The Marriage Contract(23)

The chill in the night did nothing to cool her heated skin, not when she knew where this was headed. He’d been explicitly clear when it came to his intentions, something she still wasn’t sure if she was grateful for or not. It took the uncertainty out of how this would end, but it left her unable to think of anything other than how it would feel to have his mouth on hers again.

Normally, she made an effort to be aware of her surroundings, protection in place or not, but the Saint Paddy’s parade could have been marching down the street and she still would have had her eyes glued to his face. The shadows of the parking garage seemed to deepen as they walked past, reaching out to flicker across his jaw, as if unable to resist touching him.

He stopped walking, turning to her with a raised brow. “What did you drive here?”

Of course. He was waiting for her to chime in with the information and she was too busy mooning over him to realize it. She gave herself a mental shake. “Ah, the Escalade.” She dug the keys out of her purse and hit the unlock button, making the SUV chirp a few spots away. Behind them. A flush spread across her cheeks as he grinned, the expression of a man who knew he had a heady effect on her.

They walked over to the vehicle, her heels clicking in the silence. She barely had time to wonder if she should open the door when he pulled her into his arms. “I’m not going to lie—I’ve been waiting for this moment all damn night.”

She had, too.

Teague ran his hands up her back, pressing her more firmly against him, and threaded them into her hair. He used his hold to tilt her head back so she met his eyes. They were dark and stormy and full of too many things to name. She recognized the presiding emotion, though.

Desire.

He kissed her, the slightest brushing of his lips against hers. When she would have deepened it, he tightened his grip on her hair, holding her in place. He kissed each corner of her mouth and then trailed down her jaw. She barely had a second to realize his intention and tense, but he already had her scarf off. Callie braced herself for another interrogation, but he just reached around her to open the passenger door and toss the discarded item into the vehicle. Then his mouth was on her neck. She didn’t have to see the path he took to know he was tracing the map of bruises, his lips so incredibly gentle that she whimpered.

“Am I hurting you?” His voice was rough against her skin.

“No.” Not in the way he meant. But his tender way of touching her was affecting her more than she could have anticipated. Her throat burned, trying to close as he continued his path, working from right to left. He was taking something ugly and shameful and turning it into something else altogether. How was she supposed to keep her head about her when this man kept surprising her?

She didn’t know if she could.

He lifted his head. “Just because we’re not talking about this now, don’t think the discussion is closed.” Then his mouth was on hers. Where the first kiss had been so sweet it made her heart ache, this one was exactly the opposite. She opened for him the moment he made contact, and he wasted no time in reacquainting himself. His tongue stroked hers, sending a bolt of heat straight to her core. She slid her hands up his chest and then around his neck, needing as much contact as possible. She felt like she’d been starved and hadn’t realized it until the moment he touched her.

One of his hands left her hair, trailing down her spine to line up their bodies. She gasped at the feel of him. Her hips rolled against him so wantonly, she would have been embarrassed if he hadn’t groaned. “Fuck, angel. I’m trying to do this right, but if you keep doing that…”

She did it again. She couldn’t help it. She wanted him to follow through on the promise in his mouth, his body, his hands. It had been so incredibly long since she’d felt safe enough to get this close to a man. If she was smart, she wouldn’t feel safe with this man. He might be her fiancé, but he was still the enemy.

Except he didn’t feel like the enemy with his arms around her, his forehead resting against hers, his breath coming just as fast as hers was. His fingers dug into her ass, urging her on. He was so incredibly hard, and the feel of him through the fabric of their clothes was almost unbearably good. She moaned against his mouth, and he took that as an invitation to angle her head back and take the kiss deeper yet. He kissed her like he’d never get enough, with a heat that she felt to her very toes.

He cursed. “Angel—”

Emboldened by the need in his voice, she tangled her fingers in his hair and rolled her hips again, unable to keep in her breathy moan at the feeling of him. She was close to coming and they’d barely done anything. It would be pathetic if it weren’t so hot. “Teague, please.” She wasn’t even sure what she was begging for, but only he could give it to her.