I barely waited three feet before I picked up the pace and speed-walked away from the greenhouse, clutching my flowerpot like it was grounding me. In all honesty, I just desperately needed something to hold onto and it was all I had right now.
I knew.
I knew this would be how it went.
I wished he’d walked away from me at the party. That we would have gone back to how it was before all this happened, where he was rude ,and I was annoyed, and whatever I felt for him had no reason to go past a simple crush.
Anything but this.
Because my heart was hurting. Quite a bit.
“Gabriella!” Miles called from somewhere behind me. “Gabi!”
I kept going. Kept walking. Kept moving. He’d give up. He had to. This wasn’t going to happen.
He’d already given up without even trying, hadn’t he?
That was how this was always going to end up. Maybe I did need to let my father set me up with someone.
Clearly, my own heart couldn’t be trusted.
I quickly darted into a secluded spot and pressed my back against the wall. Had he seen me? He’d sounded quite far away. Hopefully the cypress trees that lined the path over here had saved me.
“I bet you were terrible at hide and seek when you were a child.”
I glanced over at him. “It wasn’t my favourite, no.”
“You didn’t let me speak.”
“You didn’t appear to have anything to say.”
“You’re right. I don’t.”
Slowly, I turned my attention to him and raised my gaze to meet his. “Then why are you here?”
“Because I don’t need to speak to answer you.” He stalked over to me and took the pot from my arms. He all but dropped it on the floor seconds before he kissed me.
But this…
This one wasn’t like the others. There was nothing nice or soft or kind about the way he roughly cupped my face and kissed me. It was desperate and dirty, needy, and he grazed his teeth over my lower lip, making me gasp.
What was this?
Whatever it was, I hoped it wouldn’t stop.
I gave over to the kiss, even as he slid his fingers into my hair and pressed his body right against mine.
If this was the answer to whether there was something between us, he was right. Words really weren’t needed.
He moved his hands down my body and grasped my waist, pulling me closer against him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him just as deeply as he was me. Desire spread through my body like a wildfire, and it felt like I wasn’t in control of my body anymore.
It was all… him.
I wanted to climb up him, wrap myself around him and not let go. I wanted to kiss him harder and feel his hair between my fingers and rip his clothes off and mine until there was absolutely nothing between us.
It was wild and presumptuous and a little insane but that was how he made me feel.
That was how I felt right now, as he slid his hands down further and lifted me up, guiding my legs around his waist. My back was flat against the wall and I gripped onto him even tighter, locking my ankles at the small of his back.
And—
Oh.
I wasn’t the only one who was into this.
His erection pressed between my legs, and a tiny noise that could have been a whimper escaped me. I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know anything except the feeling of his lips on me and our bodies pressed together.
Miles dipped his head and kissed along my jaw, and I could barely breathe properly as he dotted kisses along my neck.
“We have to stop,” I breathed.
He stopped, burying his face in my collarbone. “You’re right.”
“No, I don’t mean—well, I do mean—oh, bollocks.” I bit my lip as he looked up, amusement twisting his lips. “Someone could see us. And, um, I don’t have pockets in this dress.”
He blinked at me.
“You know.”
“Oh. Oh.”
Reluctantly, I unhooked my ankles and got back on my feet.
Mostly. It was a little wobbly there for a second.
“I have to get back to work.”
“What time is it?” I wasn’t going to let him go yet. We’d come this far, we’d come this close, and I wasn’t going to let that disappear.
He checked his watch. “Midday. Quarter past.”
“When’s your lunch break?”
“I’m in charge. Whenever I want.”
That was kind of hot. “Why don’t you take it now?”
He dipped his head and brushed his lips against my ears. “Because I only have forty-five minutes, and that won’t be enough time.”
I swallowed. “Well, actually, I’m in charge, and I say you can have an extended lunch break.”
Leaning back, he raised his eyebrows. “Are you?”
“I am.” I smirked. “Come with me.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him after me. “Let’s go.”
“You are very forward today, Lady Gabriella,” he teased, following behind me.
“And you’re lollygagging an awful lot, Mr. Kingsley. Pick up the pace.”
He did, releasing my hand and coming up behind me. He gripped my waist as we walked and kissed the back of my neck, and I let out a small moan.
Why was my bedroom so far away? What kind of cruelty was this?
“Stop it.” I slapped his hands away and pushed open the back door.
“No.” He caught me in the doorway and kissed me again until I was breathless. “Now I’ll stop.”
“Please don’t.” I dragged him just inside and shut the door, pushing him against it.
He groaned when I kissed him. I ran my hands down his firm chest and stomach, teasing my fingertips at the waistband of his shorts. They were the least sexy shorts known to man, but that was even more of a reason to get him out of them, if you asked me.
“If you don’t stop that, we will not make it to your bedroom,” he warned me in a gravelly tone. “I promise you that.”
I bit my lip and pulled back. “I’ll have to stop then.”
“Come here.”
Laughing, I ran through the hallway to the stairs and up them. Miles was just about fast enough to catch me, but he didn’t, instead opting to tickle my legs under my skirt when he was near enough.
He got me at the top of the stairs, and I kissed him with all the vigour I could muster. I was desperate for him. I wondered if I truly knew what it was like to want someone until now, until this point, when it felt like I was going to burst if I didn’t get him in my room right this second.
I dragged him along the hall to my bedroom door and pulled him inside, shoving the door shut after us. It made a deafening bang, but I barely noticed as we came together again.
This time it was rougher, more desperate, needier. We pulled back together to the bed where we fell back, and our limbs tangled together. Shoes came off, and I tugged his t-shirt up, letting my fingertips roam across the smooth skin of his back. He parted my legs and slipped between them, hooking one up over his hip.
His erection pressed firmly against me, and before I could blink, my hips were pushing against him, grinding, almost begging him for more.
Oh, shit.
“Oh, shit,” I whispered.
“What?” Miles pulled back, panicked. “Did I hurt you? Was I on your hair?”