Page 21 of Loving Her Enemy

Before he could talk himself out of it, he lowered his head until his mouth covered hers. She gasped, and her hands pushed against his chest in protest but not hard enough to make him back off. Instead, Sloane deepened the kiss and did an internal fist pump when she relaxed against his body, kissing him with a hunger that matched his.

Halayna moaned into his mouth and before long, her tongue tangled with his in a mating dance typically reserved for lovers.

Yeah, she wanted this as much as he had, and her luscious mouth was just like he expected—soft and sweet—and full lips that kissed him back with a hunger that matched his.

Her hands slid up his chest and a frisson of heat charged through his body when she fisted the front of his shirt. There was no doubt she felt the effect she was having on him. If the way his heart was pounding against her hand hadn’t clued her in, his hard-on pressed against her stomach surely did.

Sloane held her tighter, marveling at how perfectly she fit in his arms. It was as if she was made specifically for him, and his body reacted to her as if they were teenagers making out for the first time behind the bleachers.

She had to say yes because he wanted more of her. More kissing, more touching, he wanted to devour every inch of her. Like he suspected, their sexual chemistry was strong and their connection undeniable.

This might be a business deal, for a temporary amount of time, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have some fun while they were together.

His hands slid lower to her butt cheeks, and he cupped them, squeezed as he pulled her even tighter against his body. That elicited a groan from her, and she ground against his hardness, her hips moving as frantic as he felt.

Sloane’s mouth moved from hers, and Halayna whimpered as he peppered kisses along her jaw line and down her sweet-smelling neck. All the while they continued bumping and grinding against each other, their heavy breathing filling the quietness in the room.

He wanted so badly to pick her up and carry her over to the sofa so he could love on her body. Too bad that wouldn’t be a good idea. His mind warred with his body, yelling how he needed to slow his roll. Yet his body was like—to hell with that. It wanted what it wanted—Halayna—and everything she was willing to give.

But now that Sloane had proven his point—that they were compatible and hot for each other—he should release her. He should let her go, even if he wanted to explore...

Halayna gasped and shoved his chest hard enough for Sloane to drop his hands from her ass and take a small step back.

“Oh my o God. What am I doing? And you… you… I can’t believe you just did that!” she ground out, her chest heaving as her hand hovered near her mouth. Though her pretty, brown eyes glittered with arousal, her body was trembling.

“Believe it,” Sloane said, trying to get air into his lungs while willing his erection back under control as he put more distance between him and Halayna.

It had been a long time, if ever, that a woman affected Sloane like this. That kiss had not only been passionate but also potent, and he wanted another taste of her. And her body? Have mercy. He wanted to experience every inch of her, but he needed to keep his head. At least for a while longer. Halayna still didn’t know everything she needed to know to make an informed decision about marrying him.

“Since I just proved to you that we have chemistry, are you ready to hear the rest of my proposal?”

Halayna shook her head vigorously. “No! I’m not marrying you, Sloane. I want to marry for love. Having chemistry… It’s—it’s… It’s not enough. No. No,” she kept saying. She wasn’t looking at him as she backed away. Sloane wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or trying to convince herself that she really meant no.

Then suddenly, Halayna bolted from the room like an Olympic star running the hundred-yard dash in under nine seconds, and Sloane let her go. The conversation hadn’t gone the way he’d hoped, but at least she knew what he was thinking. He told her enough to pique her interest. If not, once she read the contract, she’d know exactly what he was offering, as well as what he wanted in return.

Sloane leaned on the back of the chair he had vacated and released a long sigh. He needed a plan B because there was no way he was giving up on having Halayna. And if she thought he would, she was sadly mistaken.

A smile kicked up the corners of his lips. She’d soon learn how persistent and determined he could be.

Chapter Eleven

Ohmigod. Ohmigod. Ohmigod.

Running as if her ass was on fire, Halayna took the steps two at a time and burst into her bedroom suite, slamming the door behind her. Struggling to get air into her lungs, she paced the length of the room a couple of times before collapsing face first onto the king size bed.

What the heck had just happened?

One minute, she and Sloane were talking, laughing, and eating, and in the next minute, they were hugged up together kissing.

“Oh my God!” Halayna groaned into the mattress as the full weight of what they’d done hit her. He was her best friend’s brother. A man who was so far out of her league, it was laughable. Yet, he had kissed her, and it hadn’t been just any kiss, but a kiss that had her questioning her sanity.

Sloane kissed me… and I liked it… a lot.

Oh man, she more than liked it. She wanted a repeat. A repeat of his full, demanding mouth taking what he wanted from her. A repeat of the way he held her close to his big, hard, muscular body, and she wanted a repeat of how good it felt being held in his strong, unyielding arms.

For those few minutes, with their tongues tangling, all Halayna’s thoughts and worries had fallen away, and in their place had been a peace she hadn’t felt in months or maybe even years. Sloane had somehow made her feel more cherished than she’d ever felt by a man. Which was saying a lot since she’d been engaged to be married and supposedly crazy in love with Owen.

She snorted at the thought. Talk about her picker being off when it came to choosing men. It was a good thing her relationship with Owen had imploded. Marrying him would’ve been a huge mistake because kissing and being with him had felt nothing like what she had just experienced.