Page 40 of One Night in My Rival's Bed

A flicker of something passed through his gaze. ‘How? Did you say something to her?’

‘No, but she noticed how you look at me.’

He frowned. ‘How do I look at you?’

‘The same way I look at you.’

He brushed the pad of his thumb across my lower lip, sending my senses into a tailspin. ‘I guess it’s hard to hide the sort of chemistry we have.’

I eased myself out of his arms. ‘Yes, well, it’s not going to last for ever, is it? These things have a habit of burning out over time.’ I spoke with cool detachment but inside I was thinking the opposite. I knew it was not going to burn out for me. How could it when I loved him with every fibre of my being?

His jaw tightened as if he was thinking over an appropriate response. His expression was mask-like but I could sense movement at the back of his gaze.

‘Is it burning out for you?’ His tone was as cool and detached as mine.

‘Not yet.’

His gaze lowered to my mouth and the floor of my belly shivered. ‘Good to know.’ His hands settled on my hips and he brought me a tiny bit closer. I could feel the press of his erection and my pulse began to quicken.

‘Don’t we have a flight to catch?’ My voice was shamefully breathless, my skin tightening all over with desire.

‘It’s a private flight—it won’t matter if we’re five minutes late.’

‘Five minutes? You reckon you can get me to come that quickly?’

He gave me a wolfish smile and brought his mouth down closer to mine. ‘Watch me.’

The next couple of weeks were nothing short of a whirlwind of activity. I had to juggle work with dress fittings and meetings with the team at Happy Ever After Weddings, who had kindly taken Niamh and Ethan on, due to another couple postponing their wedding due to the groom injuring himself in an accident.

It was so different from when I had planned my own wedding. For one thing, I hadn’t been anywhere near as excited and happy as Niamh. I hadn’t been glowing with love for my fiancé. I had simply been going through the motions, ticking the boxes that needed to be ticked. Find dress.Tick. Book church.Tick. Select reception venue and menu.Tick.It had been a long list of jobs to get done.

Witnessing my sister’s joy and anticipation made me feel increasingly envious. I began to daydream about my fling with Grayson becoming something else. Something more lasting. Something that would lead us to plan a wedding one day. I could imagine my joy and excitement if I was engaged to Grayson. I could imagine wearing his ring and looking at him the way my sister looked at his brother.

I could even imagine carrying Grayson’s child.

I placed a hand on my belly, as I had seen my sister do so many times over the last couple of weeks. What would it feel like to have Grayson’s child in my womb? I pushed the thought away before it could get a stronger foothold. What was I doing? I was a career woman through and through. I didn’t have time for kids. My career was too front and centre. So too was my commitment to Niamh. I had always put her before everything.

But Niamh has Ethan now.

The thought was reassuring and yet...and yet I was so used to being there for my sister. I didn’t know any other way of living. For the last twenty years I had been there for her. I had overseen her education, her medical care, her social life—her everything.

Who was I without her needing me?

In amongst all the wedding preparations, Grayson and I were still meeting after hours to work on Ethan and Niamh’s house design. Neither of us had told our siblings about our relationship but I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable about the secrecy.

It was Grayson’s turn to come to my house a couple of days before the wedding. I opened the door to him, and he stepped inside and closed the door. He reached for me and dropped a firm kiss to my lips. ‘I’ve missed you.’

I leaned back in his embrace to look up at him. ‘But you saw me the day before yesterday.’

His arms tightened around me, and my pulse began to gallop. ‘I like seeing you every day.’ His voice was husky and low, his gaze dark and glittering.

‘I like seeing you too.’ I stood on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his lips.

He groaned and pulled me even closer, his mouth taking charge. His tongue slipped between my lips and danced with mine. Heat exploded in my body, my legs trembling, my spine loosening, my heart racing. We stumbled to my bedroom, knocking against furniture as we went, our mouths glued together as the passion between us soared. It was always like this—a rush of desire that was so heady it made me dizzy. I could not get enough of this man’s touch.

‘I want you,’ I said.

‘I want you more.’

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