I woke the next morning to the incessant ringing of my phone. Fumbling my way through the air, I managed to press the answer button somehow and croaked a greeting to the caller.

"I'm engaged!"

Molly's shrieking voice snapped me out of my half-asleep state as I struggled to comprehend what she just said.

"Ky? You there?"

I sat up, running a hand over my eyes. "Yeah. Sorry. What?"

"I'm engaged. Like, engaged, Ky."

I smiled at her excitement while trying to absorb her news. "Wow. Congratulations."

To say I was a little shocked was an understatement. Molly was your typical free spirit—tall, slim, a drop-dead gorgeous blonde, and not interested in relationships.

She'd been dating this guy, Chris, for nearly six months, which was a record for her. I had been more than surprised when she'd agreed to go on holiday with him.

"When can you come over? We have so much to catch up on." The tone of her voice told me that wasn't a question, but a demand. What Molly wanted, Molly always got.

I sighed as I threw back the bed covers. "Give me an hour."

A squeal of joy pierced my eardrums before the line went dead.

***

An hour later, I arrived at Molly's house, more awake and ready for her barrels of joy. I hadn't even opened the car door before she came running out, waving her new bling in my face.

She thrust her left hand in my face, giving me little option but to hold it and stare at the huge diamond ring sitting on her ring finger. "Wow. That's huge," I said, taking in the ginormous rock even a celebrity would have been proud of.

She nodded, her long blonde hair bouncing around with her enthusiasm. "I know. It's five carats and the band is platinum, not silver."

I raised an eyebrow and dreaded to think how much poor Chris had spent on it. Most likely his life savings. "So...how did he do it?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

A broad smile swept across her face as she relived her special moment. "It was so perfect. We were in this gorgeous restaurant right on the sea front. There was a guy there playing guitar and singing love songs. Candles all around, stars in the sky, he got down on one knee under the moonlight, and ta-dah!"

I smiled. "I'm so pleased for you."

She grabbed my arm, dragging me out of the car before enveloping me in a bone crushing hug. "You know what this means?"

I stepped back, stretching out my shoulders. I raised my eyebrows, daring to ask, "What?"

She clasped her hands together and jumped up and down on the spot. "Shopping. Dress shopping."

I suppressed a groan, and somehow managed to give her a brilliant smile that faked my excitement. It wasn't that I was unhappy for her, it just didn't seem right. Before her holiday, she'd been detailing the hot personal trainer in her gym to me and how she thought he was coming on to her. Now, it was like he never existed. Still, she deserved someone decent, and Chris was a good guy.

As I followed her inside, my phone rang—Paul flashed across the screen making me burst into a genuine smile of my own. I realised then that this news would kill her.

When Paul started at the company a few weeks ago, Molly used any trick in the book to be upstairs in my office, poised seductively on the end of my desk in her short, tight skirts. Whenever Paul emerged from his office, he completely blanked her, not even acknowledging her with a hello.

Unfortunately, that only fuelled her fire more. By the time she was on her last day before her holiday, her heels were five inches high, her blouse buttons dangerously close to not even being done up, and her skirts so tight she could do little more than waddle like a penguin in them.

Grinning like a Cheshire cat, I ran back outside, answering his call. "Well, hello there."

"Good morning. I'm delighted you decided to answer."

I giggled. "It was accidental. I meant to press reject."

A soft, honey laden laugh trickled down the line, sending shivers up and down my spine. "Well, I'm guessing that answers my question, then. May as well hang up now."

"Didn't anyone ever teach you that if you don't ask, you don't get?"

"As a matter of fact, Miss Wilson, I happen to live by that rule. Are you free tonight?"

I bit my lip, stifling my need to jump for joy. "Perhaps..."

"No use playing hard to get after your seduction attempts this week."

"Touché. I suppose since it's you, I'm free tonight."

He chuckled. "Want to catch a movie?"

My mind started whirring with ideas already. "Sounds perfect."

We hung up after confirming times, which then left me to deal with Molly. I walked back inside, ignoring her prying glances, and sat on the sofa with a cheeky grin.

"Who was that?" she asked

I grinned. "My hot date."

"What hot date? Who? When did this happen? Details please." She leaned forwards, her arms resting on her knees, and her jade green eyes glistening with delight.

I shrugged my shoulders, trying to appear nonchalant. "He took me out for dinner last night. Nothing happened."

She wiggled her eyebrows with impatience. "So, who is it? Anyone I know?"

I bit my lip to stem my growing smile. "Paul."

She frowned. "Paul?"

"Mr. Connors to you."

She gasped, her jaw dropped before she covered her open mouth with her hands. "No way. You're freaking kidding me?"

"Nope."

She jumped out of her seat and sat down next to me, all but sitting on my lap. "I want details," she said, glee at the thought of gossip completely taking over her.

I grinned and patted her leg. "There are none. Yet."

***

As punctual as ever, Paul picked me up at six p.m. as we agreed. When I opened the door, I couldn't help my eyes roving over his fine form. Dark denim jeans hugged all the right areas and made it very difficult not to look at a particular area. His bright white t-shirt clung to his broad shoulders, clearly defining the ripped muscles all over his upper body. I had to bite my lip just to prevent any drool escaping.

He smiled as he looked over my own casual look of light-coloured skin-tight jeans and a fitted yellow halter-neck top. "You really do look good in anything, don't you?"

I licked my lips and grinned at him. "You haven't seen my best outfit yet."

He quirked an eyebrow and said, "Oh? Well, we have time if you wish to change."

