Page 86 of Merry Fake Bride

The heat from his incredible body chases away all lingering numbness from our walk through the cold, and he hovers over me like some kind of protective shadow.

Very subtly, his lips slide against mine and they part just enough that his breath ghosts over the seam of my lips.

Then he deepens the kiss, focusing mainly on my lower lip.

I tighten my grip until the wool on his coat starts to embed in my palms.

Heat ignites in my belly and rushes through my body like a raging fire until my fingertips are buzzing and my toes curl in my thick boots.

My racing heart leaps forward, pounding so fast that I’m certain he must be able to hear it because it’s the only sound flooding my ears.

It thunders against my ribs, frantically trying to escape as if it knows the one place it might be safe is in Kairo’s arms.

He kisses me so differently from that night in the bar.

Back then, it was all alcohol-fueled touching and tearing with only pleasure on the mind.

He’s an entirely different man here and yet the same aching desire is rising inside me.

A deep yearning for gentle, human connection that’s been robbed from me for more years than I ever deserved.

In a flash in my mind, his gentle mouth sweeps across other parts of his body while his hands hold me close and the only heat I need comes from him.

My mind runs away with itself at the same speed as my heart, and I can’t control it.

Thewantis overwhelming and alongside that feeling comes a new fear.

A growing concern that Kairo might give it to me if I ask, and I won’t know what to do with it.

Kairo’s head tilts very slowly to the left and the kiss deepens.

His movement makes my fingers tighten further in his coat as if he’s about to leave, but tension building in my chest is rapidly bringing this kiss to an end.

I need to breathe.

But I don’t want to end this.

I want to stay here forever with his body against mine and his lips tenderly locked over my own, with snowflakes biting my cheeks as they land and the cold ground seeping up through the soles of my boots, eager for a taste of the fire burning between us.

Unfortunately, we both need to breathe and the kiss ends far too early.

Kairo gasps softly against my lips and as soon as I’m free, I step back and gasp myself.

Placing my hand over my racing heart, it takes me a few long seconds to even open my eyes.

By the time I do, reality has come crashing back.

What am I thinking? This can’t happen!

We’re business partners now.

Muddying the water just makes everything far too complicated, especially with a fake marriage on the table.

My unsavory mind hits me with the fear that anything that happens between us will trap me in this marriage and I’ll once again lose myself.

Our eyes meet and my heart breaks.

Kairo’s smile is so utterly soft that it makes me melt.