Page 27 of Falling For The Enemy (The Gilbert Curse)

“Ah, my place is sort of a bachelor pad. I don’t think you’re going to find any inspiration here,” he said.

He got out and opened her door for her, offering her his hand as she got out of the car. “You never know...”

“Actually,” he said as he led the way up to his front door, “I’m thinking about getting some of the flowerpots like you have. To pretty the place up.”

His house had been completely brought up to code and modernized, like Rory’s had on the outside, and it stood out among the other places that hadn’t been redone yet. Kit had purchased three more on this street and was in the process of developing them with an eye toward offering affordable housing to his workers once he found a large enough property on which to build Palmer Industries’ newest work hub.

His front door had been painted black and was a nice contrast to the brick stonework on the outside of the row house. The accents had originally been more Victorian but Kit favored wrought iron, which gave the place more of a contemporary feel.

He opened the door, gesturing for Rory to step inside. “There’s a rug, so be careful.”

“Thanks,” she said with a smile. She stepped inside and then stopped after he followed her in and closed the door.

She shrugged out of her coat and handed it to him and then looked down at her booted feet. “Want me to take my shoes off?”

“It’s up to you. I have a cleaning service and they are due to come in tomorrow.”

He opened the coat closet and hung both of theirs up. Turning to find she’d sat down on the wooden bench to remove her flats, he sat down next to her with the intent of doing the same, but she put her hand on his thigh again and leaned into him.

Her breast brushed the side of his arm, sending a wave of want through him. He felt the warmth of her breath on his cheek, the smell of apple cider and then her silky soft hand against his jaw as she turned his face toward hers and kissed him.

He had told himself he needed more answers to the past before he let this thing with her go any further, but he was so tired of denying himself. He wanted her. More than he’d wanted anything in a long time, except revenge.

He slipped his arm around her waist and drew her close to him as the kiss deepened. She tilted her head to the side, her tongue sliding over his. God, she tasted so good.

Like everything he’d ever wanted.

Which jarred him because all he’d wanted for so long was to see Dash Gilbert fall. That once-clear dream was blurred. Now all he could see and think about was Rory, and this kiss sharpened the need in him that hadn’t been far from the surface all day.

Stop thinking, he ordered himself.

He lifted her onto his lap, she wrapped both arms around his shoulders and he pushed his tongue deeper into her mouth as he slid his hand under the hem of her skirt, just lightly caressing the tops of her thighs. Her fingers were still on his jaw but her little finger was rubbing his neck right below his ear. Making him harden under her hip.

She shifted, her legs parting as he caressed her thighs. He lifted his head, looking down at her gorgeous face. Her eyes were half-closed, her lips parted and swollen from their kisses and there was a flush to her skin. He used his other hand to touch her lips and she kissed his finger before he drew it down her neck. She shivered delicately in his arms and shifted on his lap.

As she arched her back, his gaze fell to her breasts. He lifted one hand to touch her but knew if he did, this would go beyond a few heated kisses.

She took his hand, putting it on her breast.

“Don’t stop now,” she murmured.

Her words stirred something in him. He wanted her with a fierceness that he was fighting so hard to keep in check, not wanting to scare her. But when their lips met, he couldn’t resist plunging his tongue deep into her mouth. Tasting her again, but also trying to tame her. Trying to find some way to overcome the need and want she was pulling so effortlessly from him.

He still had no idea what he was going to do to resolve his own conflicted emotions about the entire Gilbert family. But as Rory writhed in his arms, making him crazy with desire, he realized she was becoming more important than the past.

Spending the afternoon with Kit had been fun but she knew she wanted more. Her life at times felt like she moved through it in a fog. Talking to Elle and Indy helped her to mold herself into the woman she was trying to become, but the truth was, she spent a lot of time dreaming about life instead oflivingit.

When Kit had sat down next to her on the bench in his front hallway, she’d started to think of what she wanted him to do and realized that she couldn’t wait for that. She’d spent too long waiting. So she’d kissed him.

And it was...wow. Not at all what she’d expected but so much more. Her entire body felt alive in a way that she hadn’t ever experienced before. She loved the feel of his jaw under her fingers. Loved the slight stubble under his skin and how it felt when she rubbed her finger against it.

The skin on his neck was soft and his lips were firm and felt so good when she’d kissed him. And the way his tongue had rubbed against her made her wet and her breasts felt full and sort of achy.

When he’d stopped, she was sure that he was going to slow things down. She didn’t know why, maybe he thought that was what she wanted. But she didn’t. Her life was already going entirely too slowly. She wanted him, and unless he told her he didn’t want her, too, she wasn’t ready to get off his lap.

She felt the ridge of his erection under her hips and his hand on her thigh kept creeping higher and higher. She parted her legs as his tongue thrust into her mouth. She’d been binge-reading her favorite romance novels and she knew what she wanted to happen next: his hands on her naked skin.

But of course she had tights on, not that that seemed to stop Kit. His big hand glided over her thighs around to her butt and she felt his fingers flex as he cupped her and shifted her around on his lap.

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