Page 53 of Where Happiness Begins

I keep on going, just a little more.

His body shakes under me, and I only stop when his hands grab my wrists and hold them next to his head. “You little devil.”

“You deserved it.”

He breathes fast under me, hair ruffled, looking more alive than ever before. His dark hazels stay on me, moving from my gaze to my nose and finally landing on my lips.

Only then do I realize just how entangled we got. My hair is hanging in ribbons around his neck, arms bracketing his head, and my ass is right on his groin.

I swallow. He’s hard under me, and just like last time, I can’t help but move over him, just a little. His breath hitches.

I should get up. He should push me off.

But the way he stares at my lips makes my own gaze drop to his, parted, and when his tongue darts out to wet them, I know I’ve lost the battle.

I can’t help myself from crushing my lips to his.

Immediately, his hands let go of my wrist and climb to my head, where he cradles me and tilts me at an angle so his tongue can meet mine, forcing a moan out of my mouth.

He’s both taking his time and giving me his all, deep, languid kisses that make my toes curl coming again and again. He kisses like he wants to devour me whole, like I’m the only thing he could ever want for.

And I give it back, shot for shot.

My nipples harden against his chest, and since I’m not wearing a bra under my loose sweatshirt, I know he feels it too. He groans softly, tightening his fingers in my hair, pulling just enough that the sensations become almost overwhelming. He knows what he’s doing, rocking under me, tracing lines with his pinky under my jaw, all the while getting me drunk on the taste of mint on his tongue.

And then his hands are moving down my back while his open lips brush my chin, my neck, my throat. When his fingertips lieagainst the small of my back, I arch even more against him, and he climbs back to kiss me once more. His large hands splay across my back, palms grazing the sides of my breasts, leaving me panting.

I’ve never been this riled up by a kiss, this electrified. I thought I’d been kissed properly before, but I was very, very wrong. I had to be because those guys never came close to making me feel like how I do when Carter drags his teeth against my bottom lip, passionate, applied.

Those guys were little bar shows, but he’s the goddamn stadium tour.

Our breaths come in fast as I stroke his tongue with mine, but it’s not enough. A switch has been turned on in my body, and I need more. I shift to the side so his hand can cover my breast. Just as his fingers reach my nipple, a hissing sound comes out of his mouth, and then his hand pulls back. He’s completely let go of me, his kissing paused.

And suddenly, I realize what we just did. What I have just done.

This is a fake marriage. We can’t be kissing. We can’t be doing anythingmorethan kissing. I know myself. I develop feelings easily, and our relationship is tangled enough as it is. If we continue, I know I’ll fall, and that’ll only get my heart broken.

Plus, he clearly thinks this was a mistake too. It’s written all over his face.

In one quick move, I’m off him, tucking my hair behind my ears. “I’m so sorry.”

He sits up, trying to subtly adjust himself in his sweatpants. Then he drags a hand through his hair. “No, it’s fine,I—”

“I shouldn’t have done that,” I interrupt. “I got caught up. It really doesn’t have to mean anything.”

“Lilianne…”

“No, I’m serious.” I force a smile on. “A stupid slip of the mind. Let’s just forget it.”

He blinks. “Right.”

“Great,” I say, sounding maybe too cheerful, but that’s better than letting my face show all it is I’m actually thinking. “I think we did enough cleaning for the day. I’ll go start on dinner.”

I give him another smile, and before he can answer, I leave, pretending with all I have that I’m simply walking away and not escaping him.

Chapter 22

“You done with those fries?”

---