Page 56 of Outlaw Ridge: Hayes

“I thought I’d give it another try. Or maybe an alternate ending.” Hayes slipped his arm around her waist and led her to the desk, motioning for her to open the envelope.

She did. Then, laughed again when she saw the small stack of index cards. The one on top said to “Kiss the host.”

So, she did. Jemma eased her hand around the back of his neck, dragging him to her for a kiss. A real one. Complete withthat slam of heat and pleasure. As always, she slipped right into it and let the need flashfire through her. She would have kept kissing, kept building the heat, but he eased back from her.

Now, he was smiling. “I made some of the tasks a lot easier than the first escape room tasks,” he drawled.

“I can see that,” she muttered. “And my body is thankful for it.”

That thanks went up a whole bunch of notches when she read the next card.Kiss the host again.

“Works for me,” she said, going in for round two.

Jemma sank down on the edge of the desk, pulling him to her again, this time with his body positioned between her legs. Along with a scorching hot kiss, she also got some delicious center-to-center contact.

She groaned though when Hayes shifted to pick up the third and final card. While the game was fun, and she was getting to see a playful side of Hayes that she’d yet to see, there was an urgent need for him building inside her. Still, she picked up the card and saw the key taped to the card.

“I’m not picking the lock to get out of here,” she let him know. But then something occurred to her. “Does this key open a drawer with condoms? If not, I’ll pick the lock,” Jemma amended.

He chuckled. Kissed her. Made her body burn and her heart skip a couple of beats. “It’s a master key. It opens any and all locks in the entire house. And I want you to have it,” he added.

Her gaze connected with his, and Jemma tried to figure out if this was some kind of invitation, his way of saying she could come and go anytime she’d pleased. Or even move in with him. If so, that was a good start in that new normal she wanted with him.

But Jemma needed more.

And she needed to tell him something. It was time to bring up that huge risk of a confession.

“I’ve fallen in love with you,” she blurted.

Then, she waited. And waited. Waited some more. Hayes continued to stare at her, continued to give nothing away.

Not until that slow smile moved over his mouth.

The relief came, and Jemma might have gone limp with it, but he didn’t give her a chance. Simply put, Hayes kissed the living daylights out of her. A no-holds-barred kind of third-base kiss that was fueled with pure lust.

And more.

She realized themorea split second before he said the words that would change her life forever. “Good,” he muttered. “Because I’ve fallen in love with you, too.”

There it was. Not just the start of their lives together, but a leaping jump right into the middle of it.

He robbed her of what little breath she had left by kissing her again, and in the same motion he eased her back onto the desk. She only hoped it was sturdy enough to hold them both because without taking his mouth from hers, he climbed on as well.

Now, they were center to center again. And judging from the heat of the kiss, things were going to escalate very quickly.

Smiling and with her heart so full and on the verge of bursting, Jemma wrapped her arms and legs around him, and she held on for the wild ride.

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