Page 160 of Tessa and Nash

“And you think love makes that okay?”

“I think love makes it worse,” I say honestly. “Because now I’m terrified I’m going to lose you.”

Her eyes flicker—she’s raw and frightened beneath the control.

“Nash,” she whispers again.

I don’t give myself time to think.

I step in.

I kiss her.

It’s the kind of kiss that says I’m done pretending I don’t want you.

She freezes.

Then her hand fists in my jacket, and she kisses me back hard.

And I know, immediately, that I just made everything more complicated.

But I also know I don’t care.

Because for the first time tonight, my heart stops pounding, trying to escape.

It pounds because it’s alive.

And it’s hers.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Tessa

February 1st

For half a second, my brain does exactly what it’s been trained to do my entire life.

This is a mistake.

This is complicated.

This will ruin everything.

And then my hand fists in his jacket tightens on instinct, and I kiss him back hard.

I’m angry at him for saying the thing I’ve been carefully refusing to name. I’m furious at myself for wanting him this badly. The cold and the land and the feud and the fake engagement can all go to hell for just one minute.

His mouth is warm, insistent. This isn’t the careful, restrained kiss of a performance. It’s hunger, relief, a man who has finally stopped holding himself back.

My back hits a tree before I realize he’s moved us there, his hands braced on either side of me, anchoring himself to something solid, shrouding me with desire.

I kiss him back harder, biting his lip before dropping to my knees.

The movement is instinctive and intense all at once. My body already knows where he wants me. He’s hard, already straining against his clothing, and the ground chills straight through me, the shock making me inhale sharply.

Wide-eyed disbelief flashes first, followed by a slow, dangerous smirk spreading across his lips. I drag his trousers and boxers down slowly, making him wait. His hips jerk forward anyway. He hisses, breath breaking.

The wind snaps at my exposed skin, the tang of winter sharp on my tongue, heightening every sense as I wrap my lips around him.