“You have my word I won’t stop,” he whispered silkily before he slanted his lips back over hers in the most tantalizing caress.
“Good, because I’d have to come after you with my cleaver if you did,” she playfully whispered back, making him cough out a laugh.
Lust was there, sure, the kind they’d been battling daily for over one hundred and twenty long—very long—days. Only, so was the endless affection, humor, and caring they had for each other.
Some people had a girl squad. She had Kyle. He’d become her ride or die. Her everything.
Those soft and squishy feelings scared the hell out of her usually, but she wasn’t scared right now, with him anchoring her against the wall.
He was the guy who knew her inside and out and accepted and cared for her. He didn’t seem to care that she was a loner, mostly, as blunt as a sledgehammer, and not very girly, what with the bulky black clothes she wore to disguise the overly large chest that embarrassed her.
How was a tough girl from a rough Miami neighborhood supposed to push that kind of guy away? It was like asking a chocoholic to swear off chocolate.
“God, you’re so beautiful, Mad.” His nickname for her came in the kind of reverent tone one usually heard in a church.
His compliment deserved another—even though it felt so weird to hear him calling her beautiful. She was justher.“And if there was a Michelin star for kissing, you’d have two stars.”
His brow winged up. “Only two?”
She poked his chest, savoring the musky scent of his cologne. “I have to give you room to compete. We’re both overachievers.”
His deep chuckle made her want to nestle against his chest. “Noted. God, I’ve wanted this—and you—for so long. I must be dreaming.”
“You aren’t asleep, Kyle.” She playfully pinched his fabulous butt, the one she’d secretly eyed in their home kitchen.
“Feel free to grab my ass in clarification anytime. Now, let’s see if I can make you feel likeyou’redreaming.”
A knee-jerk response came out. “I don’t dream.”
But she did. About him. About the Michelin star she’d been working for her entire adult life. About the found family they’d created here in Paris. About being more than friends with him.
“Indulge me,” he whispered huskily, making her knees weak.
He tunneled his hands into her short black hair, cupping her nape as he sipped at her lips, making her back arch off the wall and into the long hard lines of his body. No, she wasn’t dreaming, but she certainly felt like her body was dancing a slow and sultry bachata with him. Damn but he always knew how to give her what she needed, and he proved it in triplicate when he finally crushed his mouth to hers again.
Her world became his rock-hard muscles, the urgent press of his weight against her, and the raging fire between them.
She was going to die.
She was going to rise from the ashes.
She was going to be that incredible phoenix she’d seen people get tattooed on their skin as a sign of being reborn.
Because of the power of their bond.
Here in the hallway of a Paris apartment with the staccato boom of the Arc de Triumph’s fireworks in the background.
“Oh my God!”
The shocked exclamation broke through her lust-filled haze and rocked Kyle as well, because he immediately drew back and turned his head toward the sound. Madison winced as she spotted Thea standing in the hallway next to her new husband. Her big brown eyes were wide with shock. Dammit, they had gotten caught, and by their roommate everyone calledlittle sister…the one who was supposed to be on her honeymoon with the grimacing man beside her.
“Forgive us for interrupting,” Jean Luc murmured, taking Thea’s arm and trying to turn her around, back toward the apartment stairs.
Madison’s fingers tightened on Kyle’s arm before she made herself gently push him away. He was already moving, but he shot her a look filled with such intensity she had to lock her knees to stop from sliding down the wall to the floor. He clearly didn’t like the interruption by their newly married friend either, however how much she meant to them both.
Only…maybe it was a good thing Thea had walked in when she did. The interruption was like a rock hurtling through the proverbial window. It had gotten Madison’s attention and stopped her from making any more mistakes.
“Hey, you two!” Madison cleared her throat and tried to sound like she hadn’t been about to tear Kyle’s clothing off in a public hallway. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on your honeymoon.”
