Page 29 of Power

Something shifted in her eyes: relief, gratitude, and a flicker of something warmer. She reached up to cup my face.

I leaned down to kiss her, and within moments, the kiss deepened, sparked into a flame. We tumbled to the floor in a tangle of sheets and limbs, and I lost myself in her all over again.

An hour later, she stood up and got dressed, pulling her purse strap over her shoulder.

“Stay,” I said, my voice low and urgent. “For the weekend.”

She’d done an excellent job of keeping my mind off work. Off everything except her, in fact. My fingers ghosted over her arm.

She turned to face me, her expression caught between amusement and wariness.

“I don’t do relationships,” she stated flatly.

“Who said anything about a relationship?” I countered, stepping closer until her lingering perfume wrapped around me like silk.

Her eyes narrowed. “Staying implies it’s more than what it is. This is fun—that’s it.”

There was a firmness in her voice, confidence in her posture. Scarlett was a woman who knew what she wanted and was beautifully emboldened enough to say it. There was something about her assertiveness that made me respect her all the more for it.

I held up my hands in mock surrender. “No relationships. I promise I won’t fall in love. It’s only two days.”

“Fall in love?” She arched an eyebrow, that delicious smirk playing on her lips. “Now you’re being dramatic.”

I grinned, thoroughly enjoying our verbal sparring. “It’s two days. After how much fun we had, do you really want it to end?”

“Fun,” she echoed with a mischievous tilt of her brow. “Is that what you call this?”

“Sex is fun.” Mind-blowing, earth-shattering fun.

Her laugh was pure melody, but when it faded, I saw the truth in her eyes: she didn’t want this to end any more than I did. Maybe this was the best sex of her life too. The thought sent a thrill through me.

“Come on,” I coaxed playfully. “Midnight on Sunday, you can turn into a pumpkin. I’ll even arrange a carriage ride home.”

My own personal Cinderella.

She wavered, fingers toying with her purse strap. I seized the moment, closing the distance between us to graze her jawline with my knuckles, thrilled when her mouth parted, her chest rising and falling faster than it had been a moment ago. Sensing she needed a nudge, I moved my hand to the fabric of her pencil skirt.

She didn’t stop me.

Nor did she stop me when I lifted the hem of it slightly, grazing her bare skin with my fingertips. Instead, she locked her gaze with mine, as if challenging me to continue. Daring me even.

I didn’t know what game we were playing, but I wanted to win if she was the prize. So, I slid my hand higher, tracing the inside of her thigh.

“I promise to give you the best two days of your life,” I murmured, finding that sweet, slick heat I craved. That I needed to bury myself in, to feast on until she screamed my name.

Her gasp was victory itself. I couldn’t hold back my smirk as I circled that sensitive spot, daring her to stop me.

“Stay.” This time, it was a command, firm and resolute.

And this time, she dropped the purse to the floor. Surrendering to me.

I told myself I wanted her to stay because she was gorgeous, because this was the best sex I’d ever had. Who wouldn’t wantmore of that drug before it was gone? That was what I told myself because it wasn’t possible to fall for a woman this quickly. That didn’t happen in the real world, let alone in mine …

“We need rules,” she said.

I smiled and pushed two fingers inside of her.

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