Variation: A Novel

SanFranFouette: OMG. I’m living for these updates RousseauSisters4

Hunter4lights: If she can’t sit through dinner, there’s no way she can handle rehearsal. How embarrassing.

I threw my keys onto the entry-hall table of my apartment and kicked off my heels once I hit the living room. The sun was setting, giving a dusky glow through the two-story windows that looked out over the city as I ditched my clutch on the surprisingly clean coffee table. Either Eva was making an attempt at picking up after herself, or our housekeeper deserved a raise.

Anger crawled beneath my skin, the heat of it cracking the carefully constructed mask I worked so hard to maintain when in the city. I hadn’t even made it through dinner.

“You want to talk about it?” Hudson asked, the sound of his footsteps behind me softening as he reached the area rug. What did he think about this place? My mother had hand selected the apartment for its proximity to the studio and had decorated for Lina, only to hand the keys over to me a month after her death.

Did he like the subtle acts of rebellion Eva and I had committed in the street-vendor art on the walls and messy photos of messier nights in their mismatched frames along the bookshelves? Or did he only see the polished surfaces presented for first glance?

“Allie?” He walked past the wicker baskets of pointe shoes we kept near the sofa just in case we felt like breaking them in while streaming a Netflix marathon.

“I’m still processing.” Moving to the windows, I looked down twenty-two stories and watched people go about their lives, walking their dogs, taking their children to the store, maybe arriving at the restaurant on the corner for a date night.

“You can process out loud.” He appeared at my side.

“We’re off the clock.” Funny, but I’d thought that if he were here in my apartment, with its high lofted ceilings, he wouldn’t feel so much bigger than life. I was wrong. He was everywhere, his ocean-salt scent in my lungs, his voice in my ear, his touch imprinted on my skin. I was constantly torn between putting as much space between us as possible, and yanking him closer. Damn it, I was a mess. “You found the guest room when you got here, right?”

He nodded. “Thanks for asking the doorman to let me in.”

A wry half smile twisted my lips. “I know you’re close to superhero status and all, but I figured it was too much to ask you to Clark Kent it in a phone booth.”

He unbuttoned his tux jacket. “Your friends seemed nice for the whole three minutes I spent with them. I like that Kenna’s protective.” The jacket slipped from his shoulders, and he folded it in half before laying it over the back of the leather armchair.

“I can handle myself.” I folded my arms like it would keep another piece of facade from cracking. “Just because I’m quiet or controlled doesn’t mean I don’t know how to fight back or defend my place in the Company.”

“I’d never accuse you of being quiet. At least not around me. Observant and thoughtful, but not quiet.”

“I always have to be careful what I say and who I say it to here. There’s always an ear lurking nearby. Always a phone with a record button.” Looking over at him was a mistake. On a normal day, Hudson was beyond beautiful. Without his shirt on? Mouthwateringly sexy. The sight of him in a tux had rendered me speechless. But the sight of him standing there so casually in the black vest, rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt, stole every coherent thought and took my sex drive from sure, that would be fun to how fast can I get under this man. Instant heat.

And I could have him if I just asked. He’d made that achingly clear.

“Being on all the time has to be exhausting.” He looked out at the view, taking in the New York skyline.

“It’s been harder since I fell,” I admitted. “The culture of the Company changes from year to year as dancers come and go, but for the most part, we’re all very supportive of each other while still keeping our competitive edge.” My hands balled, and my nails bit into my palms. “But the second I fell, it was like seeing blood in the water, especially with Charlotte.” Anger flared again, rising from a simmer to a boil. “She’s been working with Isaac.” I knew Hudson had heard before the performance, but I needed to say it, let the reality, the very real danger of it, sink in. “He’s been teaching her the choreography he’d created for me. I’ve never had a role created for me. Sure, some choreography changed here and there in certain pieces, but never a full ballet. It’s one of those career moments that might never happen again, and he’s teaching her.”

“She’s a piece of work.” He turned that gaze on me, and the heat racing through my blood shifted into a very different kind of burn.

Shit. He was too close, too accessible, and way too dangerous to my peace of mind.

“I shouldn’t have told you any of that.” I walked away before I could do something entirely foolish, like jump him. Didn’t stop me from thinking about all those mouthy little promises he’d made back at the gala, though. Gathering handfuls of my dress so I didn’t trip, I headed into the kitchen.

