Page 50 of Hired Husband

“Then stop being ridiculous.”

He glanced down at the floor, slowly lifting his gaze from the blanket on it, to the bed, and then bringing it back to mine before he let out a soft groan. “Oh, fuck it.”

Before I could ask what he meant, he closed the short distance between us in just one stride, sliding his hand up to my cheek and searching my eyes for the briefest heartbeat before his lips were on mine and he was kissing me. Softly. Gently. Like he was expecting me to pull away, but I didn’t.

I leaned into him instead, my hands gliding up his back as I tilted my head to deepen the kiss. He made a soft sound, stealing the breath from my lungs when he stroked his thumb across my cheekbone, kissing me until time stopped and I forgot all about why we shouldn’t be doing this.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears, my entire body yearning for more, but as I ran my hands up to those broad shoulders, I had a flash of him standing there in that tailor shop, being fitted for a tux for the gala, and reality came crashing back in for some reason.

I pulled away from him immediately, suddenly unable to breathe, think, or stay in this tent for even another second.

I just turned and ran, following the moonlit sand to absolutely nowhere. Behind me, he called my name, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Not right now.

Maybe Isaac had been right about sleeping on the floor. We’d taken this whole pretending thing too far, and if I didn’t get away from him right now, I honestly didn’t know if I’d be able to stop it from going even further.

CHAPTER 19

ISAAC

“Jasmine!” I called, watching her run into the night. “Where are you⁠—”

I didn’t even bother finishing the question, suddenly realizing that she obviously wasn’t coming back. My head spun as I stood there, breathing hard and still tasting her on my tongue.

While I knew I’d kissed her, I had no idea what had just happened. She’d run like I’d accidentally set something on fire, but not before kissing me back. One second, she’d been pulling me closer, and the next, she was gone.

“Fuck.” I fumbled for my shirt, managing to get my head through the wrong hole before nearly strangling myself with my own sleeve. “Oh, come on.”

After a few very undignified seconds fighting my way into a garment I’d been perfectly capable of getting myself into for the last twenty-seven years—give or take—I finally got it on, but I was still pushing my hand through the sleeve as I raced out onto the sand.

“Jasmine!” I called again, but she was somehow already halfway over a dune, just the shadowy outline of a figure crossing the sand. “Jasmine!”

She didn’t even look back. At least, not that I could see, so I took off after her. But I quickly found out that while she seemed to be fast on sand, I was not.

Every stride had me sinking a few inches, the dune somehow seeming farther away the closer I got to it. Meanwhile, Jasmine floated over the terrain like she didn’t weigh a thing.

“Do you have mountain goat in your family tree?” I shouted, but she didn’t answer and I groaned, trying to move faster but failing spectacularly.

The sand kept shifting like it was trying to swallow me whole, and by the time I got to the top of the first dune, I was panting like I’d run a marathon. Jasmine had already made it down the other side, a fast-moving silhouette against the sand.

“Jasmine! Please!”

She finally looked back, but she was still moving, which was probably a good thing since I didn’t even really know what I was asking anymore at this point. Please what? Stop running? Stop making me think I just ruined the best friendship I’ve had in years? Please forgive me?

“Can we please just talk?” I took off again, but I’d barely taken two more steps before the sand once again gave way beneath me.

Unfortunately, I was going downhill now, and apparently, that also meant that as the sand gave way, it slid. And I went with it, pinwheeling before I rolled over and then kept rolling. My head went over my heels, my arms and legs useless no matter what I did. There was just nothing to grab hold of.

The next thing I knew, I landed face first at the bottom of the dune and a low groan tore out of me. Stationary now, I didn’t even try to move. There was sand in my eyes, in my mouth, my ears, and down my shirt. I was pretty sure I now had sand in places no one ever wanted it.

That was the only thing I was aware of. The sand everywhere. I wasn’t even sure if I was in pain. All I felt was the stinging sand, so I stayed exactly where I was for a few long seconds before I finally lifted my head and spat.

Sand. More sand. Every time I tried, more sand came out.

Slowly, I pushed myself upright until I was sitting back on my heels. Naturally, since I was now half desert-monster, sand poured out of my shirt with the movement, running out of my hair and God only knew where else.

“Isaac!”

When I looked up, Jasmine wasn’t running away anymore. She’d doubled back, coming straight toward me. Unlike me, however, she practically surfed down the dune she’d been halfway up, as graceful as some kind of desert fairy.