Chapter 15

The heavy silk of Taylor's custom suit jacket settled over my shoulders, and I swear I felt my entire body exhale. It was instantly shielding me from the cool night breeze of the garden, but more than that it was shielding me from everything. From the cold. From the fear. From the pain of the day that had nearly destroyed me.

The warmth of the fabric still carried the faint, intoxicating scent of her perfume and it wrapped around me like a second embrace. Like her arms. Like her soul touching mine.

Taylor's fingers gently brushed against my skin as she adjusted the collar, and I felt my breath catch. Such a simple touch. Such a small gesture. And yet my heart was pounding so hard I was sure she could hear it. Then her fingers moved up, cupping my chin, tilting my face upward until my eyes had no choice but to lock onto hers.

Those dark eyes. Those impossibly deep, burning eyes that had haunted my dreams for longer than I cared to admit.

Before I could draw a breath, she leaned in.

Her lips met mine with a soft, devastating certainty. The kiss wasn't rushed; it was deep, deliberate, and intoxicating. It was the kind of kiss that made me forget my own name. The kind of kiss that made me forget every terrible thing that had ever happened to me.

Without a single second of hesitation, I raised my hands, clutching tightly onto the lapels of her oversized suit jacket as I leaned into her. I returned the kiss with a desperate, building heat that had been locked inside me for years maybe my whole life.

We kissed beneath the twinkling fairy lights, and the world around us faded into absolute silence. Every stroke of her lips, every shift of her mouth against mine, melted away the remaining coldness from the pool and the bitter memories of the day.

When we finally broke apart for air, our chests heaved in ragged, matching rhythms. A strange, heavy haze of desire clouded my mind, making my eyelids droop in a seductive, languid way I had never experienced in my entire life. I felt drunk. Intoxicated. Completely and utterly undone.

I let my head fall forward, resting softly against the solid wall of her chest. I could hear her heartbeat steady, strong, sure. A rhythm I wanted to fall asleep to every night for the rest of my life. Her fingers began to rhythmically weave through my hair, and I melted into her touch.

"I... I heard Andrew saying that you don't actually like women," I murmured softly against her collarbone. The words slipped out before I could stop them, a sudden surge of curiosity cutting through the fog in my head. I slowly lifted my head back up, meeting her intense gaze. "Did you mean it...?"

I held my breath. I didn't know what I was more afraid of her saying yes, or her saying no. Because if she said no, then what were we doing? What was this? What was I to her?

Taylor smiled.

It wasn't a mocking smirk or a polite social grin it was a warm, breathtaking smile meant only for me. A smile that reached her eyes. A smile that made my stomach flip and my heart stutter.

"If I didn't like women, Sophia," she whispered, her voice was low, velvety purr, "why on earth would I marry you?"

My breath hitched. My mind raced back to the beginning at the hospital when Andrew told me she was my husband. "I... I thought you only did it to help me... and to teach Andrew a lesson."

The words sounded foolish even as I said them. How could I have been so blind? How could I have not seen what was right in front of me?

Taylor's smile widened, softening into something dangerously affectionate. Slowly, she reached out, placing her warm palm flat against the centre of my chest, right over my wildly hammering heart. The touch sent an electric shiver racing down my spine, making my knees go weak.

"Then tell me, love..." Taylor murmured, leaning closer until her lips brushed my ear. "Do you really think I'm doing this just to teach Andrew a lesson?"

I couldn't form words. My breath caught in my throat, and I frantically shook my head, my cheeks burning with heat. No. No, I didn't think that. Not anymore. Not with the way she looked at me. Not with the way she touched me. Not with the way my heart was singing in my chest.

Before I could utter a sound, Taylor's hands slid down to my waist. With effortless, commanding strength, she scooped me up, lifting me completely off the ground.

I gasped.

Instinct took over, and I instantly wrapped my legs securely around her waist, locking my arms tightly around her shoulders to steady myself. The shift in position brought us impossibly close. I could feel every inch of her body against mine the warmth, the strength, the barely contained passion simmering beneath the surface.

The friction of our bodies sent a wild spark straight through me, and without thinking, I leaned down, capturing her lips in a hungry, uninhibited kiss. I couldn't help it. I couldn't stop myself. She was carrying me like I weighed nothing, like I was something precious, and all I could do was kiss her and kiss her and kiss her.