Page 9 of My Forbidden Valentine

"Absolutely not." He swallows, feeling cornered. But I don't want to stop. I want him to look at me like the woman I am.Not his best friend's daughter. Not some girl he had to rescue because she didn't get a date on Valentine's Day. Not the person he's hiring to help with his paperwork. "What are you doing, Emma?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" I get closer until there's just an inch separating us.

"This is wrong."

"Why?"

"I'm way too old for you. And like I told you, I'm not into relationships."

I see how nervous he is. And I can't get enough of it. In fact, I'm intoxicated by it. I want him.

"Who said anything about a relationship?"

He betrays himself by glancing at my lips and I know. I know he wants this as much as I do. This is just one day, it's not even Valentine's like yesterday. It doesn't need to be serious even if my heart aches more for this man than for any man I ever been with. Or maybe some of yesterday’s vulnerability it’s still clinging on to me. But I don't need to over analyze this. We can just be two adults who enjoy themselves. Nothing more.

His eyes drop once again to my lips and I have to bite down my smile before I close the distance between us and reach for his lips. He seems surprised by my boldness so at first, he doesn't do anything but our lips are touching and I encourage him, show him that this is okay. That I want this. That I want him. And then he responds, and… this kiss… it's everything. He doesn't push me, it's gentle, and it's kind, none of his grumpiness and shyness is there while he takes my lips and savors them. That's what it seems he's doing, savoring every single tiny square inch of my lips while my body craves more. Itry to open up for him but he doesn't let me, covering my lips and closing my mouth. It’s funny, instead of disappointment, it generates excitement, a warm feeling in my lower belly, accumulating wetness in preparation for him. It's madness how he's making me feel with just a kiss, so gentle it’s as if he’s afraid I might break.

But before I assure him that it's impossible for him to break me, he stops. My lips feel both numb and incredibly sensitive with his absence, I need more, so much more.

He gasps for air like he has been underwater. "This cannot happen again."

"Why? I can see you want me."

"That doesn't give me a reason to. This was a mistake."

It’s so final, the way he said it was a mistake. Like he’s built a wall between us in an instant, solid and impenetrable. I take a step back, vulnerability washing over me as his words hit harder than I expected. Maybe I just wanted someone to want me after last night—someone who made me feel perfect, like August did. But it’s more than that. I can’t stop thinking about him, craving his touch, and now I’ve gone and done something impulsive like kissing him. And the worst part? I know he’s not ready for this. Not ready for me.

Chapter 7 - August

I can't see her like this. Her lights dimmed down because of me. I fucked up. I shouldn't have kissed her because now all I want is for her to be mine. And that kind of greed can only lead to heartbreak. Mine mostly. She said she wasn't looking for a relationship but I'm already thinking of all the ways we could have one. What it'd be like to be with her. I can already picture her in my bed, the light from my bedroom window highlighting her curves as she sleeps, waking up with that excited smile she gets, and me, just as thrilled, making her breakfast.

"It's not you," I say but I immediately regret it because the moment it leaves my mouth, it's crystal clear it's not the right thing to say from the way her shoulders tense.

"Right. Like I haven't heard that before. It's fine. I should go." She glances at her watch. "My dad should be arriving any time now to pick me up."

"I told you I'd drive you home."

"No reason for you to." She's cold now, none of her playfulness that I've come to love are gone. But she asked her dad to come to pick her up before this. She was expecting to not even get a ride from me. Did I ever make her feel she was a burden? Or is she so used to rejection she doesn't have faith inanyone? She appears to be so bright and shiny but she's showing me that despite the way she presents herself, she also carries her wounds with her. Why is she used to being rejected like that? She is breathtaking, she is smart, who the hell wouldn't notice it? I'd kill for a chance with her.

One I just blew. One that was within my reach.

It's just... I don't know if I'll ever get over her if I let myself fall. And a woman like her? She’s not going to put up with my shit. Right now, she finds it funny how abrupt I am, but two years from now, that’ll wear off. It’ll turn into something she resents me for. I’ve tried to be better, but I’m not a sunshine-and-roses kind of person. When a car comes in, I’m thinking about all the ways I need to fix it and every possible way I could mess it up worse. If a customer’s late, my first thought is that something terrible must’ve happened. I always go straight to the worst-case scenario. And sure, it doesn’t always happen, but living with that kind of outlook weighs on you. It makes you see the world as a darker, harsher place, and I know she doesn’t deserve that.

I hear a knock and Clarissa opens the door. "Emma, your dad is here."

"Right on time." She says, not a single drop of emotion in her tone. And it breaks me. Because she doesn't even look back as she steps away from my office, leaving me lost.

I leave the office too, hoping to see her with her dad will erase any kind of longing I feel for this woman. Hoping it will make me remember how awfully wrong it is for me to desire her.

Jeffrey has his arms crossed and when he sees his daughter, his eyes light up. I wait one second, two but none of my desire gets erased, I still want her. I'm still wondering how long I can feel her lips in my mouth.

"Hey!" Jeffrey waves at me. "Emma told me you came to pick her up and towed her car yesterday. Thank you."

I shrug my shoulders feeling guilty about all these thoughts.

"Do you want to have lunch with us? Delilah is making her best tacos. You don't want to miss it."

"Dad..." Emma pleads and I know she doesn't want to be near me.

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