I cradle her face, thumbs brushing velvet skin, and for one suspended heartbeat, we teeter on the edge of something inevitable. Then I break—lips crashing into hers with pent-up hunger that's been building for years. Not gentle—deep, consuming, desperate. She tastes like mint and something sweeter, something I could get drunk on forever.

"Hey," I rasp against her mouth.

She throws her arms around my shoulders, pulling me closer until there's nothing but heat and need between us.

“Hi,” She says, smile growing wider.

My hands dive into her hair, wrapping those silky strands around my fingers, tugging her head back to deepen the kiss. The noise she makes nearly ends me.

I push her up against the door harder than I meant to, some animal part of me roaring to life when her body cushions against the wood. Her hands are everywhere—chest, shoulders, waist—setting fires with every touch. When I trace those curves I've fantasized about for years, her gasp breaks against my mouth and I swallow it greedily.

My lips find her jaw, her throat, her pulse racing wild beneath my tongue. I want to mark her. Mine. Fucking mine.

"Nate," she whispers, and my name in that breathless voice makes my cock throb painfully.

She pulls back slightly. "Someone could catch⁠⁠—"

"Let them," I growl, forehead pressed to hers, breathing her in. "I'm done pretending. I don't care what anyone thinks about us."

The blush that spreads down her neck makes me want to follow it with my tongue. Her lips—swollen from my kisses—part slightly, and I'm fighting not to take her right here with a houseful of people on the other side of this door. I find the hollow of her throat, sucking lightly, feeling her body arch into mine.

"You have no idea Nora,” I rasp, barely recognizing my own voice. “The fucking power you have over me.” I kiss her softly before saying into her mouth, “This dress..." My fingers dig into her hips, fighting the urge to tear the thin fabric like paper. “It’s dangerous, Leni."

Her laugh vibrates against my lips, her fingers yanking my hair just enough to make my eyes roll back.

"Dangerous?" she whispers, breath hot against my ear, and I'm so hard it hurts.

“Mhm. I’m gonna ruin it later," I murmur, nipping her earlobe. "It and you." I take her mouth again, catching her bottom lip between my teeth, wanting to devour her whole. “Can't wait to rip it off... watch it fall to the floor."

The moan that tears from her throat nearly shatters my control. Her head falls back, throat exposed—trusting me completely when she shouldn't.

"Like that idea?" I whisper against her collarbone, tasting salt and sweetness. "You'd let me tear it right off you before I devour you."

"Nate," she gasps, body pressing closer as my hands slide under her dress, finding bare thighs that scorch my palms. "You can't say things like⁠⁠—“