Az leaned forward, bracing his hands on either side of my head. Swallowing hard, I tipped back my head to meet his eyes. “It’s time to get to work.”

“Yeah, alright,” I whispered back as he trailed a finger along the edge of my jaw. Sparks soared behind his touch.

And then he kissed me.

21

His lips were full of hunger. I pressed up onto my toes and wound my arms around his neck, pushing my body against the hard planes of his chest. All logical thought fled from my mind. A strange, unexpected need ripped through my gut.

Az’s fingers tangled in my hair as his other hand dragged a soft caress across my chin. His touch made all the anger, the uncertainty, and the fear come undone within me. His mouth claimed mine, and the eagerness of his hands reflected a growing sense of need I couldn’t ignore.

I kind of…liked this.

Soon, his hands found mine. He trapped them against the wall and pulled back. His dark gaze searched my eyes, those flashes of ice asking a question I didn’t know how to answer. I realized then that my chest heaved. Hell, my entire body practically trembled.

With a slight smile, he dropped his lips to my neck. I gasped as a new wave of chills swept through me. Every time he trailed another kiss along my skin, my core built up an excruciating heat. Blood rushed through my ears. Everything around us dropped away until there was nothing left but me and him.

This is just for pretend, my mind screamed at me.

I blocked out the words. Might as well make it look as real as we could.

He released his grip on my left hand, and then palmed my hips. I sucked in a sharp gasp as his fingers teased the top of my thigh. My mind shouted something at me again, but I didn’t hear it. I was too distracted by what Az was doing with his hand.

The hand slid further south until it hit the bottom hem of my dress. And then slowly, it crept a little higher, beneath the material. My entire body shook, and I swallowed down a moan. His mouth was still hot against my neck, driving me crazy, and his hand…oh my god, it was only an inch away from the apex of my thighs now.

“What are you doing?” I finally gasped, although a part of me wanted to slap myself for interrupting.

I could feel him smile against my neck. “I’m doing what we said we were going to do. Make everyone believe in our entanglement.”

“Right,” I breathed back. “With your hand up my dress?”

He pulled back and shot me a wicked smile. “Would you like for me to stop?”

Swallowing hard, I shook my head. “No, you should keep going. You know, for the fake relationship.”