Mantis

35. Just one kiss

When I woke up, Victor's arms were tightly wrapped around me. No clothes separated us. My naked body touched his, and I felt so wonderfully light and safe.

I glanced at the beast lying next to me, the one who was the reason I wasn't sitting in a small room with a pharmacology book on my lap, but instead was dancing, drinking champagne, wearing outrageously expensive clothes, and having the best sex of my life. Chocolate eyes were already watching me.

– You look beautiful when you wake up – Victor said, sending me a warm smile. – Your hair has that artistic messiness.

I lazily returned the smile and stretched hard until I felt my still sore ribs, and the blanket slipped off my breasts.

– Do you like such a mess? – I asked teasingly, exposing my chest with exceptional care.

The chocolate eyes flashed wildly, and their owner lunged at my body.

– Very much – he murmured, circling my nipples with his tongue. – And I like you best when you're not hiding behind the mask of that fierce Paulina.

With a smile on his face, he slowly brought his face closer to mine, and I immediately pulled away from him abruptly.

– What are you doing?! – I asked indignantly, glaring at him.

Victor gave me a slightly bewildered look.

– I just wanted to kiss you – he said, clearly confused.

– Did you swap brains with Bambi? – I snapped at him immediately, causing even greater bewilderment on his face. – On what grounds?

Victor looked at me as if he wasn't sure whether he should do it at all and smiled cautiously.

– We made love last night – he said in a tone as if explaining to a small child why you need to brush your teeth. – A kiss is nothing. I would even say it's high time.

– Absolutely not – I protested energetically.

– What? – he asked, half amused, half surprised.

I looked at him and sighed impatiently.

– Kissing deepens the emotional bond more than sex – I declared matter-of-factly.

– That's probably a good thing – Victor murmured, moving closer to me with outstretched arms.

– No, because we don't want to deepen anything – I replied, ostentatiously pushing his arms away. – What happened last night was a one-time exception. And we won't be going back to it – I stipulated sternly.

I jumped out of bed and hurried out of his room, throwing on one of the fluffy, white robes as I went. I couldn't stay in the same room with his intense gaze because sooner or later all my principles would go out the window, and I had already bent too many of them.

I slammed my door shut and threw myself into the shower to wash his touch off me. Once again, I had let him deceive and tempt me, even though I knew perfectly well that this couldn't end well. Why was this even happening? How did he manage that every time he wanted to sleep with me, he just did it? And why, when he did, did I never want him to stop? What was wrong with me?

Only when I came out of the bathroom did I notice the envelope with a beautiful invitation lying on the bed for the evening's proper birthday party combined with a charity ball for the protection of wild animals in the Amazon, and I already knew what to do with my free afternoon. I had to choose a dress for the evening, and one that would make some people – here I mainly thought of Victor – drop their jaws. Although... I wouldn't mind if seeing me made his cock stand at attention either.