“You can tell me anything. I’m not going to use it against you, Allie.” He followed me in, but stayed on the opposite side of the island as I opened the refrigerator.

“You hungry?” I moved around a couple containers of takeout. “I promised you dinner, then dragged you out before the first course.”

“I’m more worried about you than I am food.”

“What do you want me to say, Hudson?” I pushed aside some very questionable milk, only finding containers of yogurt and prepped snacks to take to the studio. Shit. Slamming the refrigerator door should have been my first clue that I was losing my hard-fought self-control. Letting Hudson in was a hard second.

“Whatever you’re feeling is a good start.” He crossed one ankle over the other and leaned back against the counter near the sink.

“Feeling? I’m angry. How is that for feeling?” I turned toward the freezer, whipping the door open.

“Excellent start.”

“Everything I’ve worked for is inches from being taken away. I risk losing my contract, my ballet, my mother’s . . . God, it’s not like I had her approval or pride to begin with. I’m just a stand-in for Lina because Anne couldn’t dance, and if I falter, she’ll move on to Eva. At the end of the day, I’m just another Rousseau girl, completely and utterly replaceable.” I located two pints of ice cream, a few bags of frozen vegetables, and a half dozen containers of prepped broth. “And why is there no fucking food in this house?” I slammed that door, too, then pivoted to face Hudson. He stood there all calm and controlled, watching me like I was the tornado and he was the storm chaser waiting to see which way I’d turn.

We’d flipped roles, and yet we were both . . . ourselves. There was no point bothering with my carefully constructed defenses. I didn’t have to be poised around him or present the illusion of perfection because he already knew I was neither of those things at my core.

Inside, I was imperfect, and unkempt, and chaotic, just like him.

And he alone had the power to quiet the chaos. That kiss at the beach had consumed me in a way no other kiss had, taken up too much space to feel anything but him. Even the hurt of our past was all about him. There was no ballet when I was in his arms, no company politics, no disappointed mother, no pressure to recover. I couldn’t worry about my future when he demanded every ounce of my present.

And if it was only the present, then there was no risk of getting hurt, right?

“What are you thinking over there, Allie?” He braced his hands on the edge of the counter.

“What if I want five minutes?” I walked around the side of the island.

“What are we pretending this time?” His knuckles turned white as I approached.

“That you want me.” I put myself directly in front of him.

His gaze heated. “That’s a very real fact of life. I live in a constant state of wanting you. I have since I was seventeen years old. Wanting you is all I know.”

I ignored the burst of . . . something . . . that confession made me feel. “I remember you saying something about coming twice. Was that a brag? Or bluster?” My eyes searched his, and my skin prickled with anticipation.

“It was a promise.” He lifted a hand and skimmed the backs of his fingers down my cheek slowly. I leaned into the touch. “For a time when you aren’t looking to hide from your feelings with sex.”

My heart flipped. He was getting all noble on me, and that wasn’t something I could handle at the moment. “I’m taking a page out of your book and breaking the rules. You had the last five minutes. These are mine.” I retreated two steps.

“Allie . . .” His jaw ticked.

“So if you want me, I’d take the offer. Because this is the only time I’m making it.” I reached under my arm, undid the hook and eye closure with a snap of my fingers, then dragged the zipper down my side. “You’re the decisive one, so choose. Now, or never.”

“I’d like to do the right thing here.” He watched the progress of my fingers like he hadn’t eaten in months and I was about to take the silver top off a buffet.

The look alone was enough to jump-start my pulse.

“The right thing is overrated.” I reached my waist and the dress parted along my ribs.

“I want you,” he growled.

“I think we’ve established that.” I slipped one spaghetti strap off my shoulder.

He shook his head. “I want all of you. No masks. No walls. No more pretending what’s between us is fake when we both know it’s excruciating, and terrifying, and amazingly real. I want more than five minutes.”

Panic shot into my blood like ice, but it quickly melted in the overwhelming heat coursing through me. “That’s not going to happen.” I’d never be foolish enough to let him in all the way again, not when he had a track record of leaving.

“It is.” The certainty in his gaze didn’t stop me from lifting my hand to my other shoulder. “And I wish I was above using sex as a way to get you, to keep you. But I’m not.”

“Don’t worry, you can’t.” I tugged the other strap over the curve of my shoulder and let it fall to rest against my arm, relishing how he tracked the movement. “I won’t let you. I told you I don’t do messy.” Sex wasn’t emotional for me, and he wasn’t going to change that.

