Or, conversely, maybe I don’t believe in it and haven’t since the moment I was told Kynan cheated on me.
It’s been a shitty way to live, and I don’t want to do it anymore.
“Pretty ring.” Kynan’s voice comes from my closet door. He’s standing there, hands casually pushed into the front pockets of his jeans. He’s removed his blazer, and the t-shirt underneath is molded superbly to his body. Both arms sport full-sleeve tattoos, and I remember being oh so turned on by them when I was younger.
That feeling hasn’t changed.
Kynan’s gaze moves from my face down to the ring. He nods at it, a silent prod to tell him about it.
I shrug and take it off, setting it down in the drawer. “I figure we can use it as a prop engagement ring when we’re out in public.”
“I’m sorry that was so hard on you today,” he says, and I’m rocked to the core by the regret I can hear in his voice.
“It’s okay.” I shoot him a shy smile, for some reason incredibly relieved that it seems Kynan is truly done with being mad. I think part of the stress of the last few hours was knowing he was putting on such a show for the cameras but thinking under it all, he was still very much disgusted with my lack of trust in him before.
I don’t hear any of that.
I hear nothing but true empathy from him, and it touches me.
“Let me get changed and we can gorge on some pizza,” I say with a grin. “It cures all woes.”
Kynan pulls one hand from his pocket, then makes a motion with his index finger for me to spin around. “I’ll unzip your dress.”
The warm rumble of words—his commanding tone—all of it hits me straight between my legs. Shaking my head to clear it, I take in a long breath. It doesn’t mean a thing.
I turn away from Kynan, pulling my long hair over one shoulder to reveal the zipper. My ears strain to hear him, but he approaches me silently.
Then a large hand comes to my shoulder, warm and heavy. The other goes to the zipper, and he starts to lower it ever so slowly. He’s standing close because I can feel heat coming off his body. His breath hits the nape of my neck.
Is this a seduction or is he being neighborly?
I can’t help but snort at the thought, and Kynan’s hand stops midway down my back. “What’s so funny?”
Well, fuck… might as well be honest. I give a slight clearing of my throat. “I was just wondering if you were being neighborly by helping me with my zipper or if you were trying to seduce me?”
Kynan’s voice is gentle but chiding with a hint of amusement. “If I was trying to seduce you, Jos, you’d know it. You wouldn’t have to ask.”
I’m immediately disappointed.
Damn it all to hell, I want him to seduce me.
“For example,” he says lightly, and he touches the bare skin revealed by the opened zipper. He slowly drags a knuckle down my spine. “I would perhaps touch you like this.”
My breath seems to freeze in my lungs. I hold absolutely still, even as I can feel goose bumps breaking free in the path of his grazing touch.
“Or,” he continues, his tone a little lower. Rougher. “I might do this.”
And then his lips are on my neck. I feel a waft of hot breath before his teeth graze over my skin, down along the slope of my shoulder. He bites me gently, then drags his tongue over the spot.
My body isn’t my own. I push my hips backward into him, needing to feel his body.
And I do.
Big and hard.
Extremely hard in some places.
Kynan lifts his face, rubs his bearded cheek over mine, and whispers, “I want inside you, Joslyn.”
Part of me is relieved by his words, because they’re carnal and rooted in the need for release. There’s nothing wrong with that. I want it, too, and we can keep this purely sexual. Love doesn’t need to be part of this. It’s not what made our chemistry great.
“I want that, too,” I say on one long exhale of contained breath.
“But the risk, Jos,” he says, and it’s taunting. “What about the risk?”
I can’t help myself. My body wants more than my mind is willing to engage in, and I rotate my hips against the hard length of him.
Kynan hisses, his hands dropping to my waist. His grip is tight, and he holds me still. “Are you going to risk it, Joslyn?”
My mind is spinning. I want him inside of me, and I have no clue what he’s talking about. “Risk what?”
“Risk falling,” he growls, then bites my neck again. “You know we’re both on the edge. It will be so easy to tumble back again.”