Page 52 of My One Week Husband
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, I was involved. Yes, I gave my seal of approval. Yes, I had a feeling it was what Cole needed. But you came to me with it. You had the idea. I was simply your biggest cheerleader. Because I loved what you wanted to do for your friend.” She taps my chest. “But you made it happen.”
I grab her hand, bring her fingers to my lips, and kiss them. When I let go, I ask a question that tugs at my mind now and then. “Does it bother you that I was part of that? Part of a threesome with them?”
She tosses her head back and laughs. “No. Not in the least. I don’t care. I understand exactly why you did it then, and why you and Cole engaged in them. Why would I be bothered?”
I give a shrug, a little unsure. “Maybe it makes me seem like a hedonist. Maybe you don’t like that.”
She laughs, a confident sound. “You are a bit of a hedonist. But there’s nothing wrong with that. It was something you and Cole did, and now he’s with her.” She pauses, then narrows her brow. “Wait. This isn’t where you change your mind and tell me you want to have a threesome with me after all?”
I laugh, deep in my body, far into my heart. “I still don’t want to share you with anyone. Not a man. Not a woman. I want all of you for all of me. And I can’t stand the thought of another person touching you,” I say, jealousy flaring in my chest in a nanosecond. “So riddle me that. I’ve certainly never felt that way about anyone else.”
Her smile lights her face. Seems to light the whole damn city. Pretty sure I just told her that I’m falling for her.
But I also know that falling is dangerous.
I’ve got to reel it in. To be careful.
I’d do well to remember that I destroy the things I love.
That’s why I can’t let myself love her. I can’t let myself fall harder.
Enough talk for today. I drape an arm around her, drop a kiss onto her cheek, then squeeze her shoulder. “Come now, Mrs. Brahms. Let’s go take some pictures by the sea.”
We walk toward the water. I take out my phone and snap endless shots of the two of us. Pictures of us, the Mediterranean behind us, Marseille in front of us, and the world at our feet. Someday I’ll look at these and remember the day when I was the happiest.
I make myself a promise not to destroy this moment.
23
Scarlett
This is risky.
But spending more time with an unavailable man I’m falling hard for is a risk I’m willing to take.
When we return to our room that evening, I grab a bottle of Cassis rosé, pour two glasses, and raise mine in a toast. “To acquisitions,” I say, since it’s looking more and more like we’re going to make an offer on this chain.
He clinks his glass to mine. “To mergers,” he says in his deliciously seductive voice that sends a thrill down my spine.
We both drink, then I set my glass down. He does the same before looping an arm around my waist. “Now let me taste the wine on your lips.”
I oblige, lifting my chin, offering my mouth.
He takes it, a greedy man, but a tender lover too. He kisses me slow and deep, sliding his tongue over my lips, opening my mouth, exploring me. His kiss is hungry, insistent, but never too much. I love that he can be rough when I beg for it, and gentle when I need sweetness. Right now, I crave this tender side of Daniel.
I loop my hands into his hair, feeling the soft strands, arching against him, seeking closeness.
We break the kiss, and I’m already turned on, wildly aroused. “Will you undress me? Spread me out on the bed and take me?”
I want to add make love to me, but I won’t dare use those words.
“I will,” he says, a husky promise.
His fingers travel to my blouse, unbuttoning it slowly, like a seduction. The hair on my arms stands on end. Pleasure sweeps over me, and every part of my body sings for him.
He pushes my shirt down, letting it fall to the floor. My skirt goes next, and I step out of it—out of my flats too. I’m wearing only black lace panties and a bra, but he’s still fully clothed. “I think I better get to work on you,” I say.
“Be my guest,” he says, and I like that we can trade off.
Soon, he’s down to his boxer briefs, and I push them off, then reach for his shaft and squeeze it, savoring the hot, hard feel of him in my palm.
He closes his eyes, groaning my name. “Scarlett.”
