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Don't let him do this.

Opening my eyes, I peered up at him under hooded lids. “But you didn't think about me that night.”

“You have no idea how much I regret what happened. But we can start over, right here, right here now. A new beginning for both of us.”

“It doesn't work that way, Yuri.”

“It could if you let it.”

“Is this why you came here? Because you saw me in town and thought that you could get a do over?” Pursing my lips, my brows furrowed. “There is no second chance here, there never will be. You made a choice, and I won't ever be able to forget it.”

His thumb drew light circles across the curve of my throat, causing my breath to hitch. “I'm not asking you to forget, Gwen.”

“Then what are you asking?”

Thinning his lips, his large palm scooped my cheek. “Look up.”

“What?”

“Look up.” His gaze shot to the ceiling, returning to my face. “Go on, look up.” Tilting my head back, I eyed the mistletoe above us. “I want you to know that I understand. If you want me to leave, I will. But I want my kiss before I go.”

My eyes danced between his and the mistletoe. There were two voices in my head. One telling me to just turn and walk away, the other telling me take this kiss as a parting gift, to accept it and kiss him one last time.

No, he doesn't deserve it.

“I'm not kissing you, Yuri.” Pulling his hand off my face, I folded my arms across my chest. “What we had was a long time ago, it's over now.”

“Is that right?” he asked, his smile turning into a wolfish grin.

Flaring my nostrils, I rolled my eyes. “You chose prison over me, so yeah, I'd say it's done.”

“It was nothing like that.”

“I don't want to get into this right now, I think you should just go.”

Leaning forward, he let his lips hover dangerously close to mine. “I'm not leaving without my kiss, it's bad luck to not give a kiss under the mistletoe.”

Our eyes froze on each other, his sultry and dark, mine wary and confused. “If I kiss you, do you promise to leave and never come back?”

Holding his hand to his heart, he quietly whispered. “I promise to leave, but I can't promise I'll stop trying to win you back.”

Memories of how his mouth felt on mine, of how his hands possessed my body, of how he controlled the pleasure that surged through my veins came flooding back.

Yuri had been my first everything. There's something about your first that sticks with you. But it's more when all you ever wanted was that first to also be your last.

His breath washed over my face as his lips softly grazed mine. Sucking in a gulp of air, my body began to shake as he closed the final gap. Pressing his lips to mine, my body took control, willingly accepting his kiss as if I had been suffocating and he was the air I needed to survive.

The tip of his tongue teased the slit of my lips as his hand swept around, capturing my nape and holding me in place. I didn't fight him, I didn't try to stop him, I didn't tell him no.

Every muscle in my body turned to mush as the years between us seemed to wash away, bringing me right back to where we left off eight years earlier.

I couldn't smell the food anymore or hear the other people at the party, I was numb from the neck down.

Yuri's kiss deepened, my lips parting to make room for his tongue. He tasted sweet, like honey and Bourbon. Our tongues twirled and licked, turning a simple kiss into something more.

My stomach tumbled with butterflies as his fingers worked their way into my hair, digging at the roots. Pushing his lips harder onto mine, Yuri wrapped his other hand around my waist, pulling me in.

Taking strong steps forward, he walked me backwards into the laundry room and closed the door behind us. Our mouths never broke apart, they only devoured more.