shifted a little and her shoulders squared. “Who says you’ll ever get to kiss me?”
“I do.”
Her eyes narrowed a little. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“You’d be surprised what I get to decide.” He worked to hide a smile. “I can accomplish many things, Love.”
“Not this.” Mona sat a little taller on the sofa.
There she was. The woman he saw beneath the layers of uncertainty and hesitation.
She was fucking stunning.
“I am quite confident in my abilities.” He let his eyes drop to her mouth. “And I’m certain you will regret your decision to avoid them.”
Her skin flushed but she didn’t back down. “I doubt it.”
As much as he loved her soft side, this part of her was like a drug to him. The fight he saw in her eyes. The defiance in the tip of her chin.
Mona was all he needed. The calm to his storm. The peace to his turmoil. The center to his chaos.
And he could be all she needed. He would prove it. Whatever it took.
“Would you care to wager on it?”
She blinked, his offer clearly catching her by surprise. “You want to bet that I’ll let you kiss me?”
“Absolutely I do.”
“That seems counterintuitive.”
“I don’t intend to lose.”
Her nostrils flared a little. “Neither do I.”
He did smile at that. “Good.”
He wanted her to know she could fight him. Tell him he was wrong.
That he would welcome it.
“Prepare yourself.” Pierce stood. “Because tomorrow I plan to be completely irresistible.” He held his hand out to her. “Come. It’s time for bed.”
She scoffed. “If I’m not kissing you then I’m definitely not sleeping with you.”
Pierce bent down, bracing one hand on the arm of the sofa and the other against the back, caging her in as he moved close. “I will be kissing you, Love.” He inched closer. “And I can promise once that happens you will most certainly want more from me.” Pierce leaned into her ear. “And I will give you all of it.”
CHAPTER 8
GOD HELP HER.
Because he wasn’t completely wrong.
If her stomach would cooperate she might have let him kiss her. Might have happily let him do just about anything.
And right now it was impossible to tell whether that was a good idea or a bad one.
As Pierce straightened, the smell of him pulling away, her lungs finally allowed in a little air.
“The second door on the right is your room for the night, Love.” He tipped his head toward the hall off the living room. “Go. Get some sleep.”
She didn’t want to sleep in Pierce’s home.
She also didn’t want to sit here with him looking at her the way he was.
Like a predator sizing up his next meal.
Mona jumped up from the sofa and hustled across the room, refusing to turn around even though she felt the weight of his stare as Pierce watched her go.
The second door on the right turned out to also be the last door on the right. The first seemed to be a half-bath based on the limited peek she managed while running past.
Mona darted into the door, closing it behind her and leaning against the solid pane. She hadn’t even bothered to turn on the light, but the reflection of the outside lights against the snow illuminated it with a soft glow.
She let out a huff of air, whispering under the breath. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The switch was on the wall just beside the door. It was a slide-style dimmer. As she lifted it, a solid band of light edging the ceiling brightened, bathing the room in warmth. The actual fixture was hidden behind trim, making it seem almost as if it was the sun peeking over a continuous horizon.
Because of course the sun would have to rise and set in Pierce’s bedroom.
And this was most certainly his bedroom.
A king-sized bed was centered along the wall opposite the door. The headboard was covered in tufted leather the same shade of deep tan as the sofa in the living room. The mattress was wrapped in white sheets and piled with blankets in varying shades of grey. Armed lamps were mounted to the wall at each side, situated perfectly for late night reading.
Which made sense.
Pierce’s office was lined in bookshelves, but for some reason it never occurred to her that he might actually read those books. A sizable stack on one of the nightstands made it seem like the books were for more than show. She strained to read the lettering across the spines, but it was impossible to