive skin on my inner thigh.

His fingers inch higher, bunching the fabric of my dress as they explore the sensitive skin. Each caress is both a question and a promise, igniting a need deep within me I’ve never experienced before.

Beau breaks the kiss, his breath ragged against my lips. His eyes, dark with desire, search mine. “Is this okay?”

I nod too quickly, my hand reaching out to bring his mouth back to mine once more. “Touch me.”

He nips the side of my neck, dragging the edge of his teeth over my tendon. “I am touching you.”

“You know what I mean.”

I feel petulant and turned on. It’s a fucking weird combination. I can’t possibly be held liable for what comes out of my mouth when I’m in such a state.

“Spell it out for me, baby. Tell me what you want.”

“I want you,” I breathe out.

"I'm right here," he says, his cock hard against my body as he presses into me.

My chest flushes with desire. “I need more.”

“Tell me what you need, Peach.” His voice is a calloused caress across my senses.

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