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“I’m not,” he chuckled. “I’m flattered.”
“You’re annoy?—”
He pressed his lips against mine before I could finish. There wasn’t anything to it, just an extended peck, a slow yet firm kiss that meant nothing. But it still made my stomach twist and still made me jittery, my fingers twitching toward him as if they had a mind of their own.
He pulled away just a hair. “See? It’ll be fine.”
Snaking my hands up between his arms, I pushed them off my shoulders and raised up on my toes. “You know it’ll be more than that,” I mumbled. I was now the one closing the distance, kissing him easier, gentler. I knew I shouldn’t, knew that in my bones and blood, but I was trying to combat the issue that my worries stemmed from and besides, I wanted to.
Warm fingers slid across my cheek, holding there as his lips parted, letting me in. He tasted of his morning coffee again, no hint of sweetness, just that and the scent of his cologne. I dove deeper, taking control, and he battled me for it. Too much heat, too much intensity. This sort of kiss wouldn’t be what we did in front of others. The way he was kissing me was meant for the damn bedroom and I didn’t have a single problem with it while our lips were pressed against one another’s.
When he pulled back, however, it felt like a different story. He caught his breath as he put a foot of space between us, the apples of his cheeks turning a pale pink. I could feel a little bit of swelling in my lips, could taste the absence of him on my tongue. “I guess it won’t be that hard,” I breathed.
He dragged a hand down his face. “Maybe for you,” he groaned. “You don’t have a visual cue for when you’re turned on that you have to worry about.”
My eyes widened as I glanced down, and sure enough, behind the zipper of his well-fitting jeans was a bulge. “Shit.”
“It’s fine. We’ll just keep that to a minimum outside the suite.”
“Nothing is happening in the suite,” I deadpanned. “If we’re sharing a room, we’ll be keeping our distance. I expect you to hold me to that.”
The sly little grin that spread across Wade’s face did absolutely nothing to help the little damp patch in my underwear. “Oh, Ray,” he cooed. His fingers twisted around the handle of the passenger side door and opened it up for me, gesturing toward the seat. “We’re not just sharing a room. We’re sharing a bed.”
Chapter 20
Wade
The side of Ray’s head pressed against the glass, her eyes closed and mouth parted. She’d fallen asleep approximately ten minutes into the hour-long drive, and rather than poke and prod, forcing her to talk to me, I’d let her relax. The next few days were going to be stressful and I didn’t want to make it worse.
I reached across the center of the car and gently pushed a curl behind her ear. “Hey,” I said quietly, and she stirred, her brow furrowing. Through barely-open eyes, she shot me a death glare. “Don’t look at me like that. You can’t sleep in here forever.”
“Wake me up when we get there,” she mumbled. Her eyes closed again as she nestled further into the window. That can’t be comfortable.
“We are there, Ice Bunny,” I chuckled. “Have you not noticed that the car isn’t moving anymore?”
She sat up within a second, her eyes going wide and staring out the front window. A little trail of dried saliva clung to the right side of her face. “Shit. Sorry.” She flipped down the sun visor and looked at herself in the mirror, scrubbing off the little flecks of drool. “Please tell me no one else is here yet.”
I shook my head. “Chloe’s on her way. Zane’s here somewhere but he doesn’t know we were coming this early, so I doubt we’ll run into him. And the rest of my family and Dom’s are arriving in a few hours.”
She breathed a sigh of relief as she pushed the visor back up. “Thank God. I need to change.”
What she was already wearing was just fine by me—dark-wash loose jeans and a maroon turtleneck sweater. Though it didn’t exactly scream billionaire’s girlfriend, it matched her and her personality far more than that title did. “You’ve got time.”
I pushed the door open, the winter wind and snow whipping into the car as I stepped out. I tried not to get too excited by the sound she made as she sucked in air from the invasion of the cold.
“Come on,” I cooed, leaning down into the open car. “It’s warmer inside.”
As we entered, I couldn’t help but notice that Ray’s input for decorating ideas toward Chloe’s wedding were absolutely impeccable. Handmade vines of birch and cypress branches decorated every edge of the exterior of the lobby, while snow-dusted pine cones littered the large bouquets of caramel roses, chocolate Queen Anne’s lace, and blue delphiniumplaced on stands scattered around the space, creating a pathway inside. Large, scarlet red dahlias tastefully intertwined within branches of white birch and dark green vines formed an archway over the glass doors. I knew Ray hadn’t hand-picked everything nor had she chosen the design, but she’d done a damn good job of bringing my little sister’s vision to life in the short amount of time she had.
“This place looks amazing,” I said as we walked into the lobby. “You really did a great job. Thank you for helping Chloe out on such short notice.”
“My pleasure,” she answered. “I enjoyed it and I was happy to help.” She offered me a warm smile then, giving me a tiny glimpse of hope that perhaps the icy exterior was melting just a little.
————
Ray sat on the massive bed, makeup done and high heels on, with a blanket covering her from neck to ankle as she stared intently at the screen of the monitor. I watched her from the corner of my eye in the mirror as I combed back my damp hair. “Everything okay?”
She nodded but didn’t look away from it. “Yeah. Mom’s having dinner.”
