Page 17 of Heart Set on You

“Do it,” she says, smiling at the nickname that slipped from my mouth without thinking. “Please, Miles. I want you to.” The rasp in her voice makes her plea sound illicit. She used my name when she asked for it. It’s erotic. I’m fucking aroused like she’s seducing me with her mouth, with her words.

I don’t bother to hide my grin when I cup her face with both hands, lean in and brush my lips against hers. Her lips are soft and feel so fucking perfect against mine, a rush of electricity courses through me. I feel my heart beat faster in my chest when her lips part and I take it as an invitation to push my tongue into her mouth. I moan into the kiss and her hands tighten around my waist. Everything about this kiss is perfect and different than any other kiss I’ve ever experienced.

We’re both dazed and breathing heavy. Her fingers roaming up to my arms, gripping my biceps, our tongues tangled together. When I pull back to look at her, her eyes are still closed, her lips parted like she’s wanting more. The kiss ended too soon and all I can think about is getting my mouth back on hers.

“I’m losing my mind,” I breathe. “I can’t stop thinking of you.”

“You think about me?” she asks, her eyes open wide now, her expression in disbelief.

“I do. A lot,” I admit, which is an understatement. If I had a dollar for every time Rylee has crossed my mind, I’d have enough money to purchase a small island.

I can’t stop thinking about taking things even further, being inside her, but that will have to wait. I promised her we’d take things slow and I want to honor that. Kissing her up against this door will have to be enough, and it is.

“If I stay, I won’t be able to stop at just kissing you. I better go.”

“I think that’s a good idea.” She whispers the words, her hands letting go of the grip she has on me as she opens the door to her hotel room. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Miles. Thank you again for a nice night.”

“See you tomorrow. Night, Rylee,” I say, before kissing her. Her chest heaves as I pull my lips from hers. She smiles, seeming to have enjoyed the kiss as much as I did. I walk past her, down the hall to the elevator, my whole body covered in goosebumps.

No one has ever left me feeling like this.

No one has ever even been memorable. Until Rylee.

I couldn’t forget her even if I tried.

I send her a text, so she knows how much that kiss meant to me.

Miles: Kissing you is better than anything.

Chapter Eight

Rylee

I shouldn’t have let him kiss me. I should have said no. In my head, I knew I should stop it. But I couldn’t. In that moment the only thing I could think about was the pleasure that took hold of me. On a scale of 1 to 10, that kiss was a 20.

Apparently I can’t resist him. Miles is all I want. I’ve never been kissed like that, with such passion and intensity. I could kiss him forever. Even now, just thinking about it, it’s enough to take my breath away. I try to shake off the memory of last night but can’t. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to forget how that kiss felt. My skin heats up remembering the way his tongue found mine when he deepened the kiss. The way my knees felt weak and my back arched into his touch.

Everything about letting go and giving in to Miles was wrong. Nothing good can come from it. But despite knowing that taking things further with him would be a terrible mistake, every part of my body, every single nerve ending, is begging for more. I wish I didn’t want him, but I do.

I tried to steer clear of Miles on set today, finding some reason to be wherever he wasn’t. If he was in hair and makeup, I was in craft services. If I knew he was filming, I made sure to be sending emails for Josh in his trailer. My attention span was dismal, but somehow I managed to do my job. I felt off all day, unsure of how to act around him, how to be with him in front of everyone at work. Avoiding him was easier.

That was today. But it may not be possible to avoid Miles tonight. It’s Jared Kennedy’s birthday and we’re gathering at a little Italian restaurant to celebrate. Jared is an actor in the movie we’re shooting, playing opposite Miles and Violet as “the other man.” I wasn’t planning on coming, but it became clear that any answer other than yes was not going to cut it with Abby. I finally said I’d go with her under the agreement I would be home and in bed by 11 p.m.

The restaurant is cozy, tucked into the Yaletown district of downtown Vancouver. The walls are brick, painted royal blue, with gold sconces and black shaded chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. We are in a private room with its own white marble bar, brown leather barstools and a bunch of leather booth seats around the edges of the room. Smaller marble high top tables are scattered through the center of the space.

Abby and I are sitting at one end of the bar chatting. We’re sipping the restaurant’s signature cocktail that tastes like Meyer lemons and sugar.

“I’m so glad you came tonight,” Abby says, clinking her glass against mine. I’m tempted to down the sugary drink in one gulp to calm my nerves. My eyes nervously dart around the private room, waiting for Miles to show up. The thought of seeing him for the first time since our date, since that kiss… it might just be the end of me.

“I’m not sure there was any other option. You did threaten to ‘end me’ if I stayed home,” I tell her, popping exaggerated air quotations around the phrase to remind her of her exact wording. Abby’s a sweetheart, but apparently she’s not above resorting to threats of violence to get her way.

“Well, it got you here, and that’s what matters,” she says with a sly smile.

Miles texted me after work, offering to give me a lift to the restaurant. I declined. It all felt like too much, showing up to an industry party with him at my side. I didn’t want to deal with the stares or the questions. It was just easier if I arrived with Abby.

I knew Miles was coming, but I still feel unprepared when he walks into the room.

He’s wearing a tailored navy suit and white dress shirt open at the collar. His hair is perfectly styled, and he has a five o’clock shadow – definitely my weakness. My eyes can’t get enough of him, of his strong jaw and gorgeous, tanned skin.

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