Page 8 of The Taming Game

“Alright! That’s enough! We’re done with this!” Neal says.

“I happen to like cotton candy and peppermints,” I say with a shrug. Belle laughs softly along with Ella.

“Lily, can I talk to you outside?” I ask. I feel rather than see every eye in the room settle on me.

“No,” she snaps, and then raises her brows. “Why?”

“You won’t know unless you come outside,” I reply, before heading out of the back door that I know leads to the back patio and yard. I hear her socked feet padding behind me. She closes the door.

“What?”

“So hostile,” I laugh. “Can I ask how you’re doing this fine evening?”

“Skip the bullshit. What do you want?” she says with a sigh, flipping her long dark hair over her shoulder.

I step forward just enough so I’m directly in front of her and lean down until our eyes are level. She gasps and goes to step back but I lock my arm around her waist and hold her there.

“That foul little mouth of yours,” I whisper, breathing in the scent of her. Coconuts and something else. I can’t place it. “I have an idea of what to do with it.”

My lips graze her ear, and I have to fight not to kiss her neck. Fuck, she smells good. Her breath is shaky as she tenses, our bodies so close, but barely touching. I can feel her trembling from my arm loosely settled around her waist. She sets her palms on my chest for a second too long before she pushes me away. Her face is flushed, and her breathing is a little too heavy.

“Don’t,” she pauses to swallow. “Don’t touch me.”

I’m going to break her. It doesn’t matter how long it takes.

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