Under My Skin: A Contemporary Romance Set in Paris (Bistro La Bohème Book 2) by Alix Nichols Read Free Book Online

beginning to warm his blood and relax his muscles. He suspected Jeanne’s
slightly throaty voice had something to do with it, too. She always sounded as
if she’d just rolled out of bed.
    The sexiest voice a woman could have.
    He lifted his eyes. What was the point in not looking if hearing her speak
produced exactly the same effect?
    “I’m staying with my dad. He lives in Paris.”
    “Oh,” she said. “I didn’t know your parents were divorced.”
    “It’s been ages. But they are on OK terms, making life easier for all of
us.”
    “You’ve got siblings?”
    “Nope.” He put his empty mug down. “What about you? Any brothers or
sisters?”
    “A brother. He’s in Nîmes, running the bakery with Mom and Dad.”
    They remained silent for a moment.
    Mat knew he had to thank Jeanne for the tea, collect his coat , and walk out. It was after midnight. She
must be tired and wishing he’d just leave so she could finally go home. He
racked his brain for a reason to linger.
    There was none.
    He stood abruptly. “Thank you for the tea.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    He took a step sideways to get out of the narrow space between the heater
and the table, and ended up a mere two inches from Jeanne, who’d risen from her
seat in the meantime. They both froze and stared at each other. He swallowed , as his gaze traveled from her
mind-blowing lips down to her heaving breasts, and then back up to her warm
brown eyes.
    He took a deep breath, catching the smell of coffee in her hair. His
pulse throbbed in his head.
    “I’m going to kiss you,” he said. “You may slap me or kick me in the
balls afterward, but I must kiss you.”
    He cradled her head with both his hands to execute his threat. His lips
touched hers reverently, lightly, barely grazing them. She let out a soft sigh.
He inhaled her head-turning scent and once again brushed his burning lips over
hers. He had imagined this moment a thousand times, trying to guess how she
would taste. Honey? Chocolate? Mint? But he didn’t want to deepen the kiss just
yet. He had dreamed of doing this for so damn long. He was going to take it as
slowly as he possibly could.
    Her lips were soft and warm beneath his as he kissed her with an adoring
tenderness he didn’t know he possessed. He shifted closer, his hands caressing
her shoulders and her back, pressing her to him. The desire that stirred in him
was nothing like he had experienced before. It roared like a wild beast and
clawed his insides. It demanded to be set free, urging him to abandon all
control and invade her mouth, her body, her very soul.
    But he wasn’t giving in to it. Not yet. He kissed the corner of her
mouth, tugged on her lower lip, and nipped it lightly.
    She moaned and dug her fingers into his shoulders. “Oh Mat,” she
whispered against his mouth.
    He pulled away just enough to take in her heavy lids, her flushed cheeks,
and her heaving chest. She was peering at his mouth, her head tilted up, an
unspoken plea in her eyes. She wanted him. Jeanne—the woman he’d craved
so desperately, so hopelessly—now desired him, too. He feasted his eyes
on her as his shoulders pushed back and his chest expanded.
    Does she have any idea what it means to me to see her like
this?
    Could she guess what it did to him to watch her aroused by his gentlest
kiss? To know she desired him, to see her all but begging him to kiss her
again?
    He traced the outline of her jaw and cupped her nape, delving his fingers
into her silky hair. His other hand circled her waist. He held her firmly,
preparing to brand her with an entirely different kind of kiss. He was done
teasing. The kiss he wanted now would be hot, hard, and messy.
    And infinitely intimate.
    His phone rang, startling him . It was Cécile’s ringtone, which was unusual. When one of them traveled for
work, they respected French etiquette and never called each other after ten
o’clock. Something must be wrong.
    He pulled the phone from his pocket and turned his back to