Page 18 of Wild Lies

All too soon, she leans back, dragging her hands down my chest.

I open my eyes and, without thinking, blurt, “Why did you stop?”

I see the uncertainty in her gaze, and a sharp pain twists in my chest before she looks down, fiddling with the button on my shirt. “God, I feel like a teenager with insecurities. I didn’t know if you liked it, and I didn’t want to keep forcing you to kiss me.”

“But I liked it.” The words come out rougher than I intend, a hint of my neediness threaded between them. “I like you.” More than I should considering how long you’re in town for.

Chloe sits back. “Then why aren’t you kissing me back?”

How do I tell her that if I take control, I don’t know that it will be slow and tender like she deserves?

Blowing out a breath, I look out of the wall of glass on the other side of the room, greeted by darkness but able to picture the mountains that always soothe me. “I don’t want it to feel like I’m taking advantage of you, but I’m also not sure I can take it as slow as you deserve.”

Pressing a hand against my cheek, Chloe forces my attention back to her. “Kade, I need you to devour me.”

Fuck if I’m not the luckiest guy on the planet.

I wait a beat before moving, placing one hand on her thigh and banding an arm around her torso. Within seconds, Chloe is on her back and I’m hovering above her, her chest rising and falling in a heaving rhythm from the swiftness of my moves. “At any time, you say the word, and we stop.”

“I won’t,” she breathes.

Dammit, Chloe. She’s the woman of my fucking dreams. “But just know that you can.”

I settle my body on top of hers when she nods.

“Is this okay?”

She shifts her hips, my hard cock pressing against the thin barrier of her panties and jerking at the warmth emanating from her warm pussy. “Yeah, it feels so good.”

A muscle ticks in my jaw from the control I’m barely holding on to. It’s only when I think I can speak without my voice coming out strained that I say, “I’m going to kiss you now.”

Chloe cups my face and replies, “Please do.”

Dusting my thumb over her bottom lip, I move the same hand to rest under her head, angling her just right as I capture her mouth with mine.

I give us both a moment to adjust to the firmer kiss before opening my mouth and coaxing hers to follow. Chloe’s tongue meets mine, and she brings her legs up around my hips, as if she’s trying to deepen the connection between us even more.

She moans, the sound primal and needy, calling to the parts of me that crave her. To every inch of me that needs her. I feel like I’m drowning, and I have zero problems with that. My life could be ripped from me, and because I got to experience the taste of her kiss on my tongue, I’d be okay with it. This will be enough. It has to be, because I won’t put my desire for more onto her.

Breaking the kiss, I gasp, my gaze darting around her face and down to her chest, where it brushes against mine as she sucks in air. If I thought I was turned on before, I was wrong. This is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

I should slow down. Breathe. But fuck, it’s already too much.

Chloe rests her hand on my cheek, drawing my focus back to her. “Why did you stop?”

I clear my throat and shake my head before smoothing my hands over her hair. “I just need a second.”

Her mouth forms a perfect “O” shape as she blinks up at me. “We could go upstairs and get more comfortable?”

Upstairs… where I assume the bed is. And here I was just thinking about how I shouldn’t put more pressure on her.

“Maybe I should get going.” The lie tastes bitter on my tongue, and I want to take the words back as soon as I utter them into existence. Not just because I don’t mean them, but because she looks hurt.

Chloe pushes at my chest, and I instantly sit up, removing my body from hers. She climbs off the couch, and I avert my eyes as she straightens her dress. It’s only when I’m certain that she’s decent that I look up at her as she stands above me, her arms wrapped around her body, hurt filling her features.

“If that’s what you want.” She moves across the room, putting both physical and emotional distance between us.

“It’s not,” I rush out.