Chapter 171

He clenched his jaw, entrapping the growl that rumbled in the back of his throat, and danced with her. Let her feel the effect she had on him. He’d find a way to explain it away later. Not that she seemed to mind. Maybe she was as caught up in this pretense as he was, because she didn’t whirl around and accuse him with those beautiful eyes or tear into him with that sometimes sharp tongue. No. Instead, Michelle rubbed over him again...and again. Teasing him, arousing him, tempting him. Jesus, she was pure, condensed temptation.

A thick, erotic haze enshrouded his mind, settled in his limbs, weighing them down even as it buoyed him. This— her in his arms, inhaling her scent, her small body grinding against him —was his moment to let go. And he did. He could give himself this. He owed himself this.

She spun around, wound her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts, hips and thighs to him. Her hooded gaze met his, and even in the dark, he glimpsed... God, the glint of