Page 54 of Tastes Like Summer

“You didn’t hurt me,” I lie, opening my eyes and facing her head on. And it’s a mistake. It’s a fucking mistake because she’s gorgeous and heartbreaking and, standing in front of me right now, I realize there’s nothing I want more in life right now than her. Screw the restaurant, screw Jonathan—I’d rather have Diana.

“Um. Okay. So, maybe you’re just upset with me. Still, I want to talk to you. About this. Right now.”

“Sorry, but don’t you have a fucking date to get back to?” I seethe, pointing in the direction of where we set up the dinner table for them both. “Won’t Jonathan start to wonder where you’ve gone?”

“No, actually. He’s the one who sent me to you.”

“I’m… confused.”

Diana looks away, sighing impatiently. “Obviously, he could tell something was up between us. I mean, the man is a proven genius. I think I read an article about him one time where it mentioned his IQ was something like 143?”

My jaw ticks, not liking her complimenting another man one single bit.

God, I hate this jealousy—it’s so foreign to me.

“Anyway. He could tell how upset we both were. So much so that, as soon as we sat down, he asked point-blank whether we dated. I said no, but… but I told him something had happened between us. And that I—” She sniffs, quickly rubbing away a tear as it streams down her cheek. She shakes her head once. “That I really like you. That I… that I really care about you.”

I suck in a breath, my heart jumping in my chest. “Did you just…”

She laughs once and rubs the back of her hand over her nose. “Yes, okay. I care about you. I mean, obviously. We haven’t known each other long, but I’m sure you know me well enough to know I’m not one to casually make out with someone, am I?”

“No, you’re not. Which is why seeing him with you tonight after having you ignore my calls… It ripped my heart out.” I grimace, because I’m not usually one to get this poetic, least of all one to speak about my vulnerabilities. Yet here we are, discussing how her dismissal of the events that transpired only a few days ago almost ripped me to shreds. “I went from the highest of highs, from flying on fucking cloud nine after what we did by the pool… To feeling the lowest I’ve felt in a long time. I… I put myself out there, Diana—just like I am now—and I didn’t just get ignored. No. I also have to see you show up with another man looking so fucking beautiful I can’t even think straight.” In the moment, something takes over me—something foreign that grabs ahold of my sanity, of everything I’ve ever known about myself. And it’s her and us—it’s the possibility of more with her. It takes over, pushes me to the extremes. It leads me to declare something I know to be true with everything that I am: “You aren’t his. You aren’t anyone else’s. You’re mine.”

Without thinking, I reach out to wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her roughly against my chest. One hand slides into her hair as I turn to push her against the wall right before pressing my lips to hers.

She melts into me, her hands sliding up my ribs before tangling into my hair. With a moan, her perfect lips part, her sweet tongue sliding against mine. Having her in my arms like this is intoxicating, so much so that I lose all sense of self-control. Because, after just a moment, my right hand slides down her neck to her breasts, where I rub my thumb over her pebbled nipple right there where anyone can walk in on us.

“God, you’re all I can think of anymore,” I growl in her ear. “You’re all I want.”

She moans my name as my lips travel to her neck, kissing a trail down to her exposed collar bone.

“Say it again. I need to hear you say my name again.” I graze my teeth across her delicate skin, eliciting a moan from her.

“Michael,” she breathes. “Michael, Michael. Michael Haynes. Michael.”

“Fuck, Diana.”

“Yes.” Her voice is breathy, almost pleading, as she lifts a leg and wraps it around my waist. I wrap a hand beneath her knee and keep her leg right where it is, opening her hips a bit wider so I can fit between them. In a fog, lost in her voice and scent and perfect body, I press my own hips forward, rubbing my hard cock against her. Even through our clothes, I know I’ve hit the right spot when she moans in my ear, begging for me to do it again.

“Yeah. Anything you want,” I assure her, voice gravelly. “Anything you need, baby.”

The hand that was wrapped around her leg travels up her thigh and over her ass. I somehow manage to dip my fingers beneath her underwear, teasing her by playing with the hem. There’s no one around to stop me from inching to the front, right where I want to be. I want to feel the heat of her, find out just how wet she is. I want to touch her and make her feel good—so fucking good⁠—

A crash from the kitchen causes us to break apart, our secret hallway tryst leaving us both wanting more, panting like we’ve just finished a marathon.

“Holy shit,” I say with a laugh, bracing my hands on my knees as I attempt to catch my breath. “That was the most life-altering kiss of my fucking life.”

Almost gasping for air, Diana leans against the wall, fingertips over her lips as they spread into a gorgeous smile. “I think that was slightly more than a kiss, don’t you?”

A smile flashes across Michael’s face, his green eyes dark and mischievous, while I smooth my now-wrinkled red satin skirt. There’s no denying that I’ve just been kissed within an inch of my life—or how embarrassingly close I was to actually coming from it. Old Diana would be mortified. But current Diana is starved and aching and feels so empty she wants to tell the whole world they’re going to have to wait because there’s something she needs to do before she gets back to it, and that thing is Michael Haynes.

“That was⁠—”

“Everything,” he says, taking my face in his hands, and placing a soft kiss on my lips. “It was everything.” I look up at him, unable to help the goofy grin on my face. “But it’s clear this isn’t the time or the place to have this conversation.”

“No, it really isn’t,” I tell him, fisting his chef’s coat in both my hands. “But Jonathan did tell me to come talk to you.”

He snorts. “I don’t think this is what he meant by it, though.”