Page 26 of Regally Binding

She couldn’t stop laughing even as he dived onto the spongy seat beside her. His laughter was the most beautiful sound. His face lit up with a joy that floored her. He wasn’t just handsome; he was the most attractive man she’d ever seen. All muscle and beauty with a laugh that made it impossible not to join in.

She gasped for breath as he leaned his head against the sofa. “I needed that,” he said with a sigh. The action forced his T-shirt to ride up. The sight of rippling abs gave her an idea, and she dove onto him.

“And now for pinching time,” she shouted and aimed for a bicep, but of course, he was quicker than her. In another move she wasn’t prepared for, he picked her up and dropped her sothat she lay the length of the sofa, her legs wide where he’d settled. She was no match for his strength and experience.

“You’re terrifying, you know that?” he growled, his arms on either side of her head, crowding her in a way that made it nearly impossible not to flex against him.

“That means a lot coming from the hulking bodyguard resting between my thighs,” she replied, panting from the flip and the need she couldn’t deny.

Suddenly, everything stilled as he fixed her with his gaze. Joviality was sucked out of the room and replaced with a heat that filled her veins. She wetted her lips with the tip of her tongue. His gaze tracked every movement before returning to her eyes.

“We really shouldn’t do this,” he murmured. His features were pinched as if an internal debate was raging, squeezing his crucial organs and reminding him of his responsibilities.

Sound rushed through her ears as her heartbeat thudded.

“I’m supposed to be professional. I should be acting like a bodyguard.”

She didn’t respond for fear that her desire would force her to make a decision she’d overthink for days or that her sensibility would fill her with regrets. All the touching and laughing turned Liss into a ball of molten arousal, but she couldn’t admit it to him. She swallowed repeatedly.

His eyes were impossibly dark, and his jaw set with an intensity that blistered every inch of her skin. Time stood still as he loomed above her.

“I won’t tell anyone. It will just be one kiss.” She didn’t recognise herself when she was with him. “I don’t understand what you do to me,” she whispered, panting and trembling. “I barely know you.”

“I want to understand, too, Princess.” His fingertips feathered across her face, and she pressed her cheek to his touch. His hotbreath caressed her neck, and she shivered against him. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Liss. And you’re funny and intelligent and feisty and sexy and…” His pause was painfully long. He closed his eyes, squeezing them tightly.

“Bear?” she whispered, pressing his hand against her cheek. Electricity sparked from his skin to hers.

“Fuck it.” His lips crashed into hers with an almighty force. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she moaned against his mouth. “I love your moans.”

His mouth opened, and she slid her tongue in. He met her kiss with less ferocity. Bear’s hands slipped to her hair, stroking the strands as she pressed her lips harder against his. His gentle touches slowed her hunger, and their kisses were softer.

They stayed like that for minutes, losing themselves in each other’s touch, not pushing it beyond the delicate kisses of two people wanting to immerse in the pleasure of lips and feathering touches.

He pulled away slightly and pressed his forehead against hers. His pupils dilated, and he licked his lips like he savoured her taste.

She held her breath and closed her eyes, silently willing for something.

“We shouldn’t have done that,” he said. His voice was so gravelly. So that kiss meant more to her than him? She opened her eyes, refusing to show emotion. His face was as blank as she hoped hers was.

“Mistakes happen,” she murmured. Bear’s stare was penetrating. She needed to return to her room before she let on how crushed she was. “Best get off, Bear.”

He lifted himself gently off her, holding his hand out to help her up. “You okay?”

“Totally. You’re not the first guy I’ve kissed,” she replied with a laugh more hollow than she liked. He was the first to make herfeel things with just one kiss. That was something she needed to hide from her features too.

The lift dinged. Strike was on his way up.

“Let me make you a coffee.”

“Seriously, Bear, I’m fine, and I’ve already drank too many of your coffees,” she replied between clenched teeth. She didn’t want Strike to catch her with swollen lips. “We kissed, it was nice, but it was a mistake. Just leave it.”

As she stepped into her room, the lift opened. She kept her bedroom door ajar.

“What have you done?” Strike snapped. Through the gap in the door, she spied his stance stiffening and a scowl appearing on his face.

“We were practising self-defence,” Bear snarled with his head high as he moved the furniture back to its original position.

“Get downtown. You need to answer messages and take a break.” Strike glowered, and his eyes narrowed. He slammed his fist against the wall. “When will you fucking learn, Bear?”

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