“You better pack your bags, baby, because you’re heading for another extended stay on Big Bertha.” I waggled my eyebrows at her.

Lane shook her head. “We’ll see,” she said in an almost sing-song voice.

“Come here, you,” I growled as I pulled her back down for one last round of mind-blowing sex while I was still allowed to touch her.

She squirmed and giggled beneath me as I traced her face with the tip of my index finger. Her green eyes stood out against her olive skin. They were beautiful. It was possible that I might be able to stare into them all day without moving.

Jeesh. What was she doing to me? I was becoming a total pussy.

She swallowed hard and then licked her lips. The mood between us shifted from playful to serious in nearly an instant. The rhythmic pace of her chest increased in speed and I bit my lip as I felt my cock harden against her body.

Even though I couldn’t get enough of her body, this crazy chemistry I felt between us stemmed from more than just sex. We had something here.

Love. And it was undeniable.

Every time I thought it wasn’t possible to love her anymore, I found my heart swelling more each second I was around her. “I love you so much that sometimes it hurts.”

The delicate fingers on her right hand cupped my cheek, and she ran her thumb across my lips. I shut my eyes from the pure exotic pleasure of her intimate touch. Tremors shot down my spine, and my mouth hung open slightly. Lane used that as an invitation to slip her thumb into my mouth a little. I closed my lips around it, tasting her flesh with my tongue.

How was it possible for someone to taste so fucking delicious?

“Noel, I want you,” she whispered.

Lane pulled her thumb from my mouth and ran it down the center of my neck, crossing my Adam’s apple before she curled her fingers around my neck and pulled my head down. Her lips crashed into mine, and a wave of emotions flooded me. I couldn’t be without this. Not for even one damn day. I had to win this bet.

****

Cooking breakfast went relatively smooth. Lane even raised her eyebrows in surprise after I flipped a couple perfect flapjacks onto her waiting plate. Neither of us made a move to touch the other. It was clear that it was game-on at both ends. We were so competitive with each other it was sometimes ridiculous.

We sat across from each other at my small, wooden kitchen table. The late morning sun shined brightly through the windows and lit up every inch of my country-style kitchen. She looked adorable wearing only my t-shirt and her panties with her hair still loose and wild from all the time we spent in my bed earlier.

Lane spread butter across the top of her pancake and drizzled syrup all over as a finishing touch. Just to torture me, she began to lick syrup from each of her fingers in a way that reminded me of a hot porno.

The wheels in my brain turned as I watched her provocatively clean each of her fingers free of the sticky substance. It wasn’t hard to picture her pouty lips wrapped around my cock. The mere thought of that caused an ache in my crotch as I felt my dick harden. I have to admit, I would lose my fucking mind if she kept this shit up all damn day. A man can only resist so much temptation.

I gripped the fork in my hand tighter, trying anything to distract me from the thoughts rolling through my head.

Lane smiled and licked her lips. “What’s wrong, Noel?”

A rough breath purged from my mouth. “You’re kind of evil, you know that?”

She placed her hand on her chest and raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. “Me?”

I rolled my eyes and fought the urge to run around the table and grab her into a huge bear hug for being such a smart-assed tease. “Don’t play innocent. You know you’re cheating.”

She shook her head as she cut into her food with a triumphant smile. “You didn’t set any rules in this little game, so how is it that I’m cheating exactly?”

Damn it. She’s right. I should’ve been smarter about setting up this bet. Lane knew I got turned on like a fucking light switch, and she was using that to her advantage.

I leaned back in my chair and stretched out my right leg then quickly pulled it back for fear of accidently touching her with my foot. I clawed at my bare chest out of pure frustration.

Lane snickered after she swallowed a bite of her breakfast.

I shook my head and raked my fingers through my hair. “What I wouldn’t give to give you a good spanking right now.”

“Well, why don’t you?” She licked her lips slowly just to tease me.

A sarcastic laugh tumbled from my mouth. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

She cocked her head to the side while her gaze roamed from my face down to my chest. “You have no idea.”

Her words nearly sounded like a purr. I tossed my fork on the table, ready to spring into action and give her just what she had requested, then had to steady myself with a few calming breaths. I couldn’t take another fucking minute of this. If she kept this shit up, I would most definitely lose and would never be able to finagle another way to get her back on my bus.

I shoved my chair back, leaving my stack of pancakes untouched.

“Where are you going?” Lane cried as I leapt from my chair. “Come back!”

I shook my head. “No way. I’m winning this fucking bet. You fight dirty.”

She poked her lip out. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll play fair. Just come back and eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”

My eyes narrowed, but I didn’t make a move to sit back down. This made me seem like a pouty little bitch, but there was no way I was going to sit across from her while she continued this torture. If I had to keep my distance for the rest of the day to make that happen, then that was what I was going to do.