Suddenly, he was right next to me, bending down slightly. His finger gently tilted my chin up, making me look at him. “Darling, it’s time to play,” he said, his voice low and smooth.

Before I could react, Carter dipped his finger into the melted chocolate on the table and, with a playful grin, traced a line of chocolate across my cheek.

I gasped, completely taken by surprise, and without thinking, I stood up so quickly that I bumped into him. It all happened in a flash—before I knew it, we tumbled to the ground, landing on the soft grass.

I found myself in his arms, with Carter taking the brunt of the fall to keep me from hitting the ground. His arms tightened around me, holding me close. For a moment, I was frozen, staring up at him as his eyes blazed with an intensity I couldn’t quite understand.

Then it hit me, with a jolt, how compromising our position must look. I tried to scramble to my feet, but Carter’s grip was strong, not letting me go.

With a smooth motion, he shifted, reversing our positions so that I was lying on the grass and he was hovering above me. His blue eyes locked onto mine, and I couldn’t look away.

For a brief moment, he just stared at me, as if weighing something in his mind. Then his gaze flickered to the line of chocolate he had left on my cheek. His eyes darkened, and slowly, almost deliberately, he leaned down.