Hudson shook his head slowly. “It’s not a debate. It’s a disclaimer. Only truth between us, remember?” Every line of his body tensed. “You’re using this as a way to run, and I’m saying I’ll use it to keep you.”

I arched a brow. “What are you going to do, Hudson? Fuck me so well that I never want to leave your bed? That I’ll be willing to forget everything in our past because you’re that damn good at dishing out orgasms?” Never going to happen. My vibrator dished out orgasms and I had no problem replacing it every year.

“Yes.” His gaze dropped to my neckline and I let the dress slip an inch. He bit back a groan, and my mouth curved slightly. I had him. We both knew it.

“Then by all means, give it your best shot.” I lifted my chin.

He surged toward me and I braced for impact.

It didn’t disappoint.

His mouth collided with mine in the same instant his hand reached for my face and the other splayed across my back, pulling me against him.

Yes. Every cell in my body screamed the word as my focus, my very existence, narrowed to the feel of his lips on mine.

He pressed down on my chin with his thumb, and my mouth opened, immediately invaded by the skillful slide of his tongue. It was just as hot and consuming as the first time had been, and for a split second, I worried he might just be able to do what he threatened, and addict me.

That thought scattered when his hand slid down my throat, across the swell of my breast and along the skin my zipper had bared. His touch woke every nerve, raising goose bumps in its wake. He deepened the kiss as he grabbed my ass with both hands, then adjusted his hold to my hips and lifted.

I wound my arms around his neck, and the straps of my dress pulled tight across my arms as I kissed him back with everything I had, licking into his mouth to stake my own claim. My ass landed on the cold granite of the island, and I didn’t so much as flinch at the temperature as he kissed me again and again. He drowned out the noise of the outside world by becoming the center of mine. There was only his mouth, his tongue, his hands, and the all-consuming need burning between us.

Heat pooled between my thighs as he moved his hands across them, one of them grazing my skin through the slit in my dress. Then he pushed them apart to make room for his hips, filling the space and then some, spreading my legs wider to accommodate him.

He tugged on my bottom lip with his teeth, then moved to my ear, brushing his lips over the sensitive shell. “You want this to stop? Tell me. Don’t like what I’m doing? Tell me. I get close to a boundary, tell me.” His eyes met mine as he lifted his head. “Understand?”

“Yes.” That was the only word he was going to hear from me.

His hand caressed the nape of my neck before sliding into my hair. “You’re so damned beautiful. There’s no one like you, Allie.”

I took hold of his vest and pulled him back to my mouth. He groaned into the kiss, the sound flooding me with a feeling of power as I worked the buttons free, then tugged the garment off with a little help from him. I started on the buttons of his shirt as his mouth fell to my neck, and I fumbled once or twice as he worshipped every sensitive place he’d discovered at the beach, drawing a gasp, then a whimper from my lips.

He’d remembered exactly what I’d liked and used the knowledge to flip every switch I had until I was practically humming. My thighs clenched in anticipation. This was going to be so damned good. It already was and we were both still clothed.

I yanked his shirt free from his pants as he moved into new territory, his lips brushing over every inch of skin beneath my collarbone, slowing to explore the swells of my breasts as his hand slid along the slit in my dress and up my thigh.

“Off,” I demanded, tugging on his shirt.

He grinned against my skin, then let me go only long enough for the shirt to hit the floor. I splayed my hands across his chest when he leaned in to kiss me and pushed gently. He took the hint and stood straight.

Holy fucking yes.

I sighed in pure feminine appreciation as I looked, and looked, and looked, taking all the time I’d deprived myself of at the beach. Dancers were long and lean—even the guys. Hudson was massive, packed with perfectly chiseled muscle, from the curved lines of his pecs to the sculpted ridges of his abdomen. I’d seen him shirtless, but now I stared, fighting off the one word that wouldn’t leave my brain: mine.

I’d never felt possessive over anyone except him, and now I had him.

“How are you real?” My eyes locked with his as I traced the dips along his abs. They tensed under my touch.

“You’re surrounded by professional dancers,” he reminded me, a smirk playing across his lips. “You see athletic bodies all the time.”

“Not like this.” I followed the deep fuck-me lines to his waistband. “Not like you.” My body burned a degree hotter just looking at him.

