Page 58 of The Stranger

He draws back his upper body slightly and gently tilts my face to meet his. “Consoling you.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re upset.”

“They’re happy tears,” I tell him.

“They are?”

“So far, the results were all negative.”

My answer is rewarded with my first full, toothy smile. And oh, my God! It lights up his entire face. Even when he’s brooding, this man can get your blood pumping, but this version …holy cow. It’s enough to steal all the air from my lungs.

His hand moves from my jaw, tenderly caressing my cheek with the pad of his thumb.

“You look beautiful when you smile,” I admit. The words spill from my mouth before I realise what I’m saying.

I don’t know if it’s my confession, the moment, or just the inevitable, but his face suddenly inches forward and a minuscule whimper pushes past my lips the moment our mouths connect.

At first, it’s just an innocent kiss—like the one he gaveme when my sister was spying on us through the window. A mere meshing of our mouths. His lips are soft—softer than I remember—but firm in a way I’m not expecting.

His tongue juts out, slowly skimming along my bottom lip, tasting me … teasing me. This time I moan, but I still don’t open up for him.

“Do I have to take what I need from you, Delilah?”

I nod my head, because as wrong as this is, it feels so goddamn right. Every fibre of my being is screaming for me to relent. To hand myself to him on a silver platter, but the thought of him forcefully taking what he needs has moisture flooding my underwear. A simple request from a man I have absolutely no business being with, has me more turned on than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m not kidding; if he so much as breathes on me, I’m pretty sure I’m going to come.

Is it because he’s forbidden … or because our age difference makes this taboo? I can’t say, but I want to climb this man like a tree. I want to sit on his face and ride him until I’m screaming his name.

My flattened palms slide over his firm chest until my arms encircle his neck. My fingers tug on the short hairs at the nape as I encourage him to keep going, to take it all … to devour every inch of me.

My lips part when he draws back, and our eyes lock. I hope he can read minds because I’m telepathically sending him a silent plea.

Please.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asks, giving me an out if I need it.

I nod again because I have no plans to move. I’m right where I want to be and eager to see how far he’ll take this.

On a shuddering exhale, he grasps my ponytail, tugging slightly before wrapping it around his wrist andtilting my head further back. His move is possessive, hot, and makes my skin prickle with anticipation.

“I’m going to hell for this,” he mumbles, and if that is true, I’ll be there right alongside him.

Instead of kissing me again, which I was hoping, he runs his flattened tongue from the base of my throat to my chin. “You drive me wild,” he whispers against my skin, and even if he’s just speaking in the moment, I’ll take it.

He peppers kisses along my jawline before sucking my earlobe between his lips, lightly nibbling on the flesh with his teeth. The only part of him that has touched me is his mouth, and I’m already on the brink of coming undone.

“Do you know how often I’ve fantasised about you, Miss St. James?”

He has?

I like that the not-as-pretty, not-as-smart, and least likely to succeed out of the St. James sisters can bring a man as handsome, intelligent, and successful as him to his knees.

His lips are back on mine, and his movements are gentle at first, but when things amp up and he finally lets loose, his kiss is rough, relentless, all-consuming, and so fucking good.

Without breaking contact, he wraps his free arm around my waist and somehow manoeuvres me, so I’m straddling his lap. He doesn’t release me, though; he drags my body closer until my chest is flush with his.

It’s not the only part of us that’s touching. In this position, I can feel how hard he is beneath the zipper of his trousers. I wore a pantsuit today, which I’m now grateful for, because it doesn’t constrict how far I can part my legs.