A Contract for His Runaway Bride

‘Because then I wouldn’t be tempted to do this.’

He lowered his mouth to hers in a long, drugging kiss that sent shivers racing up and down her spine like electrodes. His tongue entered her mouth with erotic intent, the glide and stroke of it against hers sending her senses haywire.

He made a groaning sound and drew her even closer, wrapping his arms around her. He angled his head to deepen the kiss, and a warm rush of longing almost overwhelmed her in its intensity. Kissing him wasn’t enough. She wanted to feel his thick, hard presence where she needed it the most.

She moved against him, signalling her need, and he sucked in a harsh breath and kissed her more firmly, as if only just managing to stay in control.

After a few breathless moments, he lifted his mouth off hers, his eyes glazed with lust. ‘About those rules...’

Elodie stepped up on tiptoe and planted another playful kiss to his lips. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind about your silly old rules?’

He gave a lopsided smile and cupped the curves of her bottom in his hands, holding her against the pounding heat of his aroused body. ‘Then I won’t tell you. I’ll show you instead.’

He scooped her up in his arms, and even though she gave a token squeak of protest continued carrying her through the French doors and all the way up the stairs to their suite.

Once they were inside their bedroom, he let her slide down the length of his body to the floor. Every deliciously sexy ridge of his toned body teased hers into a frenzy of want. Need clawed through her tingling flesh, making her wonder how she had gone seven years without feeling anywhere near this height of sensual awareness.

Lincoln crushed her mouth beneath his, the passionate pressure of his lips and the gliding thrust of his tongue into her mouth only ramping up her desire.

He raised his mouth barely a millimetre above hers, his breath mingling intimately with hers. ‘No one turns me on quite like you do.’

Elodie combed her fingers through his hair, barely able to take her eyes off his mouth. How could a man’s mouth—this man’s mouth—create such a firestorm of need in her body?

‘I hate to boost your ego too much, but it’s the same for me. I want you even though my head tells me it’s a mistake to get involved again.’

He stroked his thumb over her bottom lip, his touch sending tingles straight from her mouth to her core. ‘It’s only for six months. It’s not like we’re making any promises beyond that.’

And there was the kicker for her. The time frame. The temporary nature of their marriage. So different from what he had proposed seven years ago. He had once offered her for ever. This time he had only offered for now.

And yet... And yet how could she not accept the new terms? She had not truly moved on from him, in spite of all her efforts. Maybe six months of living and sleeping together as man and wife would help her reframe their relationship. Help her to see it for what it was and always had been—nothing more than a stunning physical chemistry that would eventually burn itself out.

Elodie painted a smile on her lips—a fake smile that pulled at her mouth like too-tight stitches. ‘You mean we’re not going to fall in love with each other? That’s still against the rules, right?’

A flicker of something passed through his hooded gaze, like a blink-and-you’d-miss-it movement in a deeply shadowed forest. ‘Do you think it’s likely?’ he asked.

‘You mean for me or for you?’

‘For you.’

Elodie kept her eyes focussed on the sculptured perfection of his mouth rather than meet the probing intensity of his gaze. Of course he wouldn’t consider himself in any danger of falling in love with her. He hadn’t before, so why would he now? He loved how she looked. He was in lust with her. Was he even capable of romantic love?

‘Anything’s a possibility, I guess.’ She brought her gaze back to his with a carefree smile. ‘But what has love got to do with red-hot lust, hey? Not much.’

Lincoln brought his mouth down to within a millimetre or two of hers. ‘Speaking of lust...’ He brushed her lips with a kiss that made her hungry for more. ‘Do you have any idea of how much I want you right now?’

She nestled closer, delighting in the proud bulge of his erection. Her inner core tightened in anticipation. The walls of her womanhood were already slick with moisture. ‘I think I’ve got a fair idea.’

She nibbled at the edge of his mouth with teasing little nibbles that she followed up with a sweep of her tongue. He groaned deep in his throat and grasped her by the hips, bringing her even closer.

‘I want to go slowly,’ he said in a husky tone.

‘Don’t you freaking dare...’ Elodie pulled his head down so his mouth came back to set fire to hers.