He pounced, capturing my mouth in a dizzying kiss. “I’m trying to be good, but saying things like that will get you fucked, Allie.”

“Yes, please,” I replied against his mouth.

We lost control of the kiss as it turned blatantly carnal, and I worked my arms out of the straps of my dress, trusting the boning in the bodice to keep it upright as his hand stroked up my thigh. I ripped my mouth away, gasping for air when his fingers skimmed the sensitive line along the silk fabric of my thong.

He sank his other hand into my hair and tugged. My back arched as I threw my hands out behind me, and my dress slid to my waist, leaving my breasts bare.

“Damn,” he muttered, his gaze moving over me with a look of pure hunger that made my heart pound even faster. “Could you be any more perfect?” His mouth closed over a nipple, flicking it with his tongue, and I moaned at the jolt of white-hot need that streaked through me.

God, that felt good. It was somehow even better when he moved to my other breast and started all over again. My hips jerked and he traced the elastic of my underwear from my hip all the way down my inner thigh to my center. An inch to the left and he’d be right where I needed him.

He was turning me into a puddle, melting me with his mouth and with the light, stroking teases of his fingers. I needed more. I’d never felt this urgent before, like the world might actually end if he didn’t touch me, didn’t appease the steadily growing ache between my thighs.

“Now would be a good time to tell me to stop.” His fingers stroked over my core, a tiny scrap of fabric separating us, and he scraped his teeth over my nipple before lifting his head to look me in the eye.

“More.” Like hell were we stopping.

“Allie?” He leaned in and brushed his lips over mine as his fingers dipped beneath the edge of my underwear. “I think those first five minutes are up. Want to extend?”

“Oh my God, Hudson, just touch me.” I balanced on one hand and held on to the back of his neck with the other.

He studied every detail of my expression as his fingers found me, and then his eyes slid shut as he groaned. “Fuck, Allie. You’re soaking wet.”

I gasped as he brushed my clit.

His eyes flew open, and I wasn’t sure what turned me on more, the circles he started tracing with his fingers around but not over my clit, or the way he looked at me like I was the answer to every question he’d ever asked. “Soft.” Circle. “Hot.” Circle. “Slick.” Circle. “Flawless.”

He moved his hand from the nape of my neck and down my back, fully supporting my weight when my back arched and my hips rocked, looking for friction, for pressure, for something to release the spiraling tension he constructed with each swirl of his fingers. I hooked my left leg around his hip and used the leverage to change the angle so his next stroke hit me right where I needed.

Holy shit. Pleasure shot through my veins, sharp and sweet.

My moan echoed off the walls. Again and again, I rocked against his hand, setting the pressure, the rhythm the way I liked it, chasing the high, the climax that hovered so close I could almost taste it.

“Tell me, love.” He ghosted his mouth over mine as he withdrew slightly, denying me what I wanted. “Are you used to taking what you want?”

I threw my arms around his neck, kissed him in answer, and rocked my hips again, whimpering in frustration when he kept the touches light and teasing despite my best efforts.

“You are, aren’t you?” His eyes searched mine, and I hated that he could speak coherently, that he was in full control while I squirmed. “You know exactly what your body needs to get there, and you take it. Quick. Easy. You have partners, not lovers.”

“Yes.” I bucked my hips again, and he backed off. I cried out in sheer frustration as the climax I’d been chasing slipped away. “What are you doing?”

“Denying you the little orgasm you almost took so I can ruin you with the one I’m going to give you.” His fingers circled my clit, rebuilding what he’d flat-out stolen from me, and he lowered his mouth to my breast, swirling his tongue in the same pattern until that coiled need flared brighter and hotter than before.

Then he did it again, backing off right when I reached the edge and beginning over, building a hotter fire, winding a tighter spring until I was a writhing mess. My fingernails raked into his hair and down the back of his neck.

“Hudson.” It was a plea.

His eyes flared, edged with hunger. “Say it again.” His fingers slipped lower, and it dawned on me that I’d given up control . . . and gained power.

“Hudson.” One long finger slid inside me. I gasped, and my walls clenched around the welcome intrusion. “Hudson.” A second finger joined, and I whimpered at how fucking good the stretch felt. It had been so damned long. “Hudson,” I whispered and arched my hips.

“So fucking hot.” A groan rumbled through his chest, and I made it my life’s mission to hear that sound again. “God, you’re on fire for me, aren’t you?”

