Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 137077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“I’m not celibate,” he argues. “Or reckless.”
I snort-laugh, which sounds completely unladylike, not that I’ve ever claimed to be one of those. “That’s what you’re disagreeing with? When we’ve already established that neither of us date, ergo near-celibate.” I emphasize the word pointedly. “And if you didn’t feel this morning was reckless, you wouldn’t be freaking out on me now.”
He clacks his mouth shut, his pearly whites snipping together hard enough to make me wonder if he’s chipped a tooth. But he manages to grit out, “I’m not freaking out.”
Nodding vehemently, I agree. “Yeah, sure. Totally. Not even a little bit.” I hold up my finger and thumb a skinny inch apart. He growls, and by my way of thinking, it’s his acknowledgement that he’s absolutely panicking, so I smile sweetly at him, wanting him to know I’m not a sore winner. “It’s okay, Cameron. We got carried away, we won’t let it happen again. No need to fire me, or freak out, or fantasize obsessively about doing it again.” I let my eyes drift off like I’m definitely daydreaming about a particularly long, hard something, before I blink and refocus on him with a smirk. “No big deal.”
I’m still poking at him. Testing him and finding those edges and limits where I push too far. The tic in his cheek is back, so I know I’m getting close. I take a sip of my tea to hide my satisfaction.
“Riley, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me, or like I took advantage of you and the situation—”
I hold my hand up, silencing him. He’s reverting to some coldly professional, pseudo-business babble like I’m threatening to go to HR over what happened, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. Was what we almost did stupid? Yeah. But I’ve done stupider things before. And though he probably hasn’t, he doesn’t need to beat himself up over it. Doing dumb shit is fun sometimes, and that’s okay.
“The only thing that made me uncomfortable was my still-pulsing pussy hitting the hard floor,” I inform him primly. He swallows thickly, and I swear his eyes dip down as though he’s imagining what’s beneath this blanket. I nearly dance in my seat at the fun I’m having winding him up. He needs this in his life, a little mess and chaos, a bit of unexpected and impulsive. “And you sure as hell didn’t take advantage. I knew what I was doing, and I knew what you were doing. I’d say you knew what you were doing too– as in, it was good, not that you were aware, which we’ve already established you weren’t and is quite the hit on a girl’s ego—but if I gave you a compliment like that, your head would get even bigger and neither of us needs that.”
He blinks several times, like he’s replaying my long run-on sentence for clarity. “Are you saying…” He frowns hard, his brows furrowed low over darkening eyes. “Are you saying that you wanted… that?”
I sigh heavily, like I’m the one frustrated by him, but it’s a ploy. “I would never approach you. It’d be inappropriate.” He starts to speak, and I place my fingers over his lips, glaring hard, to shut him up so I can finish my thought. I’m 99.03% sure no one has ever dared to do that to him, given the way his eyes pop open wide in shock. But as I continue, he stays quiet, even when I slowly remove my hand, so I’m calling it a win. “And you would never approach me for the same reason. Our bodies have other ideas, and that’s understandable. You’re gorgeous, and smart, and a good dad. You’re sexy as hell, Cameron. And while I’m not everyone’s cup of tea…” I smile into my mug at the start of the analogy.
“You’re like a damn fairy,” he spits out, interrupting however I was going to describe myself, which definitely wasn’t as a mythical creature. Can’t say I’m mad at it, though. I might even kinda like the idea. “Flitting here and there, with your own musical accompaniment, leaving behind smiles and happiness. And all the while, flashing peeks of your belly and your tits that drive me wild. The only thing worse is your ass that I want to smack every time you walk away from me.” His voice has gotten rougher and rougher with every word, and by the end of his rant, he’s nearly growling and his frown has turned into a deep scowl like he’s angry at my very existence.
My breath hitches at his outpouring of words, each one a deeper, darker admission than the last, as fire ignites inside me. Not in my whole body, but rather one very centrally located part who thinks Cameron smacking my ass sounds like an absolutely stellar idea.