Compromising Kessen (The Vandenbrook #1)(20)
Author: Rachel Van Dyken

Somehow she managed to maintain her composure and shook her head again, confused. Seriously, how dumb was he? Everyone knows about Finding Nemo!

He fell for it. “Oh, come on, Kessen! And the dad, Marlin, says something about how Nemo thinks he can do things, but he just can’t.” He then proceeds, in a good American accent she decided, to quote the movie. “’You think you can do these things, but you just can’t, Nemo!’”

His arms were now in the air; gone was the gimpy fin.

Unable to hold it back a second longer, Kessen laughed as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

Christian scowled and threw a pillow from the sofa at her face. “I can’t believe you let me go on for that long.”

Still laughing, Kessen said, “I can’t believe you actually fell for it!”

“Call it a weak moment,” he muttered, cursing under his breath.

“Now that one wasn’t half bad,” she complimented, patting him on the back. “And your American accent wasn’t too shabby either, by the way.

He pushed her hand off. “I find you a trifle irritating.”

“Oh, merely a trifle?” She mocked his accent. “So, we’re in agreement then?”

Christian shrugged. “We’re relative strangers. We have to get married, and we’re stuck … alone in my cottage. Yes, I would say we are in agreement.”

He held out his hand, and she shook it. However, it was obvious to Kessen that neither of them was in their right minds. And the last time they touched, something caused them to start kissing, and that something was stirring again within each of them, and their hands tingled in response.

Chapter Eleven

Christian made the horrendous mistake of glancing up while shaking Kessen’s hand. The attraction between them was a straight-up tie between lust and … well, he guessed it was intrigue. Whatever it was, he wasn’t just satisfied with shaking her hand anymore.

With one swift movement, he had her pressed against the nearest wall. Claiming her mouth in the process. Her hands were on his chest to push him away, her lips opened to yell something—probably stop—but instead he used the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

She let out a feminine moan.

And he was done for.

Then she wrapped her arms around his neck.

And he wanted to cry, just a little bit.

Her mouth was perfect. She tasted like minty cherries, which in his head sounded almost romantic. Bravery caused his own tongue to part into her mouth; her response was electric, as he nibbled her lips and traced more kisses down her neckline.

He was having trouble breathing. Heck, he was having trouble thinking. All he knew was no matter how much he touched her, it never seemed enough. He was always found wanting, and right now he knew exactly what he wanted.

Kessen.

She pushed him away with a drugged look on her face, which was the biggest mistake of all, because at this close proximity, her swollen lips, piercing eyes, and perfect complexion were even more tempting. It was then he realized he would rather have this woman hate him for the rest of his life than have her kiss anyone else with as much passion as she kissed him.

Christian was acting insane. He knew it; she probably knew it, but sometimes a body has a mind of its own, and his body was doing some hard thinking.

Panic welled in his chest as he saw hesitation in her eyes so before she could have a chance to say anything, he kissed her again.

The way they kissed was nothing short of legendary. As if every kiss he’d ever shared had been nothing but practice up to this point. She would give a little, and he would take; then he would give a little, and she would take.

He had always prided himself in being a well-controlled person when it came to physical affection, which was why he was so surprised he had again stolen the opportunity and lifted her up in his embrace, allowing her legs to wrap seductively around him.

“Kessen,” he said in her hair as he kissed down her neck. “Oh my—”

She pushed away quickly—and almost dropped to the floor, except he still had part of her arms.

They stared at each other for a few minutes. Not uncomfortably, more curiously. The heat radiating from their bodies was making him start to sweat—either that or the look she was giving him was. He couldn’t tell. It had been a long time since he had actually “made out” with a girl, rather than skipping ahead a few steps. He had forgotten how great it could be, or maybe it was just Kessen.

She took a deep breath. He had to close his eyes. She was too delicious to look at. He wanted to devour her, which made him sound like something straight out of the blasted Twilight books, making him moan even deeper.

He opened his eyes, hoping she would look different now that the fog of lust had lifted. Instead she looked better.

“Bloody Hell,” he said under his breath.

And then Kessen laughed.

“That…” she said, still breathlessly, “was a good curse.”

“Apparently, I just needed something to be upset about,” he admitted, looking away.

“Upset we nearly lit the house on fire with our kissing?” she teased, patting him on the head. She was so patronizing; forget kissing. He wanted to trip her.

“No, upset we stopped.” He turned around to challenge her, but she was already walking towards the kitchen.

“I’m hungry,” he heard her say.

“Well, there’s always flour,” he muttered, following her in.

****

Kessen was surprised she could walk straight, let alone remember her name.

He kissed her like he was going off to war.

And she kissed him back like it was true.

She had barely kept her composure in that living room; if he wouldn’t have said anything, well, she shuddered at what could have happened.

She was not that type of girl—she didn’t do things with guys, especially fiercely attractive British ones with titles in front of their names. It had to be that. Some part of her wanted to be in that book. It was his stupid last name. She moaned as she heard his steps behind her. They needed distance, and they sure as heck needed to stop all the kissing.

It was unnervingly distracting.

Yet every time they touched, it was as if nothing mattered anymore, which again made her feel like she was part of a cheesy romance novel. She hit her head against the wall just as Christian walked in.

“Perfect timing.” He passed her and slapped her on the butt.

“How dare you!” She lunged for him, but he already blocked her with his arm and put her into a chokehold. She tried to reach for sharp objects, and he laughed.