I pulled his head down to mine and kissed him, then whispered, “Hudson.”

“Yes.” He claimed my mouth in a deep kiss as his fingers started moving, stroking deep and hard, keeping a steady, delicious, addictive rhythm that let me know exactly how he’d use his cock. It was too much and not nearly enough.

“I want you,” I cried out against his mouth.

“I’m right here.” His thumb stroked my clit as his fingers pumped, and that bright, spiraling tension drew all my focus inward.

My eyes fell shut as my thighs locked around his hand.

“Eyes on me, Allie,” he demanded, and I complied, keeping my gaze locked on his as he curled his fingers to hit my G-spot.

Oh God. If he stopped, I’d die. I’d simply combust right here and cease to exist. My breaths came in ragged pants and my hips bucked for more.

He gave it, and the tension that enveloped me built to a breaking point. “You’re right there, aren’t you, love?”

“Hudson.” It was barely a whisper as every muscle in my body tensed.

“Yes. So fucking mine,” he whispered, and the next stroke was all it took.

I shattered. Wave after wave of pleasure broke over me, each just as intense as the last, cresting again and again as I cried out, holding on to Hudson like he was the only thing keeping me tethered to the world.

He brushed a kiss over my lips as I came down, then withdrew his hand. “You’re stunning. A complete damn revelation. I could watch you come apart all day, every day, and never get bored.” His gaze raked over me in awe and I smiled.

“You can’t possibly say that after just one time.” I reached for his belt.

He froze, staring at me with the strangest expression. Wonder? Shock?

“What?” My hands fell, inadvertently brushing his very hard cock.

“Do it again.”

I found the buckle of his belt.

“Not that. Smile,” he begged.

“What?” My mouth curved at the incredulous widening of his eyes.

“There she is. God, I’ve missed you.” He kissed me long and hard, his fingers hooking into the straps of my thong and pulling the silk down my thighs, his mouth only leaving mine when he tugged the fabric completely off.

The absolutely ravenous look he gave me sent heat flooding through my body again, taking me by surprise. Usually, I was a one-and-done kind of girl, but need sparked deep within me as he moved between my thighs. Holy shit—I didn’t just want to get him off, I really wanted him.

I sat up and fused my mouth to his, stroking my tongue behind his teeth. His fingers dug into my hips as I reached between us and gripped him through his pants. Hot. Hard. Thick. Exactly what I needed.

His groan was the kind of sound I wanted to record and play back over and over, but he caught me off guard when he captured my hands and pulled them off his body.

“Hudson?” I asked between kisses as he laid me back against the granite.

“I keep my promises.” He slid off me and sank between my thighs, then shoved the wreckage of my dress up to my waist.

Oh shit. “Hudson, I’m not usually able to come twice.”

“Challenge accepted.” He settled his mouth over me, and I cried out at the first drag of his tongue over my hypersensitive clit. Our eyes locked as he did it again, and my back arched.

“You taste better than I ever dreamed. And I dreamed for years, Allie.” He pulled my thighs over his shoulders and dragged my ass to the edge of the island. “Eleven long years.”

My head fell back as he licked and sucked, teased and tortured. Every stab of his tongue had me keening, every flick against my clit had me gasping for more. I writhed under the intense pleasure as it built and spiraled, bordering the point of pain, and I speared my fingers through his hair to pull him away, but held him closer instead. “Oh my God, don’t stop.”

He didn’t.

“Hudson,” I whimpered, my head thrashing as he drove me relentlessly toward a peak I didn’t know existed. He stopped teasing and flat-out devoured me.

And when my legs tensed, he only went harder, using the flat of his tongue and thrusting his fingers inside me until I trembled, my body so impossibly tight that my choice was either come, or die right there on my kitchen island with Hudson between my thighs.

He drove the point of his tongue against my clit and I shouted something that sounded like his name as my body flew apart, the tension within me snapping violently. My hips bucked against his face and he threw an arm over my lower stomach, pinning me in place as he stroked me through the most intense orgasm of my life.

By the time I came down, I was completely limp, a puddle of satiated bliss.

“It wasn’t bluster,” I managed between the gulping breaths I took to steady my heart.

He fucking grinned, that dimple in his cheek appearing for a heartbeat as he gently took my legs from his shoulders and let them dangle off the edge of the island as he stood. The heat in his eyes as he looked me over had me pushing against the granite to sit up.

