Force of Forever (All In #0.5)

“Let’s hear them.”

“First, we’ve been together for what, fourteen hours? That’s at least six dates, right?”

He chuckled as his fingers explored her cheeks. Her neck. The hollow of her throat. “Right.”

“So, it’s not really a one-night stand. Second, your car has heated seats. I’m frickin’ freezing.”

A laugh huffed out of his nose. “We can’t have that.” His hands went back to rubbing her arms over his too-thin jacket.

“Third.” Pia swallowed. “Third. If I don’t kiss you soon, I might combust. And I can’t kiss you here. Not the way I want. Not with all these saints watching.”

His dark chuckle returned. The one from the plane. The sound that had sparked inside her body and started them down this path. He moved, and the stubble on his cheeks scraped against the side of her neck. Feathered breath followed. Pia’s grip on his hair tightened. “Are you sure? I appreciate that you trust me to take care of you, but I need you to be certain.”

Pia pulled his face down to hers. She couldn’t kiss him here like she wanted, but she could come close. His pupils contracted as she brushed her lips against his as softly as a whisper. She felt his exhale and allowed herself the tiniest nibble of his bottom lip. His hands squeezed her bum, almost reflexively. “Yes,” she said against his mouth. “I’m sure.”

“Then let’s get you out of here so you can do what you want.” His smooth lips were a caress against hers. Forcing some separation, Matt kissed her cheek, and Pia felt the indecent promise behind the chaste move. “My place?”

She nodded.

His hand snagged hers and they left the way they’d come in, with Pia throwing one last look at the nave behind them. She would never forget the few minutes she’d passed in this church. She’d never forget Matt, or what he’d done for her with no expectations at all.

As soon as she spotted Célia idling at the curb behind the enormous church, she slipped off the nude heels and sighed in near ecstasy. Matt made atskingnoise, a gentle admonishment of her silent pain. He would have fixed her sore feet if she’d told him, she was sure. They’d probably have ended up at the back of some luxury store on the Champs-Élysées, shoes in her size already bought and bundled.

He handed her into the car and hustled around to his side. He slammed the door and looked to Célia. “My apartment,s’il te plait.”

She raised a blond brow. “NoTour Eiffel?”

“Merde.” He threw a frustrated glance at Pia, one he looked to be trying to school into patience. Smiling tightly, he said, “I forgot about the Eiffel Tower. How do you feel about skipping that part?”

Though heat was already pooling low in her body from their close contact in the church, a wicked grin split her face. She did love teasing him. “Missing the Eiffel Tower would be missing a key part of the Paris experience. I think I’d feel cheated.”

The man actually growled. Pia couldn’t stop her giggle. She clasped his hand in hers and pulled him close. “We’ll make it quick,” she whispered.

“The only part of the night that will be quick,” he parried back.

Desire zipped down her spine like a dress undone.

Grinning, Matt scooted as far from her as possible in the back seat and pulled her bare feet into his lap.Oh, Lord.She’d be powerless after a foot rub, absolute putty amenable to his every command. She knew this about herself. Possibly Matt knew as well.

Within seconds of his thumbs in her arches, she was moaning.

“I am still here,” Célia exclaimed. “What is with you tonight, Matt?”

“It’s just a foot rub. Pia’s been on her feet since morning, Célia. Have some compassion.”

“You didn’t hire me for compassion,” the driver snapped back.

Pia didn’t even engage. Her body was too busy succumbing to Matt’s ministrations. He rubbed the sides of her ankles in long, strong strokes that she felt in higher places. Smooth glides over her shins seemed to continue the entire length of her body. His strong hands cupping her calves nearly broke her. Matt was winning this game.

She knew she was missing the City of Lights as they sped through town, but she could not bring herself to care. Not with Matt touching her like he knew every way to make her his. When she could open her eyes, she saw only him.

For the rest of the night, and maybe long after, Pia knew she would see only him.

7

Pia’s silky brown skin was not helping the situation. Matt could only hope she was sinking into the abyss as fast as he was.

Touching her was a lifeline. Touching her was torture.