Just a girl. And a guy. Having a one-night stand.
What could possibly go wrong?
“Now…” He kissed her hand. “I take off your mask.”
She sucked in a breath and pulled away. Taking off masks was a bad idea. It meant that the spell would break, and even though she knew it probably wouldn’t end well, she didn’t want him to see her face, the face that reminded him of everything they’d lost. “I have a better idea.”
“Oh?”
“It involves blindfolds and duct tape.”
He groaned. “I think I just fell in love.”
Nikki laughed and rolled her eyes. “You do realize I could be envisioning something along the lines of CSI while you’re all Fifty Shades, right?”
“Are you trying to ruin the moment?”
“Take me to your room.” With a boldness that she’d never felt around anyone except Brant, she leaned up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck so that she could feel where his mouth was. Then she licked his ear, blowing over where she’d just licked. “Please?”
“Hell, yes.”
He grabbed her hand and took off in a near sprint. By the time they made it to the elevator, they were both out of breath.
“Fair warning—it’s been a while since I’ve had sex sober,” he admitted casually.
Fair warning—it’s been four years since I’ve had sex at all. And the last time I did—I woke up to you gone. “Hopefully, you don’t suck at it then, huh, Brant?”
“Trust me, that’s one thing I don’t suck at, but I may only last a few minutes before I take you. I’ve been wanting…” The elevator dinged.
“What?” she asked on a swallow. “What have you been wanting?”
“You.”
Chapter Fifteen
Brant gulped.
He couldn’t look away.
He licked his lips. He sucked in a breath as the dress slid down her legs. And just because life was that cruel, she was wearing white.
He loved her in white. Her wedding dress hadn’t been as beautiful as the dress she was wearing now.
They hadn’t been able to afford anything fancy, not with his grandfather telling him he was making a mistake by marrying so young—not with her parents basically disowning her for the same reason.
God, she was beautiful.
“No pasts.” His voice had a hard edge to it. He was going to regret this, all of it, but he’d never had much self-control around her, and now? Now that he’d tasted her again?
“No pasts,” she recited back, her eyes filling with tears.
“Come here.” The words finally happened, and they were the wrong ones. They were seductive, calm, everything he didn’t feel as his heart slammed against his chest with anticipation of touching her again, kissing her, claiming her.
She stepped out of her dress, heels still strapped around her ankles as she moved in a straight line toward him.
God, he needed a drink. A cold shower.
Hell, he was sure getting run over by a semi wouldn’t be enough to stop him from kissing her—touching her.
She was his heaven. He was in hell.
“I’m the only one naked.” Her mouth twisted into a shaky smile as she adjusted her mask.
“Not for long,” was his hoarse answer as he reached for her perfect body and tugged it against his as he very slowly pulled her mask free, letting it fall to the ground by her feet.
Wrong. This was wrong. Maybe he really was the bastard everyone thought he was—because as wrong as it was—he couldn’t stop himself.
He kissed her hard. He punished her with his mouth.
How dare she come back into his life and remind him of everything he’d had and lost?
She gasped with each kiss, exposing her neck, putting her soul into every movement.
This wasn’t a one-night stand. This was the good-bye they’d never had. The one he fucking deserved after she’d put him through hell, after she’d pushed him away and nearly died in the choking flames.
Brant told himself he was doing it for selfish reasons. Because that was what good-byes were—selfish. It was one last touch, one last taste; it was a desperate, insane attempt to cling to something that was already gone.
Death had a way of breaking the living. And maybe that was why they didn’t survive. Because they were both halves of a whole that didn’t make it.
He’d thought he was almost over her. But her tongue slid against his, and he realized he was wrong.
Maybe that was their destiny, to always be in each other’s lives but never get the happy ending.
It didn’t matter, did it? No matter where she went, she was still a part of him, a beautiful reminder of his ugly past.
Her lips parted on the next kiss. He gripped her shoulders with his hands, then slid his hands down her back, again and again, his fingers dancing along her spine, memorizing the feel of her smooth skin and the way it reacted to his touch. Goose bumps rose and fell.