Page 42 of Losing Forever
He faces me directly. “What if I want to?”
“I'll have to talk you out of it.”
“Are you that concerned for me?” He steps closer.
I tilt my head back to keep eye contact with him. His sun-kissed scent eclipses the nature around us. Desire unfurls in my belly. “Yes, I'm concerned. I can drive the boat back to the house, but I can't carry you to the boat if you get hurt.”
He brushes my hair behind my shoulder, his fingertips sending tingles across my skin. “How about a deal?”
“You want to make a deal to keep yourself off the zip line?”
“Yeah.”
I shake my head and stupidly ask, “Okay. What is it?”
“I will promise to stay off the zip line if you promise to kiss me every time I come across a spider web.”
Laughter bursts from me. “How does this deal benefit me?”
“It's like you said—if I get hurt, you can't carry me to the boat. This will save you the trouble of leaving me here injured and alone while you drive the boat to shore to get help. And it will save you the immense guilt you'd suffer by not accepting my deal when you had the chance.”
He’s too manipulative and too damn sexy for his own good. “I don't need any more guilt, so…”
His features pinch with worry for a moment, but it's gone in a blink. “So we have a deal?”
If only he knew how much I like the idea of him kissing me. “Deal.”
I lift my hand in the small gap between our bodies to shake.
He glances up and to the side, where a spider web forms between two thin tree branches.
I raise a brow. “Isn't the spider web supposed to be in front of us?”
“I never said that.” He inches closer until my breasts touch his chest.
My nipples tighten at the contact, even with my bathing suit and cover-up as a barrier.
His eyes darken as his head tilts down with an all-consuming look.
I swallow deep in my throat, my breath caught in my lungs.
He runs a gentle finger across my cheek to under my chin and lifts my face higher. The caress and anticipation have my bikini bottoms drenched.
“Grayson,” I whisper, tortured by his slow descent.
“Braylee?” He holds still, his breath fanning my lips.
My body fills with want and desperate need. “Please.”
“Please, what?”
“Kiss me.” I shiver, a second from grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to make good on our deal.
A smile lights in his eyes. He sweeps his nose across the tip of mine and then, at last, he treats my lips to a soft, delicious kiss.
16
Grayson
