Page 77 of The Love Wager

He chuckled darkly in her ear. “Then what doyousuggest?”

“Um,” she said, not wanting to give up the intimacy they’d shared since arriving in Colorado, “maybe we just set a hard and fast rule about sex.”

“That it has to be hard and fast?” he growled, and she felt his teeth on her earlobe.

“You know what I mean, perv,” she said in a near-whisper.

“I do.” He nuzzled his nose against her neck, his breath streaking over her skin. “We solemnly swear not to have sex this weekend, no matter how many times you bite me.”

“Exactly.” She laughed. “And no matter how nice your calves are.”

He lifted his head. “My calves?”

“I’m so distracted by them, you don’t even know,” she confessed.

He started laughing, and the sound filled the darkness.

“We should probably go back now,” Hallie said, not wanting to but knowing her mother and sister wouldn’t put up with her absence for long. “I’m sure someone will be giving a toast soon.”

“Wait.” His phone lit up the darkness, and she heard his message send before her phone buzzed.

She pulled it out of her pocket.

Jack:Since we’ve doubled down on this weekend being a one-off, can I kiss you?

She stared at the text for a long moment, wondering how to respond, and then she turned off her phone and slid it back into her pocket. She said, “We’ve kissed multiple times since you picked me up this morning. You’re asking permissionnow?”

The hard line of his jaw was caught in the light of his phone. “I’m not asking as your fake boyfriend.”

Hallie’s heartbeat picked up again. She felt a chill on the skin of her neck as she said, “So...youwant to kiss me?”

His phone’s display timed out and turned off, and she heard a roaring in her ears as she waited for his answer.

“Just once,” he said, his voice gravelly. “Jack and Hallie for real, before things go back to normal.”

She seriously thought she might faint. She struggled for words and all she came up with was, “My hands are shaking.”

She felt his hands on the sides of her face, and she could hear her own trembly breathing. His mouth came down on hers, but instead of the hot, arrogant kisses she’d become accustomed to since the airport, this was... different.

It was an intimate, sexual kiss, the kind of kiss that was usually shared in a darkened bedroom, with one body stretched out on top of the other. Wide-open mouths, slanting for the perfect connection, the warmth of his breath on her lips, the feel of his fingertips on her skin.

His tongue tangled with hers and teased, his teeth nipping at her lower lip, and she felt herself rearing up, desperate to meet him kiss for kiss, and to do whatever it took to keep him from ever stopping.

She reached out and grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket, pulling herself closer to him, pressing her body against his. He grunted, and she felt his hands squeeze her waist, slide down to her ass, and it was her turn to let out a noise when she felt his hardness grind against her.

“Don’t you dare stop,” she breathed into his mouth, and she let her head fall back as his lips moved down to her throat.

“I have to, Hal,” he panted into her neck, sucking her skin as he pressed his body into hers. “Before we mess up everything.”

“Yeah,” she said, agreeing while also moving her hands so she could feel his thick hair between her fingers. “Good idea.”

“So... are we stopping?” He lifted his mouth, but she could still feel his breath on her throat when he spoke, and he sounded like he’d do whatever she said.

“Yes,” she said, letting go of his hair and saying on an exhale, “I guess so.”

“Thank God,” he replied, his voice a sleepy drawl. “Because I have a roll on my plate that I haven’t gotten to yet.”

“The rolls are trash,” she said, her hands still shaking as she fumbled to get herself together in the dark.

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