Chapter 70

• He barely took in the full bottle of wine and the glass, the empty mug of something. He came close, but didn’t want to break the spell. Had she dressed like this on purpose for him? He shrugged off his jacket and undid his tie, barely aware of what he was doing. He felt constricted, and his body was so hard and so hot that time seemed to stand still.
• She was temptation incarnate. Her lips were soft, inviting him to just bend down and press a kiss. It would be so easy to do that—to kneel here beside her, to slip his tongue between those lips, have her wake and take his tongue deeper into her mouth, mimicking the way she would take another part of him deep inside her.
• Simon fought the most intense battle as he stood there. The memory of undressing her as clinically as he could the other night was still fresh and painful in his memory. But his resolve was strong. He could exert it again even if he felt like it would kill him. With his face set in rigid lines of ultimate control, a control he hadn’t had to call on before, he bent down and slipped his arms underneath her pliant, sleep-relaxed body. She made a small sound, a mere breath, and her body automatically curved into him as he lifted her up effortlessly. Her breasts pressed against his chest. Simon had to stop for a moment and grit his jaw so hard that it hurt. He was so aroused that he didn’t think he’d make it to her bedroom. But he had to. He was doing this for them.