I drop my hand from her breast, and we stare at each other for a few seconds, disappointment washing through her eyes right before she stands. This time, she straightens out her clothes and then turns away from me, not taking my hand in hers as we move to the next chair.

Fuck.

It’s immediate.

I can feel the cold coming from her. The distance she’s putting between us.

Her body language changed.

Her demeanor is no longer easygoing.

And I wonder if denying her what she wanted was something her ex used to do?

But did she seriously want me to feel her up right here?

I was trying to be respectful.

Waging a war of uncertainty in my head, I take a seat on the chair, and she drops down on my lap as Sanders calls out, “Now remember, we need to be doing this correctly. Read the cards, and perform the tasks to the best of your ability. This is a learning exercise. If we don’t follow through, we will do it again.”

“Did you hear that, Wilder?” she whispers. “Perform your task to the best of your ability.”

“I heard him,” I say as I take the card off the side of the chair and read it out loud. “Kiss your partner, no tongue allowed.” My eyes immediately shoot up to Scottie.

Kiss?

We have to kiss each other?

Well…fuck.

And here I thought this was going to be an easy activity with just questions. It started off so innocent but turned to fondling and now this?

“Um, are you okay with me kissing you?” I ask her.

“Doesn’t look like we have a choice. Question is are you okay with it? You couldn’t even touch me at the last chair.”

“Don’t,” I say as I put the card back. “Don’t start a fight. And don’t start thinking things in that head of yours. I was being respectful.”

“We’re not supposed to be respectful right now, Wilder. We’re supposed to be following directions.”

“You want to follow directions? Okay,” I say and then cup her cheek and bring her in close to me.

I let my lips barely drag over her cheek and then to her ear, where I kiss her lobe, then the spot below her ear and across her jaw. Her breathing picks up as I move over to her chin and then to the other side of her jaw.

“I wasn’t not touching you because I didn’t want to touch you,” I say as I tilt her chin up with my thumb and then work my lips down her neck. “I wasn’t touching you because if I did…I probably wouldn’t have stopped.”

My lips move up to her cheek, to the spot below her ear again, and then back to her cheek, where I reach her nose.