“Now.” I undid his buckle before he got some wild idea to see if he could ruin me for a third time.

“Allie,” he whispered with an edge of desperation, his cock straining against his pants as I—

The sound of a key turning in the lock registered a second before the front door opened, slamming into the doorstop.

I froze, my fingers poised on Hudson’s waistband.

“Fuck,” he growled, then moved faster than I’d ever seen. He jerked my bodice upright and yanked me off the island, setting me on my feet so my dress fell into place, then pinning my hips to the counter with his to steady my wobbly knees. His cock was harder than granite and pressed against my stomach in a screaming denial I agreed with.

This was not happening.

“You guys here?” Eva called out, her heels clicking on the floor as Hudson pulled my zipper up. She rounded the corner into the kitchen. “There you—” Her eyes flew wide and she spun, turning her back to us. “Oh my God. Are you two seriously . . .” She whipped back around. “We eat in here.” She gestured to the barstools at the end of the island, then did a double take, staring at Hudson’s torso, and I shifted my body to block any potential view of his cock. Clothed or naked, it was mine, not for Eva’s to see. “Wow. I mean. Wow.” She gave me a thumbs-up. “Good for you, Allie.”

I wanted the floor to swallow me whole. Right now.

Her gaze dropped to the floor, but it wasn’t Hudson’s shirt that had her attention. I followed her line of sight and promptly wished for death. She pointedly lifted her brows at my hot-pink thong. “And good for you, Hudson.”

“Eva!” My voice cracked.

“Right.” She turned her back on us. “Sorry to interrupt what was clearly a good time. I saw you race out of the gala and left right after dinner in case you needed an ear, but clearly you have something much better to comfort you.”

I buried my head in Hudson’s chest, and he pressed his mouth to my hair.

“Anyway, I guess I’ll head up to bed.” She walked down the hall toward the steps that led upstairs. “I think Anne is staying at her place tonight, so feel free to continue the kitchen escapades. Just keep it down. The walls are thin, and I do not need that in my life. Oh, and for fuck’s sake, bleach those counters before you cook anything on them.”

The sound of her bedroom door closing let me finally take a full breath.

“That didn’t just happen.” I lifted my head.

“Oh, it did.” Hudson grabbed his clothes off the floor, then handed me my underwear. “Which is precisely why I live alone.”

Because he didn’t want to be interrupted with the multitude of women he brought home?

The thought gave me the instant ick.

But he was entitled to do whatever he wanted, as soon as our charade was up. In seven weeks he’d be free and clear . . . because I wasn’t going to keep him. I couldn’t. There was no way to trust someone who’d already abandoned me at my most vulnerable.

And yet, I’d just blatantly used him. Twice. And he’d let me.

What the hell was wrong with me?

“Whatever you’re thinking, stop.” He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted my face toward his. He really did have the most remarkable eyes.

“I used you to quell my anger.” Guilt twisted around my rib cage. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” He backed up a step, letting his hand fall from my face. “But I am glad we stopped. I’d like you to fuck me because you want me.”

Mortification curved my shoulders. “I did want—”

“Only want,” he clarified, tilting his head to the side. “No, need. Need is better. None of the other bullshit, just need.” He glanced down the hall. “I’m going to sleep in the guest bedroom. Don’t worry, I’ll be up before Eva notices.”

“Are you . . .” God, I’d felt how hard he was. “Okay?”

He nodded once. “Nothing deflates me faster than the sight of your little sister.”

“Right.” I wrapped my arms around my waist. “I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“Don’t threaten that.” He shoved his arms through his shirt and crossed the distance between us. “I meant what I said. Every word of it. And if you want to use someone for an escape, then it’s me you’ll be using. Sure, I’d like you to fuck me because you need me, but I’ll take you however I can get you, Allie.”

“I feel like an ass.”

“Really?” He glanced down my body like he’d seen me naked. Which he kind of had. “I would think you’d be feeling nice and relaxed after I got you there twice.”

My lips parted.

A cocky smirk played across his face as he backed away. “What was it you said I should do? Fuck you so well that you’d never want to leave my bed, and dish out orgasms? Two down, and infinity to go. Sounds to me like it’s going according to plan.” He turned away and walked down the hall to the guest bedroom.

Ugh. He’d definitely delivered on the orgasms.

Present me officially hated past me. We couldn’t do that again.

This time I meant it.