Page 31 of Forbidden Kisses

"Yes. We're trying to take Julia's mind off her latest breakup. The girl doesn’t have any good luck, I swear. Then again, none of us do."

I moved closer. She licked her lower lip but didn't break our eye contact.

"And why is that?"

"I don't know. I, for one, have been buried in work and school for the past few years. Law school isn't for the faint of heart, and that bar exam still gives me nightmares. Dating was something of an afterthought, and the guys I did go out with… weren’t exactly what I was looking for."

"Which is what? What do you want in a man?" Why I was asking these questions baffled me. No, that was a lie. I wanted to know about her, about Riley, what made her who she was.

She averted her gaze. "I don't know how to put it into words. It's not a list of qualities or something." Then she looked back at me. "Just someone who makes me feel alive and wanted and cared for. Like I mean something to them, you know?"

She spoke with so much passion that I nearly kissed her right here against the sink.

"Anyway,” she continued, “don't worry, I promise I won't stay out very long tonight. I'll be fresh for Jeremy tomorrow."

"What you do in your free time is up to you. I have no problem with you clubbing." I sounded like an angry bear.

"Your voice sort of contradicts what you're saying." Her smile was more of a smirk.

"It does," I confessed. Somehow, I was even closer to her now. She must have showered recently, because a faint smell of lemon came off her hair. It was damn delicious.

"Duncan," she murmured.

"I’ve been thinking about you constantly since that day at the pool.”

She gasped. “Me too.”

I tilted my head, looking from her lips to her eyes. "But you've refused to stay for dinner since.”

She swallowed hard. "I thought it might be easier, you know?"

"What would be easier?"

"If I wasn't so tempted by you."

I forgot myself completely then. Forgot that there were three other people in this house—and that one of them was my son. Forgot that she was his nanny and completely off-limits.

I kissed her. She tasted like cherries.

I was a goner the second I pressed my mouth to hers. With both hands on her hips, barely keeping myself from bunching her shirt up so I could feel her bare skin, I kissed and kissed her until I was out of breath. And still, I didn't pull apart. A fainttremble went through her body. She moaned against my lips, then put her fingers on my biceps and dug in her nails.

"Riley, can you come here for a second?" Julia's voice filtered to us.

I came back to my senses, pulling away. Riley leaned back, pressing her lips together, then putting a hand on her chest.

"Why did you pull away?" The urgency in her voice nearly brought me to my knees.

"Julia called you into her room."

"Oh my God! I didn't even hear her."

In a fraction of a second, Riley’s demeanor changed. She glanced around, clearly checking if anyone had seen us. Then she darted out of the kitchen.

I found a glass in the overhead cupboard and filled it with cold water before drinking it quickly. It would have been more efficient if I'd dumped it on myself, but this would have to do.

That's it, Duncan. Now you've done it.It was one thing to pretend that moment between Riley and me at the pool hadn't happened, but this was harder to ignore. Both the kiss and what she said before it—that she hadn't wanted to stay because I tempted her too much.

I was so screwed. I had to get my shit together.