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There’s another stiff breeze and Katherine tips her chin up, looking at the sky. Another enchanting smile curves her lips. “I think it’s going to rain.”
No sooner have the words left her lips than I feel a drop hit my cheek. There’s a squeal of voices across the park and then a flurry of activity as Mother Nature sends everyone diving for cover.
Katherine doesn’t move.
Of course she welcomes it. Will she ever stop surprising me? This princess who’s finally escaped her tower.
She grins over at me, so much joy radiating from her that I sit in the rain, almost dumbfounded. Then she reaches for the remnants of our picnic, tossing them back into the basket the hotel provided.
I launch to my feet, take her hands, and pull her up. She snatches the blanket, and I grab the basket and her hand. Then we’re off. Dodging raindrops as we race back to the hotel and laughing because there’s something so refreshing about being caught out in the shower. Tourists are darting off, and the city is being cleansed.
My men keep up, protecting the woman who’s come to mean everything in such a short amount of time.
She tugs me down a side street. Shirt speckled with raindrops, she glances up at me, all pink-cheeked and excited. There’s a flicker of something mischievous in her eyes that reaches down inside me, unlocking an exuberance I haven’t felt in decades.
Katherine gives my hand a firm tug and leans against a wall, gaze searching mine.
She drops the blanket and reaches for me, fingers clinging to my shirt. Desire coils heavy inside, ready to strike, to unleash, to throw her over my shoulder and race back to the hotel.
“Why are we stopping, Beauty?”
Not that I care about getting wet.
“So I can kiss you.”
I duck my head. The rest of the world falls away, and nothing and no one matters except for her. Us. This moment. Rain falls from overhead, drenching us in a late spring storm. “I thought so.”
Her lashes flutter closed as she stretches up, so eager for my kiss. The picnic basket plops against the pavement, and I crowd closer to her, caging her against the wall.
She gives a happy little moan.
The first touch of our lips is soft perfection. A brush of a butterfly’s wings. But I can’t stop there. Not with the way her body strains against mine. It’s like she sucks me in with her whole body, speaking without words. No. Shouting without words.
No sounds are needed. It’s all there in her hands moving over my shoulders, down my sides, and hooking through my back belt loops. It’s in the way the urgency of her kisses tick up. More and more energy ignites between us until her lips part and she teases me with that talented tongue.
Groaning, I open my lips, parrying back, losing myself in her and our kiss. Only when we’re both breathing heavily and reaching a fever pitch do I lift my head.
“What are you doing to me, Beauty?”
“Just marking items off the bucket list, Mr. Hunt.”
Damn, her sassy comebacks stoke the flames. I want to hear more about this bucket list, but first, it’s time to get off the street.
34
ALEX
Back at the hotel, we drop off the basket and blanket with a smirking concierge. I’m keenly aware that Katherine and I look like cats that fell into the bathtub. This is the kind of establishment where that type of thing stands out.
Not to mention, her lips are plump and pink from my kisses. The other couple on the elevator take note as well. The matronly woman looks on with a curious expression, but the man smiles, and his gaze rests on Katherine a little too long for my liking.
I tug her against my side, and a floor later, they exit the elevator.
I didn’t know I had such a possessive side, but I love leaving my mark on her. You’d think I’d hate sharing her, but I don’t. The opposite, actually. I like knowing that if something were to happen to me, she’d have Gabe and Kingston. That knowledge brings me comfort.
As soon as we enter the suite, I take off my soggy shirt. Katherine’s gaze is so hot and appreciative as it rakes over my bare chest that I swear steam rises off my shoulders.
Somehow, I managed to keep my hands to myself as we crossed the lobby and on the elevator. Mostly. But it feels so damn good to be able to touch her whenever I want. To know she welcomes my touch.