Page 143 of The Temporary Fiancée
“I’m falling for you, Olivia,” he says, meeting my gaze.
For a moment, I’m speechless. I’m terrified and overjoyed at the same time. I’ve been falling for him, too, for the longest time. I’ve been falling for him since long before this began, if I’m being completely honest with myself, but over the past few weeks…
And now he’s telling me that he wants me. That he wants this to be real. I wasn’t crazy, after all. There’s something between us—it isn’t just me. That at least is a massive relief.
Of course, this is about as risky as it gets. The details of our carefully-planned contract dance through my head, unbidden. I could get my heart broken by him so, so easily. I wouldn’t be the first, and I’m scared that I wouldn’t be the last either.
When I look into his eyes, though, all I can see is sincerity—and adoration. His feelings are clear, and in the face of them, I can’t hold my own back anymore.
“I… I feel the same,” I confess. “I have for a while now.”
He comes closer to me, his hand slipping behind my head. He bends down, and my eyes flutter shut as he crushes his lips to mine.
Chapter 32
Reed
Olivia’s kisslights something inside me, just like her words did a moment ago. They’re still echoing in my mind as I lean in and find her mouth again, letting myself finally have what I’ve been craving for what feels like forever.
All of her.
All ofthis. Whatever this thing is between us that I’ve been trying to talk myself out of for weeks.
I groan against her lips, my hand sliding up to cup the back of her head. She tastes addictive and sweet, her mouth pliant under mine, and my pulse is pounding so loudly that I’m sure she can hear it.
“I’ve been falling for so long, Liv…” I murmur between kisses. “Longer than I knew how to admit, even to myself.”
Her fingers slide into the hair at the nape of my neck, holding me closer. “Me too.”
“I kept trying to talk myself out of it. Telling myself this was just the arrangement. That I wasn’t—” I swallow and draw back just enough to look at her, my thumb tracing along her jaw. “You have no idea how far gone I am for you.”
A little smile plays at her lips. “How far?”
“All the fucking way, baby.”
With those words hanging between us, I kiss her again, deeper this time, my tongue sliding against hers as I kneel on the couch beside her. Her hand drops from my neck and slips beneath the hem of my shirt, her fingers trailing up the bare skin of my stomach. The heat of her touch sends sparks shooting through my veins, and when she reaches out to palm my cock through my pants, I groan roughly, shifting my weight so that I can settle between her legs on the couch.
Then it hits me like ice water down my spine.
She was in a car accident this morning.
I pull back abruptly, my hand catching her wrist before she can do anything else.
Her eyes fly open, her pupils blown wide as her brows draw together in confusion. “What—Reed, what’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this. We shouldn’t be doing this right now.” My voice is hoarse, and I let go of her wrist to drag my hand through my hair, trying to get my breathing back under control.
Her frown deepens. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No. God, no, baby.” Sitting back on my heels, I cup her face in both my hands, my thumbs stroking along her cheekbones. “Never. But you were in an accident a few hours ago, Liv. You’ve already been through way too much today, and I don’t want to hurt you.”
For a beat, she just looks at me. Then her expression softens, the worry in her eyes giving way to something else, and she shakes her head.
“Reed…” Her voice is barely above a whisper. “This is exactly why it’s been so impossible not to fall for you, you know that?”
My chest squeezes as her words fill the quiet of the room.
“You take such good care of me. You always have.” Sitting up just a bit, she leans in to press a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth before continuing. “Even before I knew that’s what youwere doing, you were doing it. You’re the most caring man I’ve ever known.”
