WANTED AGAIN
LAURA – PARIS – THE PAST / DREAM
The cab pulled up in front of Le Meurice, and I blinked up at the extravagant façade, my stomach twisting. The gold accents shimmered beneath the Parisian streetlights, and the doorman in his pristine uniform barely spared us a glance before pulling the door open with a practiced flourish.
I turned to Josh, arching a brow. “Really?”
He shrugged, completely unapologetic. “Football pays well- what can I say?”
I rolled my eyes but followed him inside, pretending not to be impressed by the opulence of the lobby, the way the marble floors gleamed under the chandeliers. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen places like this before–I had. But still, Josh had a way of making everything feel… different.
The elevator ride was silent, the tension between us thick, and when the doors opened directly into the penthouse, my breath caught. The space was massive, sleek and modern with floor–to- ceiling windows that overlooked the glowing Paris skyline. The kind of place that most people only ever saw in movies.
But I didn’t give myself time to be awed.
Instead, I stepped forward, sliding my shoes off the second I crossed the threshold. The plush carpet was warm and impossibly soft beneath my feet, and I sighed, curling my toes
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against it.
Behind me, Josh chuckled. “Seriously?”
I
I glanced back at him and shrugged. “I like the feeling of the carpet beneath my feet.”
His lips quirked in amusement, but then, without warning, his expression shifted. The air between us grew heavier, the warmth in his eyes darkening into something else entirely.
“I really want to kiss you, Laura,” he murmured, his voice rough.
A pulse of heat shot through me.
I held his gaze, my head still buzzing slightly from the alcohol, but not enough to ignore what this was.
Not enough to ignore the way my body reacted to him.
But still–I had to be careful.
“If I let you,” I said softly, “are you going to make it more than it truly is?”
Josh stepped forward, slow and deliberate, the sheer size of him swallowing the space between us. He towered over me, his body radiating heat, his scent–clean, masculine, Josh- wrapping around me like a vice.
“And what is this exactly?” he asked, his voice dropping lower, more dangerous.
swallowed, my breath hitching. “Maybe this is just one night where we forget about everything… where we wake up with no expectations of each other.”
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His jaw ticked, his eyes flickering between mine, searching.
And then-
He reached for me.
I barely had time to inhale before his mouth was on mine, hot and demanding, his hands coming up to cradle my face, holding me there like he was afraid I’d disappear. I melted into him, my fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping against mine in a way that made my knees weak.
I gasped into his mouth, and he took it as an invitation, his hands sliding down my arms, my waist, gripping my hips and pulling me flush against him. The feel of him–solid, hot, familiar -sent a shiver down my spine.
It had always been like this between us.
Fire.
Chaos.
A hunger that neither of us knew how to tame.
Josh’s hands skimmed down to the backs of my thighs, and before I could even register what was happening, he lifted me effortlessly. I wrapped my legs around his waist, my dress riding up as he carried me across the room, his lips never leaving mine.
I barely noticed the trail of clothing we left behind—his jacket hitting the floor, my dress sliding off my shoulders, his shirt pulled over his head in one swift motion.
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By the time my back met the couch, I was already breathless, my skin burning everywhere he touched.
Josh hovered over me, his lips trailing down my neck, over my collarbone, his fingers tracing the curve of my hip.
I arched into him, my breath coming in shallow pants.
This was reckless.
This was dangerous.
But God, it felt so good to be wanted by him again.
