Page 35 of Our Chaotic Love Affair

“I just said it’s not.”

“And I respectfully disagree.” He leaned forward, forearms on his knees. “You need a break from this. Stop being Melody’s person for ten seconds so you can figure out what you need. Rome gives you that. Two weeks to where you don’t have to think about what light Melody looks best in. Just look around and soak it in instead of looking at it through a camera lens.”

“You’re not going to let this go.”

“You’ll come home with a clear head and a fresh perspective. You said yourself you want to start something of your own. This is a chance to work toward that without feeling like you’re betraying anyone to do it.”

“And you,” I said. “What do you get?”

“A signed contract and less weight on my shoulders.” He was quiet for a second, like he was debating if there was anything else. “That’s all.”

I stared at him and tried to decide what game he was playing. He stood up, crossed to the log pile, and tossed another piece of wood onto the fire. The flames caught immediately, flaring up bright and warm between us.

It was an invitation. The silent kind. Another log meant he was planning on staying out for a bit longer and was asking me to stay as well. I stayed.

He looked at the empty chair beside him. “No smoke on this side.”

I stood and moved to sit beside him. “You’re not going to just let me say no, are you,” I said. Not really a question.

“I’ll let you say no,” he said. “I just don’t think you want to.”

I hated that he was right. I hated how well he’d read me in the span of forty-eight hours.

He reached over and caught my hand. He tugged gently. I looked at him.

“Come here,” he said quietly.

I let him pull me up and into his lap like Melody had been with Austin. It felt so natural. His arms settled around my waist. I could feel the solid reality of him beneath me.

“Rome can be a little fun, too,” he said, his voice low near my ear. “If we want it to be.”

I turned my head to look at him, which was a mistake, because his face was right there and his eyes were doing the thing they did where they looked at me like I was something he wanted to devour.

“That’s a very dangerous thing to say to me,” I told him.

“I know.”

He kissed me. Not the desperate, surprised collision from earlier. This was slower. More deliberate. His hand came up to my jaw. Gently opening my mouth to his invasion, I kissed him back and felt the last reasonable objection I had dissolve completely.

My hands moved up his strong arms and then into his hair. His arms tightened around me, pulling me closer until I was turned fully toward him. The fire was warm at my back and he was warm everywhere else.

I lost myself in the sensation of his mouth on mine. The man can kiss. If he ever loses his career, he can easily make billions selling his kisses.

My fingers tightened in his hair, and he made a low sound in his chest that I felt more than heard. It was primal and raw and it had me rubbing against him.

His hand slid from my jaw down to my neck, his thumb tracing the line of my throat. I could feel my pulse hammering against his palm, giving away exactly how much he was affecting me. There was no hiding it now. No pretending this was casual or meaningless or anything other than what it was.

I was completely undone by Cash Bancroft.

His other hand moved to my hip, gripping me through the fabric of my joggers. His fingers dug in slightly. I arched into him without meaning to. I needed to be closer. I needed there to be less space between us and fewer clothes and more of whatever this was.

I’m lost. Kissing Cash is my new favorite thing in the world.

CHAPTER 13

CASH

One moment she was in my lap with her hands in my hair and her breasts rubbing against my chest and the next she was pulling away.