Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Because I’d been lying when I thought I could have this night with no repercussions…
And I was very much afraid I’d been lying to myself all along, when I thought there was a chance I could be friends with Oscar and not fall.
It turned out I was damned good at lying.
9
OSCAR
It was a mistake. Of course it was. There was no way for me to touch someone like Hugh without wanting more, and wanting more always led to disappointment. I had years of experience to know that without a shred of doubt.
Even with his release still warm on my skin, I knew I needed to leave the shower—leave the room—and get away from him before I said something I’d regret.
“See? My advice the other day was on point. Having a little fun without expectations is good, right?” I asked, studying his face for a reaction. I tried to grin to cover up the frisson of fear crawling through my chest, but when I saw Hugh’s forehead crinkle with confusion, I wondered if I’d failed completely.
“Without expectations?” Awkwardness slithered between us, making my wet skin cold where it had been flushed and heated only seconds before. But then Hugh relaxed his face into a smirk. “How can that be when I fully expect you to stay the night in my room?”
I opened my mouth to politely decline, to make a joke about how a casual hookup worked better if there was no overnight cuddle session afterward. But then Hugh grinned and added, “That was a pickup line. Nine-point-five out of ten. Stick with me, Oscar. You’ll learn.”
The tension between us rolled away like the tide, making things as fun and easy as they always were with Hugh, and suddenly, I couldn’t remember why I’d been so determined to leave.
I rolled my eyes and sniffed. “You can’t rate yourself. That’s against the rules.”
Our teasing turned into laughter, and then into kissing… and then into something else entirely. Something I had no language to describe. I found myself reaching for the soap and sliding it over the curves and dips of his body like I was trying to commit every part of him to memory. Hugh stood quietly, watching me and no doubt wondering what I was thinking.
“Oscar, you’re shaking again,” he said after a few moments. His fingers curled around my wrist to hold my hand away from his body. I couldn’t bring myself to look at my trembling hand. “Did you eat?”
“Yes,” I said without thinking. “My chef packed dinner for the trip over. I’m fine.”
Hugh’s eyes met mine. “Oscar… what…?” He seemed to see something in my expression that stopped his inquiry in its tracks. “You sure you’re okay?”
I flashed him a bright smile. “Of course I am. Good meal, good orgasm. The perfect end to a hectic day and a really hectic week.”
His smile was a little less convincing than I hoped mine was. We finished washing each other without speaking and stepped out of the shower to dry ourselves off.
Hugh peeled back the crisp duvet and climbed into the large bed. I contemplated how best to extricate myself—a quick excuse and I could be out of there, off to my own room, where I could smack myself on the forehead and curse myself for stepping into this minefield against my better judgment. But then he smiled at me, a real smile this time, with that adorably crooked canine on display, and I was helpless to do anything but climb into the bed and follow him under the covers, pulling him against me.
“So, you’re helping out a photographer friend this weekend?” I asked in an effort to distract myself from this colossal mistake.
His damp curls slid against my chin as he nodded. “Yeah. My friend Brant. If I’d known whose wedding it was or put two and two together faster when I saw Roman and Scotty earlier, I’d have warned you I’d be here, but—”
“No one who saw your face on the beach could doubt how surprised we both were. Roman said I looked like I saw a ghost.” He’d also asked who Hugh was to me and had seemed unconvinced when I’d said we were friends. “So, is Brant the good-looking guy you were standing next to on the beach?”
Unfortunately, my question came out tinged with something almost like… jealousy, which was ridiculous. That wasn’t what Hugh and I were about. Not at all.
My arms tightened around Hugh involuntarily, but if he noticed, he didn’t comment on it. “Mmm. Brant’s got a family connection here. I think he’s afraid he might get caught up talking to the guests and miss a critical shot.” He sounded fond and amused. “God knows he has enough to keep him busy.”
“I didn’t know you had a friend on the Cape. You haven’t mentioned him. Do you and Brant… I mean, do you come up here often?” I clamped my teeth shut against the awkwardness of my own insecurity. Why was I even asking this? I shouldn’t care.