Page 129 of Kiss Me Like You Mean It

‘What?’

He gives me his wolf smile. The one I know means trouble, but he only shrugs. ‘Answer it.’

‘Okay,’ I reply slowly, but when I try to stand up he holds my hip, my back pressed firmly to his chest.

‘Answer it, Lee.’ This time the words have that edge of command to them that makes everything inside me feel heavy and liquid.

Rattled, I press the accept button. ‘Hello,’ I say into the phone.

‘Lee!’ Adrian’s voice is in my ear, as Nico brushes the hair gently back from the side of my neck, pressing his lips there. ‘I wasn’t sure if I’d manage to get hold of you. I’m in New York for work, and I was hoping we could meet up.’

The words take a long time to reach me, because Nico’s other hand is trailing over my thigh, his fingers tracing lazy figure-eights across my bare skin, and my nerves snap and spit like a freshly lit sparkler.

‘I – I’m not in New York,’ I manage. ‘I’m in Maine.’

‘Maine?’ Adrian echoes, and Nico feathers kisses down the side of my throat. I finally gather my senses enough to try and bat him away, but he only laughs softly.

‘What are you doing in Maine?’ Adrian asks.

‘Tell him what you’re doing, Daisy.’ Nico’s hand skates up higher, his fingers play under the hem of my pyjama shorts.

I try to move from his lap, but his other hand holds me firmly in place and all I succeed in doing is grinding against his erection. Both of us freeze for a second, and when he returns to his unhurried exploration of my neck, tasting my skin with his tongue, I have to bite back a whimper.

‘Lee?’ Adrian says, and I scramble for coherent thought.

‘I’m visiting friends,’ I temporise, and Nico lets out a rumble of disapproval. His teeth scrape across my collarbone and I almost jump.

‘Oh,’ Adrian huffs out a sigh. ‘That’s disappointing, but we can grab dinner when you’re back.’

‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea,’ I reply.

‘Why not?’

With a Herculean effort I organise my thoughts. ‘Because we broke up?’

Adrian laughs. ‘Oh, that. I thought you’d have realised that was a mistake by now.’

Nico has finally gone still underneath me.

The pompous certainty in Adrian’s voice makes me frown. ‘No,’ I try to sound apologetic, ‘I don’t think it was a mistake.’

‘Why not?’ He seems genuinely mystified. ‘There isn’t any reason for us to break up. We’re very good together.’

‘I’m sorry, Adrian.’ I close my eyes, because I’m so rubbish at this. ‘I don’t think we’re right for each other. I should have said something sooner. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you or lead you on.’

‘You’re saying you don’t want to get back together?’ He sounds put out. ‘Look, I’m willing to overlook this whole… incident. Clearly, you’ve been under some pressure at work and you’re not thinking clearly.’

I’m trying very hard to hold onto my empathy for him, but it’s a struggle. His persistence is all the more confusing because our relationship was so… tepid.

Shit. Gran was right. Maybe not about everything, but she was definitely right about this.

As if echoing my thoughts, Nico huffs a laugh. ‘This guy?’ he says, and he nuzzles the skin behind my ear. ‘Put him out of his misery, baby. Tell him.’

‘I—’ I start, and Nico’s hand slips up, under my T-shirt, his thumb brushing over my nipple. ‘I’m married!’ I blurt.

‘You’re what?’ Adrian asks, shocked.

‘And?’ Nico hums. Unthinking, I rock in his lap, and he draws in a sharp breath, but drops the hand under my T-shirt back to my hip, holding me still. He nips my earlobe. ‘Not yet,’ he reprimands me softly, and his voice is top-shelf whisky, caressing my senses. ‘You know how to get what you want.’