Memories Without Him novel · Chapter 8 of 24

Chapter 8: Say It Again

He had meant the Orsini upstairs.

He got us as far as the car.

Neither of us said a word on the drive to Brooklyn.

His hand lay on my knee the whole way, and it burned through the black dress.

I looked out at the bridge lights and counted them and lost count.

At the brownstone he sent the men to the kitchen with one look.

He took me up four flights, and I thought he would put me down at the guest room with the lock.

He did not stop there.

His bedroom door shut behind us with a quiet click.

"Tell me to stop," Vincent said.

He stood very close, and his chest was rising hard.

"I don't want you to stop."

"Gemma. Rule one."

"Rule one was no touching except the show." I put my palms on his shirt and felt his heart under them. "There's nobody here to see the show."

"I know."

"Then why are you still asking?"

"Because for six months I let you stand outside my doors," he said roughly, "and I'm not sure you'd have said yes to the man who did that."

I thought of the text on my phone, and I put it away.

I took hold of his tie and pulled his mouth down to mine.

He made a low sound against my lips, and then he stopped asking.

He turned me against the door and kissed me until my knees went.

His hands found the zipper at my back and drew it down slowly, all the way, and the dress slid off my shoulders and pooled around my feet.

He stood back to look at me.

The light from the street was on my skin.

"Christ," he said. "You're beautiful."

"Take your shirt off."

He did, one button at a time, with his eyes on my face.

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