wouldn’t be driven by anything other than desire. Plain and simple.
He came to a stop directly in front of her. He glanced down at her outfit. A flowing skirt and sleeveless blouse with sandals on her feet. When he glanced back at her, he said, “Did I tell you how nice you look?”
“No.”
“Then let me do that right now. You look nice, Sloan.”
She couldn’t help but smile at the compliment. “Thank you, Mercury.”
He stared down at her for a moment. Was she imagining things or was his gaze centered on her lips? Evidently her lips thought so because she could feel them start to tingle. Nervous, she swiped her tongue across her bottom lip, then watched how his eyes seemed to lock on the movement.
“I guess we need to get back. We wouldn’t want to be the ones holding up dinner, right?” she asked, barely able to get the words out.
He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The movement, the touch, made a shiver run down her spine. As if he’d felt it, his gaze returned to hers and locked in. “You know what I think?”
Why did he ask in that low, husky voice of his? The one that made yet another shiver pass through her.
She swallowed. “No. What do you think?”
“I think they are going to have to wait.”
He moved in closer, pressed those tight muscular thighs and firm stomach close to hers and then lowered his mouth to hers. She was so ready and felt a sudden drench of desire invade her the moment his tongue mingled with hers.
Within seconds, it wasn’t quite clear whether he was devouring her mouth or she was devouring his. All she knew was that they were taking each other’s tongues with a hunger she’d never felt before.
She loved his taste, and from the way he was marauding her mouth, he enjoyed hers, as well. She’d never been kissed like this. Those other times had been hot; however, this was blazing. Now she felt weak in the knees and couldn’t help the groan that escaped.
Mercury then ended the kiss with the same intensity he’d used to start it. She appreciated how he wrapped his arms around her, holding her as if to keep her from melting at his feet. The man had practically kissed her senseless and she had no shame in inwardly admitting that she’d liked it.
It took her a minute to catch her breath, take in the scent of him in her nostrils. She thought she could stay like this, being held by him forever, but knew in reality, she couldn’t.
Slowly, she lifted her head and met his gaze. He was staring down at her with an odd look on his face. If he was deciding she was a problem just like she’d begun to think he was becoming one, then he would have to follow his own advice and find a solution. She couldn’t and wouldn’t help him. She had her own issues to deal with. That made her recall what had brought them into his mother’s office in the first place.
“Just because Harold is in town doesn’t mean he’ll be able to find me, right?”
He held her gaze. “Not sure. That would depend on whether or not your father had a tracker on your phone.”
His words made her frown. He did. She’d forgotten about that tracker, which at the time her father had said he’d had installed for security reasons. It hadn’t mattered to her when she’d left Cincinnati because she hadn’t been trying to keep her whereabouts a secret. At least at first she hadn’t. Then after her mother’s phone call, leaving Phoenix and hiding out somewhere had been her plan until Mercury had pretty much talked her out of it. He was right; it was time she stood her ground and came up with a solution. Even if it was a temporary solution.
“It doesn’t matter if Harold eventually finds me. Nothing has changed. We aren’t getting married.”
Mercury nodded. “I still don’t understand why your father would want you to marry him.”
She shrugged. “I told you—it’s all