“Oh my God. I didn’t hear you fighting. Are you all right?”
“Yeah.” He smiled, and it softened his expression. “What are you doing?”
I grabbed the picture. “I was just hanging out, and I saw this. I never thought you'd keep it.”
“I keep everything you give me.”
I met his gaze, and a javelin-like shock ran through me.
Really?
I didn’t believe it—I couldn’t. I gawked at him, expecting Vinn’s deadpan to break into laughter. It jumbled my insides to watch him carefully replace it on the nightstand.
“Your brother’s gone.”
I stepped back, swallowing. “I’m staying?”
“I guess we’re roommates, Li.”
A warning whispered in my ear. This was temporary.
“Which is my room?”
“Here.”
Alarm rippled down my spine. “Where will you sleep?”
“With you. I don’t have guest rooms.”
I scooted away, my anxiety deepening to a white-hot panic. “Why not?”
Vinn shrugged. “I hate having people over. Why give them an opportunity to stay the night?”
“I can’t share a bed with you!”
Vinn rolled his eyes like I was a drama queen. He didn’t understand what this forced intimacy would do to me.
Pretending to be his girlfriend felt just as dangerous as marrying a stranger. He had no idea how much I’d suffered over the years. How could I tell him that without confessing everything?
No.
Never.
He couldn’t find out I’d held a torch for him my whole life. He didn’t feel the same. It didn’t matter, anyway. He’d changed from the gentle giant who chased me on the beach.
But he came for you.
He lied for you.
A swell of hope kicked up inside me, but I shoved it aside. We needed strict boundaries. Otherwise I wouldn’t survive a fake engagement with Vinn. If I walked into this with my heart open, I'd be crushed.
That twisted in my stomach.
“Why do we have to live under the same roof?” I demanded. “You could set me up in an apartment across the hall.”
“I could, but why would I want you out of my sight?”
His seductive tone blistered my cheeks, but I clung to denial like a raft in an ocean.
“Don’t you trust me?”
“No. You’re quite the liability, Li. I haven’t forgiven you. You might pull a stunt like you did with James, and I can’t have my fiancée embarrassing me in front of my friends and business partners.”
“You’re the one who needs to be watched.”
He raised his chin, his eyes stony. “I dial it way back for you.”
“I wasn’t under the impression you did anything for me.”
A ring of fire seized my ankle, and I flew across the sheets. He clawed my leg, pulling me to the edge, where he sat.
“Stop!”
“I’m done treating you like a princess.” He glided up my calf, anchoring under my knee. “From now on, you’re just another girl.”
“Does that mean you’ll break off our relationship in two weeks?”
His mocking smile taunted me. “Still angry about the other women who aren’t in my life?”
“Not at all,” I ground out. “I’m identifying the facts. That behavior won’t fly with my family.”
“I think I’ll manage.”
“Can you pretend to be decent?”
Vinn’s gaze roamed down my neckline. “With the right motivation, anything’s possible.”
Meaning what?
A hot ache grew in my throat. My body screamed yes, even though it was like hitting a self-destruct button. Intimacy with Vinn would be the beginning of my end.
He released my leg. He tugged at his shoes, flinging the Oxfords from him in a careless swing. Then he tore off his shirt, his fingers unsnapping the buttons so fast my cheeks warmed. I averted my eyes, but he lurched off and moved into my vision. Shirtless. Gorgeous.
The sight of him half-naked rooted me to the spot. He was a living work of art, beautifully proportioned, his muscles carved in merciless lines. My gaze traveled across his broad shoulders and the round muscle rippling into his bicep. I sucked in my breath at the V of his muscled frame tapering to a trim waist. He still had a soldier’s body. I imagined him thumbing his black briefs and stepping out of them.
The air thinned as he undid his belt.
God, yes. Take it off.
He paused. His head turned as though he’d heard the comment, his eyes sweeping over me in a passionless glance. Then his lips curled into a devastating grin. My heart thumped as he approached, his waist at eye-level. He curved a finger around my chin. I drifted on a cloud at the softness gliding my cheek.
His other hand strayed to his crotch.
“Thought I’d make it easier for you to watch.”
Am I dreaming?
Riveted, I stared at the fingers playing with his slacks. He unbuttoned them with a rough snap as his other hand cupped my face, lighting me on fire. He traced my neck, jolts tingling my skin. My mouth burned as he seized the zipper. He moved it down.
Lightheadedness swept through me.
“Li, want me to keep going?”
My thighs clenched as his thumb skimmed my lips. A feverish wave began at my pussy, claiming my body. My senses spun from the aquatic scent surrounding me.
He zipped back up.
“Yes,” I blurted.
His fingers threaded my hair as he lowered the zipper once again. A gasp escaped me as he rode the waistline of his pants. He pulled them. They clung to his thick legs, revealing an athletic waist, and a mouthwatering bulge stretching his black briefs. His hardness electrified me.
My heart hammered. “We shouldn’t.”
“Why not? You’re my fiancée.”
Boundaries.
We needed them, stat.
Truth was, I could come up with many reasons to avoid Vinn. None of them mattered to the heat flushing around my nipples or the hot ache growing between my legs.
Vinn’s grip tightened. “Touch me.”
His demanding tone sent a current through me.
“I-I can’t.”
“You had no problem following orders last time. Seems like you’ll have a hard time with this arrangement,” he taunted. “Can’t get off. Can’t mouth off to me.”
“What makes you think that’ll stop?”
His thumb pulled my lip, showering me with jolts. “Keep at it, and I’ll give you what you deserve.”
“Watch yourself, Vinn.”
“Or you’ll what? Make good on your promise to ruin me?”
“I could do a lot of damage.” My nails stabbed into my palm as I turned away from his welcoming warmth. “But I’ll settle for quietly making your life a living hell.”
“A few hours alone with me will have you purring like a kitten.”
“You’re blinded by arrogance.” I mastered my shaking voice. “I know you. I could really mess with you.”
“You don’t have it in you.”
My nipples tingled against my tank top, betraying every thought that condemned Vinn. One glance at him and my heart lurched. Even the sound of my name on his lips made me smile. I'd spent so long waiting for him to want me. Now that he did, my thoughts whirled in a thousand different directions.