Page 30 of The Billionaire's Promise

Not embarrassment. I had to be honest with myself if I wasn't going to be honest with Vance. I wasn't embarrassed. I was turned on.

Rosie finished her bottle, and Vance turned his attention to the tricky task of burping her without getting thrown up on. He was better at it than I was. I escaped, returning the ice cream to the kitchen.

"Would you put the game on?" Vance called out on his way upstairs. "She's half-asleep. I'm just going to lay her down."

I did, flipping through the channels until I found the basketball game I thought he was talking about. Sports weren't my thing. I thought about going up to my room, pretending I was too tired to stay up any longer. It wasn't a lie. I was exhausted, but it was still early. Too early to go to bed.

I was going to have to learn to deal with Vance. He hadn't been flirting with me. He'd been eating ice cream. I was the one who was reading too much into it. We were just going to watch a game, and that was it.

I made the mistake of sitting down in the middle of the couch. I wasn't used to sharing it, and that was where I normally sat, with my feet up on the coffee table. Vance came back and sat down beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me into his chest. Alarm bells went off in my head.

If sharing a spoon with him felt too intimate, this was way off the charts. But his arm was warm and solid around me, his heart thumped under my ear, and his fingers trailed through loose strands of my hair, the gentle tugging lulling me into submission. I stayed where I was, curled into Vance, my eyelids drooping. Above me, he said in a low, laughing voice, "I put all the girls to sleep."

"Rosie's out?" I murmured.

"Like a light. She'll be up again as soon as she's hungry, but for now, she's asleep."

"Thank God," I said, letting my eyes drift shut.

I didn't care about watching basketball. I just wanted to stay exactly where I was. I drifted off, lulled by the sound of Vance’s strong heartbeat and the distant noise of the game on the TV.

I don't know how long I was asleep. My eyes opened when Vance leaned forward with the remote and shut off the TV.

"The game over?" I asked, not really caring.

"Mmmhmm," Vance said, stroking my hair off my face.

"K," I said, intending to get up. I was slowly waking up, but I was too comfortable to do anything about it. I'd move in a minute. Stalling, I asked, "What time is it?"

"It's late. Past your bedtime." Vance was half-joking. He knew I wasn’t a night owl.

"Rosie still asleep?" I asked. His body was warm and solid against mine, his arm still holding me close. He smelled so good, clean and male. I wished I could curl up right there and go back to sleep.

Vance didn't answer.

"What timeisit?" I asked again.

"Late," he said, tossing the remote on the couch beside him. He turned, shifting me from his chest to lay back into the cushions.

His body rose over mine, his face so close all I could see clearly were his eyes, dark and intent.

"I know it's too soon," he whispered, "but I can't wait anymore. I've been waiting for you forever."

I didn't know what he was talking about. I didn't have time to figure it out. It was exactly like the first time he’d kissed me.

My brain shut off and my body roared to life. My hands came up, pulling his face into mine, my fingers burying themselves in his hair, pulling it loose so it fell around us, smelling of the woods and Vance. His tongue stroked the seam of my lips, and I opened my mouth, all caution gone.

Kissing Vance was a terrible idea. I knew that. I'd already decided that.

I didn't care. I wanted this. I wanted the weight of his body pressing me into the cushions and his arm wrapped around my back, lifting me up, tilting my hips so my legs fell apart to make room for him.

I wanted the thick bar of his erection against the heat between my legs. His mouth moving on mine. His tongue tangling with my own. I let out a whimper. Fingers slid under my shirt, under my bra—a bra he'd somehow unfastened while I'd been wrapped up in his kiss.

Before I knew it, both shirt and bra were pushed up to my shoulders, my breasts bared. Vance pulled his mouth from mine and sat back, his eyes gleaming as he studied me.

He started to say something, then he gave a quick shake of his head and slid backward down the couch so his mouth was lined up with my nipples. His hands were strong, his long fingers cupping and molding my breasts as his lips and tongue tasted and teased, switching from one side to the other until I was mindless, writhing beneath him, my legs wrapped around him, my eyes staring blindly at the ceiling as I whispered his name.

"Vance."