Fireworks went off in Josh’s head. He was pretty sure it was his synapses frying from the sensation of Caroline’s lips on his. She tasted exactly how he’d imagined her to taste. Like peach cobbler and something else. Something uniquely Caroline.
He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips and felt, rather than heard, a gasp escape her. He gently bit at her bottom lip, and her rigid posture crumbled. Josh moved the hand he’d placed on the wall down to the small of her back. He sucked on her bottom lip. Slow. Gentle. Caroline trembled. She tentatively grasped the cotton of his T-shirt above his heart.
“Yum,” Josh murmured against her lips.
He leaned back to look at her, holding her tightly lest she escape. Heavy eyelids blinked open as she turned her face up him. What he saw made his breath stutter. Gone was the woman who delighted in ruling the universe. She’d been replaced by someone softer. Someone more vulnerable. Someone who knew desire. And that desire was directed at him. Before she could wake from her daze entirely, he captured her mouth again.
He clasped the back of her head. Gently, but firmly angling her mouth against his. This time, his tongue met no resistance as he slid into her mouth. He sighed against her. Delicious. Caroline’s fingers clung to his shirt. Her nails scraped his chest. Josh pressed into her, holding her in place against the wall.
He felt the shivers of need rack through her body as her tongue tentatively found his. Josh’s hand slid to her hip as one of his knees made space between her legs. Josh’s senses were being consumed by her. He didn’t know if it was the lack of sophistication in her touch, or the fact she’d metamorphosed in his arms, but he’d never felt anything like this before. It was mind-blowing. Addictive. And he wanted more.
He wanted all of her.
Caroline had lost her mind. No. Josh had stolen it. With his touch. With his kiss. With the heat and the strength of him. She was drowning in the man, and there was nothing to hold on to except him. She didn’t know if she could take much more. At the same time, she didn’t know if she could bear for him to stop.
As his tongue traced lazy circles around hers, she flattened a palm against the wall of his chest. His muscles clenched beneath her touch. It was overwhelming to be that close to so much power. To have it tremble for her. Because of her. The musky scent of him was heady. It enveloped her. She was cocooned in him. In his arms. In his scent. In his heat. There was only Josh. Everything else had disappeared as if by magic.
Something creaked in the corner of her mind. A noise intruded.
“Oh for Pete’s sake,” someone said.
Caroline blinked out of her dream.
Josh muttered a curse against her lips.
“Get a bucket of water,” Hamish shouted. “The cats are in heat.”
As if someone had waved a magic wand, Caroline’s back snapped straight.
“This isn’t over,” Josh rumbled in her ear before stepping away from her.
Caroline realised her fingers were woven into his T-shirt. She snapped her hands away as though burned. Josh raised an eyebrow at her. She cleared her throat, resisting the urge to touch her lips. Self-consciously, she tugged at her grey suit jacket.
Hamish cackled. “Why bother with a wedding? Why not go straight to the honeymoon? That’s what I’d do if I was getting hitched again.”
“I’ll just go find the bathroom,” Caroline mumbled.
She couldn’t look at Josh as she passed him. Her cheeks were burning from more than lust as she walked down the hall to the powder room. Once inside, she ran icy-cold water into the porcelain sink and splashed her face with it. Shaky fingers reached for a towel. Patting her skin, she examined her reflection in the mirror above the sink. She was wanton. Lips swollen. Cheeks flushed. Her skin still tingled from Josh’s touch. And every inch of her body resented being away from him. If he’d been behind her she would have sunk into his embrace without a second’s hesitation.
She took a deep, shaky breath. She thought she’d be able to control everything about this wedding pact. Now, she had a niggling feeling that she may be out of her depth. So far out that she couldn’t even see the shore.
Andrew had been silent during the whole drive up from Glasgow. Helen had spent years monitoring his moods like the weather, and she knew something was bothering him. Fortunately, his moods weren’t her responsibility anymore. So instead of trying to coax the problem out of him, she spent the time soaking up the scenery.
According to her guidebook, they were in the Trossachs. It claimed to be one of the most beautiful areas in the world. Helen thought they’d undersold it. From the crystal-clear lochs to the rolling hills that burst with colour, it took her breath away.
“You didn’t need to shove it in my face.”
It took Helen a minute to come to terms with the fact Andrew had spoken. Without being coerced, no less.
“Shove your face in what?”
He frowned at her before snapping his eyes back to the winding single-lane road. “You know fine well.”
There was a time Helen would have felt distress at his words. A time when she would have spent hours trying to figure out what he meant. Not anymore. In fact, being away from the US had made her feel freer than she’d felt in years. Her need to tiptoe around her husband’s moods wasn’t as strong as it once was. She smiled at the thought.
“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” she said. “And frankly, I don’t really care.”
His knuckles went white on the wheel. Helen turned back to the view. Andrew’s anger never bothered her. He wasn’t the type to strike out.