Page 71 of Always Be Mine
She leaned in. “We shouldn’t.”
“No.” He shook his head slightly. With one arm holding her against him, he traced the index finger of his free hand gently down her cheek. “We shouldn’t.” His finger landed on her mouth, and he used it to part her lips. “But I can’t stop thinking about you, Lucy.” He closed the distance between them so they were only inches apart. “You did say I was your boyfriend, right?”
She nodded.
“Then, I can’t think of any reason why we shouldn’t.”
She sighed, her breath warm on his lips as she closed the distance between them and pressed her lips onto his.
She tasted just as he’d remembered and fantasized about. Only better. The rest of the world melted away, and they sank into the kiss and each other.
He held her face in place as they took their time exploring each other, easily falling into a rhythm. Lucy shifted on his lap and pressed him back into the cushions, taking charge as his hands came up to her back in gentle encouragement.
At some point, the kissing grew more urgent. As much as Craig wanted to continue to explore this new part of their relationship, he was all too aware that they were in the living room and if Meri happened to wake up, there would be questions he was completely unprepared to answer.
Kissing Craig slowed down time. Nothing else existed when his lips were on hers, and as far as Lucy was concerned, that was perfect.
She’d been fighting her attraction for so long, it hardly felt real that she was finally in his arms with his mouth on hers.
Lucy could kiss Craig forever, and she was fully prepared to do that when he pulled back. She opened her eyes slowly, confused and disoriented until he spoke.
“Meri could?—”
“Oh my goodness. Meri!” Mortified, she realized what they’d been doing and what they could have easily gone on to do. What shewantedto do. Right there in the living room, where Meri could walk in and find them.
Lucy tried to pull away and put distance between them, but Craig held her in place on his lap. “I’m so sorry I didn’t even?—”
“Lucy.” He put a finger to her lips, stilling her. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” He kissed her again. Slow and soft. “And trust me, I want nothing more than to continue this.” He groaned a little and bit his bottom lip. “But I don’t think either of us are prepared for the questions she’d have if she found us.”
“No.” She reluctantly slid off his lap and scooted to the far end of the couch, out of reach. She snagged the throw cushion from the floor and held it in her lap like a shield. “You’re right. I’m?—”
“Please, Lucy. Do not apologize. I kissedyou. And dammit, I wanted to.” His handsome features looked pained, and he wouldn’t meet her eyes for a moment. “Did I ever want to. I’ve wanted to kiss you again since that night in the kitchen. Every time I see you, which is all the time, I think about your lips and how soft they are and how you make me feel things and…” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m your boss and I know this is a unique situation.”
Boss.
She flinched at the word and the reminder of exactly what she was doing. Andwhoshe was doing it with. She’d gone down that road before.
Look how that had turned out, Lucy.
She wanted to sink into the couch and disappear.
There had to be something fundamentally wrong with her that she continued to get involved with unavailable men. Disgust for her choices—and, more specifically, her mistakes—flooded through her, and suddenly it was impossible to be so close to him. She shook her head and blinked back the hot tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks to make what was already a mortifying situation completely unbearable.
“No. Iamsorry. You’re right. You’re my boss, and I was coming in here tonight to…well, I shouldn’t have told Ross anything about you. And I definitely shouldn’t have told him you were my boyfriend, because that’s just the thing.” She blew out a breath. “You’re not. You’re my boss and that was totally unprofessional.” She squeezed the pillow tight against her chest and blinked hard. “I’m sorry, Craig.” She jumped to her feet. “I understand if you want to fire me.” Lucy turned to go, unwilling to wait around for his response, but Craig’s hand on her arm stopped her.
“Lucy. Stop.” He tugged her arm gently, and she whirled around into his embrace.
This can’t be happening.
She kept her eyes squeezed shut, unwilling to look into his kind eyes. She’d been beyond stupid to let this happen again. She’d fallen for her boss and now she was going to walk away from the best thing that had happened to her in a very long time.
He held her close and cupped her cheek so tenderly, it was almost impossible to hold the tears at bay. She swallowed hard and shook her head.
“Open your eyes, Lucy. Please.”
Reluctantly, she did as he asked and, just as she knew he would be, Craig was watching her with nothing but care and concern in his gaze.
“I’m not going to fire you.”
