Page 2 of Lush

Reese’s hand, calloused and warm, cupped my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze in the mirror. “It matters to me.”

Smile, Laurene.

Smile and nod. Smile and comply. Smile and marry Conrad Ashbourne.

And I was so fucking tired of it.

Mama told me what to do, so I did it. I was marrying Reese’s older brother. A man I barely knew.

A man I didn’t want.

“Look at me,” Reese said, his voice low and intense.

A bruise marked his jaw, and I wondered how he’d gotten it. My chest tightened with a familiar mix of anger and worry, a combination that always left me off-balance. I hated how much I still cared.

His fingers skimmed down my throat, his lips barely grazing my ear. I shivered as his hand danced over my collarbone, drifting dangerously toward my breasts.

“Reese.” I tried to pull away from the spell he always seemed to cast on me. But his mouth found the sensitive spot on my neck, and I bit my lip to stop the moan that rose in my throat.

He released my flesh, a mark already forming. “You know you belong to me, Laurie.”

This was killing me. I could manage the rest of the world, but Reese? He was an uncontrollable wildfire. The way Reese touched me, the things he did—they clung to me, burned me,marked me.

Hating him would have been easier.

But I loved him, hopelessly, with everything I had left.

“I… Reese, mm-hmm—we can’t!”

“Ineedyou.”

The footsteps outside the door cut through my thoughts and chilled me.

“This is dangerous.”

We were in public.Anyonecould find us like this. Our families already hated each other. This would be a scandal.

Reese’s hands slid up my thighs, lifting my dress, exposing my bare skin to the cool air. My fingers wrapped around his wrists, a feeble attempt to stop him.

“I hate you,” I said, my voice trembling.

“You don’t.”

His lips pressed softly against mine before he sucked on my bottom lip. I shuddered, felt myself weakening, my head falling back, throat exposed. His hands moved with an urgency that stole what little air I had left.

“Tell me you don’t feel it,” he murmured as he kissed me, his hands inching my dress up and over my ass.

“I…” The word stuck in my throat, and I hated myself for the hesitation. “I don’t.”

A lie. A weak, pitiful lie that didn’t fool either of us.

Reese didn’t wait for an answer. He spun me around, gripping my hips. His eyes locked on to mine—I saw anger, regret, and all the things we couldn’t fix.

“I’ve tried to forget you,” he murmured, “but I can’t. Stop lying to me, stop lying to yourself. I’ve been drowning without you.”

“You’ll ruin me.”

His hands slid over my ass, and I felt him squeeze before giving it a firm slap and I gasped. I trailed my hands up his chest and he caught one, lifting it to his lips to kiss the center of my palm.

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