Page 46 of Fake Wife
And it’s like he can read my mind, because he keeps talking.
“I don’t really give a crap about Lane Holdings. I’ve always known I’ll have to run it someday, when I have to, and I’ll put my time in doing what I have to do there until then, but I’d give anything to be able to throw it all away for this. This land, this house, this town…this life.”
God. Tears I fought back earlier reappear and I can’t stop them.
I sniff, try to hide the overwhelming emotion, but it’s useless. Like he can read my mind, he knows I’m crying.
He turns to me, his hand cupping my cheek, and I freeze. It’s cool in the barn, but his hand is warm, on fire. His thumb brushes over my cheek, swiping away tears.
My chin trembles. He’s just shown me a vision of a life, of everything I’ve wanted. A simple life. A good one.
And it will only be mine temporarily. God. How will I walk away in two years from this man without leaving my shattered heart in Cannon Bluffs?
“You have to stop crying. I can’t keep up.”
His smile is soft, focused on my cheeks and tears constantly streaming down my face.
A burst of laughter escapes me and I try to pull back, give myself space, but he doesn’t let me go. “Why are you crying? Teagan?” His hand is at my neck, fingers at the back, thumb beneath my jaw, tilting my chin up so I’m forced to look him directly in the eye. “My idea stink so bad it brings tears to your eyes?”
“No. It’s beautiful. The perfect life.”
He blinks, whether stunned by my honesty or by the emotion in my voice, I don’t know. But everything around us freezes. The crisp air in the large barn simmers. Tension crackles, electrifying my flesh where he’s touching, and before I can think, before I can move or do the right thing—the smart thing—and get the hell out of here, away from him and his touch and his fantastical visions and creations, he yanks me toward him, seals his mouth on mine before I know he’s kissing me.
I relent as soon as my brain’s circuit kicks back online, hands sliding to his waist, his back, everywhere I can get a grip on him as he presses his mouth deeper against mine, sliding his tongue against my lips until my mouth opens, welcoming him.
And God, do I welcome him. My body is flush against him, and this kiss is so much more than what we shared in the car the other night.
He tastes like a bowlful of chocolate the day after you start a diet. So bad for you. So absolutely scrumptious. His scent of wood and hard work invades my senses and I’m lost to him. Lost in the feel of his hands on my neck and at my back, holding me to him, pressing against me.
“Corbin,” I gasp, pulling back only to catch my breath.
His hands move to my waist. He lifts me, sets me on the table, then his mouth is back on mine, my knees spreading until he pushes his body against mine, his hardness grinding against my center.
Good God. I can’t help myself. My hands dig at his shirt, pulling it from the waistband of his jeans and sliding beneath the thin, soft fabric until I meet hot, muscled flesh.
I swallow his pleased grunt.
I’m burning, twisting and unraveling, and I can’t stop myself from shamelessly rocking against him. Showing him my need.
His hand drops from my waist to the waistband of my black pants I still have on from earlier, slides beneath my silk top, and the coldness of the fabric, the warmth of his flesh, are a contradiction that sends me into overdrive.
I’m panting, gasping for breath and for him, and when his hand brushes over my bra, his thumb dancing over my hardened nipple, I whimper.
“Please, Corbin.”
I need more. I need him to make me come, to unleash the spiral of pleasure quickly growing, and I move to show him exactly what I’m seeking. My hand slides from his back to his front and I cup his hard erection, and holy cow is it large, thick. The bulge is obvious, pressing tight against his thigh and denim. I run my hand along the ridge, pressing and moving to the button of his jeans to set him free when he stops his ministrations at my bra.
And then he’s gone.
Ice cold space and air he’s suddenly put between us falls over me like a blanket. I open my eyes and catch his gaze.
Only to be met with a look of complete regret and disappointment.
Chapter 16
Corbin
I have never had a woman who consumes me so completely, so quickly, as Teagan does. And I can’t believe I’ve just broken from our kiss, from the feel of her body against mine, beneath my hand or the way she so expertly massaged my cock through my jeans. But I don’t want her like this.
