Page 35

“No. I haven’t.”

Relief flashes across his face, quickly replaced by something darker. “Good.”

“Good?” I repeat. “There’s nothing good about this situation. This is a disaster.”

His hand comes up to cup my face. “The only disaster here is you marrying a man who isn’t me.”

My heart hammers against my ribs. This is insane. Completely reckless. I’m engaged to another man, standing in a bathroom with Reign’s hands on my face while my fiancé waits outside. The guilt should be crushing me. Should send me running back to Gio’s side where everyone says I belong.

But there’s this tiny part of me that’s practically glowing at his words. At the raw possession in his voice when he says I should be marrying him instead. At the way he’s looking at me like I’m something precious he’s found after searching forever.

“You don’t mean that,” I whisper.

“Don’t I?” His thumb traces my bottom lip, and I can’t stop the small shiver that runs through me. “I’ve been going out of my mind since you left. I hired a private investigator to find you.”

My breath catches. “You did what?”

“You heard me.”

“But we only spent one night together.”

“One night where I learned every inch of your body.” His eyes hold mine. “One night where I made you come four times, and you still begged for more. One night that I’ve relived every day since.”

He lowers his head until our lips are a breath apart.

“Tell me you don’t think about that night. Tell me you don’t remember how it felt when I was inside you. Tell me you don’t wake up reaching for me instead of him.”

Silence stretches between us. Any denial would be a lie, and we both know it.

“Reign, look I?—”

“Kiss me.” Reign slides his hands to the nape of my neck, and his fingers thread through my hair. “Kiss me and tell me that night was a mistake.”

My heart pounds so hard I’m sure he hears it. His eyes search mine, demanding honesty I’ve never allowed myself.

“One taste, Princess. That’s all I’m asking for.” His fingers tighten in my hair just enough to tilt my face up to meet his. “If I’m wrong, you can go back to your fiancé, and we can pretend that this never happened.”

Time suspends between one heartbeat and the next.

“Okay, fine.” My hands slide up his chest to his shoulders, my fingers digging into muscle as I rise on my toes. “One kiss.”

Our lips meet with none of the hesitation of our first kiss in San Diego. This is desperate. Hungry. My mouth opens under his without prompting, seeking the taste I’ve tried and failed to forget. He growls into the kiss, the sound vibrating between us as his free hand grips my hip, pulling me against the hard length of his arousal.

I moan, and Reign swallows the sound as he backs me up fully against the counter. His hand slides down to grip my ass, and he lifts me so our bodies align perfectly. Even through layers of clothing, the heat of his body against mine sends fire racing through my veins.

The kiss turns savage. His teeth catch my lower lip, tugging until I gasp. Reign breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against mine. His voice comes out rough and wrecked.

“Still think it was a mistake?” he asks.

I open my mouth to answer, to tell him yes, that this changes nothing. But no words come. My mind has gone completely blank, overwhelmed by the heat coursing through my body.

All I can focus on is the way he’s looking at me, the way my skin burns where he touched me, the ache between my thighs that’s growing more insistent by the second.

“I...” I start, then stop. My thoughts scatter like leaves in the wind.

“Sit back on the counter.” Reign’s eyes darken as he studies my face.

Heat floods my cheeks. I’m so turned on I can barely form a coherent thought.