I giggled. "I don't think you would want to take me out in my birthday suit."

He chuckled. "Never say never," he said, giving me a cheeky wink.

The drive over to the cinema seemed to dissolve some of the mounting tension, making me question whether it was all driven from my side. Did I need to calm it down?

I dismissed the thought as quickly as it arrived. Life was for living, and this situation with Paul wouldn't ever develop into anything more than something sexual, so what was the point in playing the wait game and testing his boundaries?

We arrived at the cinema early, which meant we had pick of the seats. Smirking to myself, I headed straight to the back corner. Paul raised his eyebrows as a quirky smile folded over his pink lips. Little did he know that I'd spent all afternoon thinking of devilish ways to seduce him in the darkness.

The lights dimmed, coating us in shadows, and within seconds he dropped his hand over my forearm, sweeping his fingertips across my skin as he began tracing tiny, hair-raising patterns. I tried to ignore the goosebumps popping up all over my body but my racing heart thumping against my rib cage distracted me completely from the beginning of the movie.

I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, allowing him to feel like he had the upper hand for a few minutes. Once I had calmed my body and cleared my mind, I relaxed my hand into his lap, resting it just above his knee. I started brushing my fingers across his leg, ever so carefully inching my way towards that area. I stared hard at the screen, intent on not making eye contact with him, all in a bid to appear as innocent as possible. After several minutes, I reached his inner thigh, and I heard him inhale sharply as I grazed my fingertips a little too close for comfort.

He shifted in his seat then leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I know what you're doing."

I dared to look at him, almost losing my breath at the fire sparking in his sapphire eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He came closer, his nose in my hair and his lips skimming against my ear as he said, "You know damn well what I'm talking about."

I batted my eyelashes several times and shrugged my shoulders. "I've no idea," I whispered back, allowing my little finger to stroke against his bulge.

He gasped and pushed his face further into my hair. A second later, I felt his teeth nibbling on my ear lobe. Shivers ran down my spine and settled in an electrified bundle right between my legs.

"See?" I whispered, my breathing a little ragged. "I've no idea what you're talking about."

"You carry on and you won't even be able to talk," he said, his voice a husky whisper. He pulled back and looked at me, the intensity of the blaze burning through his eyes making my heart skip a beat. "Kyra..."

I forced a smile, not wanting him to see how affected I was by this too. "Yes?"

I continued my torturous assault on him but said nothing more as he turned his attention back to the screen. Every so often, he would let out a slow, deep breath before fidgeting in his seat.

The instant the film finished, he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my seat, marching us out to the car in fervid silence.

I dared to steal a sideways glance at him as I bit my lip to curb my grin. A muscle in his cheek twitched, his shoulders were tense and squared, and his focus fixed straight ahead on the car. Everything about him screamed a darkened sense of being, his ash blonde hair now the only light to the charged atmosphere between us.

As we closed in the last few feet towards the car, he swung me around and pressed me up against the cool metal with his solid body. My breath caught in my throat from the sudden movement, and before I could stop my world from spinning, he cupped my face between both of his hands and planted his lips on mine, sending me into a whole new whirling reality. He parted my lips with his tongue, entwining my tongue with his, demanding I submit to him and let him take control. I didn't even fight. I could do little but melt into him as I allowed him to take control of every essence of me with his assertive kiss.

After a couple of minutes, he broke our heated moment. We stared at each other, both of us breathing with short, ragged breaths. His assault on my senses had left me speechless and weak at the knees.

As I stared at him, seeing the intensity of the passion simmering in his eyes seared right through my soul. In that moment, I knew I was done for. I would never be able to get enough of this man.

"That was the least I could restrain myself to in public," he said. "Think yourself lucky."

His words triggered something in my brain—a challenge. He had dominated me with that kiss, but I couldn't let him think I was so easy to knock off balance.

I held his fiery eye contact and moved back towards his lips. As I hovered over his mouth, making him think I was going to kiss him, I reached out and grabbed his crotch, making him jump from the sudden contact. "That was the least I could restrain myself to, so think yourself lucky."

His eyes clouded over with a mixture of mischief and lust. "Oh, Miss Wilson..."

I grinned and let go. I turned around and, as I opened the car door, purposefully pushed my ass into him. He muttered something under his breath and strode around to the driver's side, his jaw set in a hard line.

He sat in the seat, turned the engine on, and put his seatbelt on, not looking at me once. The only noise between us for the entire ride home was the roar of his engine as he drove as fast as possible back to mine.

Every single second of silence seemed to pressurise the atmosphere even more. My head and my heart were racing like a herd of wild horses, scattering in all directions as to which way this situation would go. Had I pushed him too far? Was he angry? Should I have waited for him to test the boundaries instead of me teasing him?

Finally pulling up on my driveway, I jumped out of the car before he'd even put the handbrake on and ran to my front door. As I fumbled with the key in the lock, my hands shaking slightly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I could feel a radiating heat behind me, closing in on me like an ominous shadow.

I turned around and inhaled a sharp breath. His eyes were gleaming with nothing but a wild mix of primal need and lust. He closed the distance between us, accelerating my heart rate to speeds I didn't know were possible. As our noses all but touched, his lips lingering above mine, he reached behind me and twisted the key in the lock.

The second I heard the lock click, I held my breath. My mind went blank. I heard the door handle being pushed down before the door creaked open. He pulled his hand back and settled it on my waist as our eyes met.

My entire body started trembling in anticipation of what was to come. I opened my mouth to say something but didn't even get chance to draw a breath before he crushed his perfect lips to mine and pushed me back inside the house.