The kiss wasn’t gentle—it was demanding, consuming, like he was trying to make me feel everything he couldn’t say.
I liked it. Butterflies filled my belly and I reached out.
My hands instinctively reached for his chest, but he grabbed my wrists, pinning them against the balcony railing.
“You’re not listening, Bella,” he murmured, his lips still hovering near mine. “Distracted. Naughty thoughts going through your head.”
“I am,” I protested, though my voice was weak, I looked at his adam apple, then his eyes.
Those dark eyes.
His lips. Soft.
Fuck. I clenched my legs together as I tried to keep myself together.
I can't be so easily controlled by him.
No.
“No,” he said, his tone sharp. “You’re thinking about how to deflect. How to dodge. But I need you to focus.”
His gri
