Page 3 of The Reluctant Wife

As if she senses my presence, she looks at me over her shoulder. There’s a challenge in her eyes.Eh? What is she up to? What is she—? She bypasses the exit and continues down the corridor.

I should let her leave and relish meeting her as a nice memory. After all, I don’t know her. I’ve only just met her. I stand there, clenching and unclenching my fists. The next thing I know, I'm in motion. I take off hot on her heels.

I take in the sway of her hips under the dress she’s wearing. It clings to her curves and reaches halfway down her thighs. The three-inch heels she’s wearing draw attention to her shapely ankles. A thrill of anticipation pulses under my skin. Sweat pools under my armpits. I raise my gaze in time to catch her gathering her hair over a shoulder.

The creamy expanse of her back bared by the deeply cut 'V' of her dress has me entranced. She passes the line of women waiting for the ladies’ room and continues until she reaches the door that must open out onto the back alley. When she steps through, I’m right behind her. The door slams shut. The sound echoes around the empty space. It sends a shudder of something through her—anticipation, fear? A mixture of both? She pauses. And when I place my hand on her shoulder, she shivers.

When I run my hand down the expanse of skin revealed by the plunging back neckline of the dress, she sighs. I slide my hand down the arch of her back. I want her so much. I want to push her up against the wall, lean into her and draw in her scent. And her skin— I swallow. That gossamer-fine, satiny-plush, buttery-smooth skin of hers. One touch and it’d stop the devil himself in his tracks. I’m only human. I pull her up against me, and she gasps.

I lower my head and drag my whiskered chin up the side of her neck. She shudders. And when I bite down on the lobe of her ear, she whines. The sound cuts through the haze in my mind. I raise my head and look around the empty alley. There are dumpsters opposite us, lined up like sentinels. A dog barks in the distance. The faint sound of voices, then a muffled crash as something breaks, reaches us through the door at our back. I wince. Then twist her around to face me.

She looks up into my face. And I know then, I must have her. Just one night; then I’ll let her go. It’s only to assuage this burning need inside of me. The kind I forgot I was capable of feeling.

"Come home with me," I growl.

Her gaze widens, then she shakes her head. "I can’t."

"Why not? You want this. So do I." I knit my brows. "Unless I read your signals wrong?"

She blinks rapidly.

My heart sinks a little. I didn't realize, until now, how much I want this woman. I force myself to push aside my despair and focus on her features, "Did I read your signals wrong?” I prompt her.

She shakes her head. "I do want you.”

The tension in my shoulders bleeds out.

She sets her jaw. “But I can’t wait." Before the full impact of her words sinks in, she jumps up. I catch her. She wraps her legs around my waist. "Here"—she pants—"right here."

I hesitate.

She rises up, throws her arms about my neck and holds on. "I want you." Her lips tremble. "Please."

Her soft whisper slithers down my spine. My heart rate spikes. I turn and, shielding her back with the palm of my hand, I press her into the wall near the door we came through. She must sense the evidence of my need, for her lips part, then she raises her chin. I lower mine. Our mouths clash.

The kiss is everything the earlier one promised and more, so much more. Her taste permeates my senses; her scent fills my nostrils. The feel of her in my arms is heaven. I tilt my head and drink from her, feel the barrenness in my chest absorb the sensations and come to life.

Once again, I feel this…meeting is not trivial. It’s meant to be so much more than this. More than a chance encounter. More than a fumbling fuck in an alleyway. I pull back and, chest heaving, stare into her flushed features. Her eyelids flutter open, and she looks back with dilated pupils. Her fiery red strands have fallen over her forehead, and something in the angle at which she’s staring at me sends a ripple of awareness up my spine. "Have I met you before?" I frown.

She startles, then panic filters into her eyes. "Of course, not." She half laughs. The sound is feeble, and a flash of guilt laces her features. She pushes against my chest, and I let her down, takinga step back. I steady her until she finds her footing, then stay in place until she’s put her clothes to right.

"You know what? Forget it." She tosses her head, "I don’t think I want you, after all."

I allow a small smirk to curl my features and am rewarded by her glower.

"That’s not what I read on your features earlier, Princess," I scoff.

An expression of alarm comes over her.Huh?

"What’s wrong, you—" I grunt when she kicks me in the shin. It’s not that it’s painful as much as she takes me by surprise. Enough to distract me. So, when she darts past me, I don’t stop her. By the time I recover and hurry after her, she’s reached the mouth of the alley. It’s the anxiety I saw on her face earlier that has me concerned. I don’t think I said anything to warrant it. She was into me. She wanted it as much as I did. But something happened to make her anxious. And I need to understand what it was. At the very least, I need to make sure she gets home safely.

I run after her, turning the corner to find her racing up the sidewalk, past the entrance to the bar. I run toward her, then pause when she reaches a stately Jaguar with tinted windows and slips into the driver’s seat. The car feels too formal for her, yet its elegance also befits her.

I rub at my temple.Who is this mystery woman?One who looks like an angel and smells like heaven—yet had the presence of mind to pretend I was her husband to get rid of unwanted attention—but kisses like a siren.

She’s so full of contradictions, so full of life, so enticing that, surely, I won’t be able to forget her. It’s the first time a woman has made such an impression on me. The car drives past. The window on the driver’s side lowers, and her gaze meets mine.

Despite the darkness, there’s enough light from the streetlamp to light up her features. Her eyes sparkle like thecolor of bluebells after rain, like the richness of blue diamonds. Something so precious, so rare. My heart skips a beat. Our gazes hold. The chemistry sparks across the distance. Then she throws me a kiss.

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