Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101829 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Air seeped out of my lungs in a heavy sweep. I believed every word he’d just said because his conviction was undeniable. He’d remain loyal to Jillian, even as she’d abandoned us without saying a word. It wasn’t just admirable. It made me envious. I longed to have a friend like him.
The atmosphere shifted between us as he blinked and something like heat moved into his eyes. His voice was as smooth as the lacquered wood trimming his private yacht. “You should know, if you’d given me your number last week, I would have called you.”
His statement set off a flurry of thoughts in my mind, but the loudest one was the first to come out of my mouth. “So, you’re saying . . . since you can’t have sex with me right now, you’re not interested?”
His lips had turned up in a seductive smile, but now it froze. I wondered if his statement had sounded good in his head, and since it hadn’t landed like he’d thought it would, he wished to take it back.
“That came out wrong,” he said.
“Did it?” I challenged.
He didn’t exactly squirm, but his confidence had taken a hit. “I’m not into dating, and I don’t know if I’ve ever had a relationship that didn’t include sex.”
“So, it didn’t come out wrong. You’re saying there’s no point in having a partner if fucking them isn’t on the menu.”
Frustration made the muscle along his jaw tick. “I’m not saying that. Just that I’ve never done it before.”
Years of practice had taught me to think fast on my feet and adapt when plans changed. The whole point of seducing him was so he’d bring me into his world, and then I could move undetected in his social circle. Maybe I could still get him to welcome me in without using sex.
I delivered my challenge with finality, like a gauntlet being thrown down. “You should try it. Hell, I’ll even volunteer.”
My statement caused his brain to temporarily go offline, and he blinked through the outage. “What?”
“It’ll be easier to go ninety days without if you’re not available.”
“Eighty.” His voice was uneven because he hadn’t finished recovering. “It’s eighty days now.”
“Okay, eighty,” I said.
His eyes narrowed and focused in as he tried to discover my hidden agenda. “You don’t even know me, and you’re . . . asking to be my girlfriend?”
I shifted in my seat, adjusting my posture so I looked confident. “It could be just for show. I can help you look like you’re off the market. A rich, hot guy like you probably has women throwing themselves at him left and right.”
It wasn’t an attempt to flatter him—Jillian had told me as much.
My compliment didn’t distract him either. “What would you get out of this arrangement?”
“Access to Jillian’s friends.”
He didn’t buy it for a second. “You mean Wayne Lambert’s safe.”
I shrugged. “Can you get me access to that?”
He considered how to respond. It looked like he appreciated that I’d been honest, but he wasn’t exactly comfortable with my goal. “Maybe, but that’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ve done the whole ‘dating just for show’ thing before, and I’m over it. If I’m with someone, it’s because I want to be with them. No one else gets to decide for me.”
“Didn’t you just say you were interested? That you would have called me if not for the vow you made to Jillian?”
“Yeah, I did, but you need to understand. Having you pretend or actually be my girlfriend isn’t going to help.”
I stared at him. “Why’s that?”
His gaze swept down my body, caressing each curve, and his expression was, for lack of a better word, scandalous. His gaze moved even slower as it slid back up and settled on my lips. Then he lifted an eyebrow, arching it up into a perfect upside-down V. “Because, Emery, I’m fairly certain you’re the definition of temptation. I don’t trust myself to make it a week with you around.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, and goosebumps lifted on my arms. He gave me a different version of the wolf now, one that said he was considering eating me, enemy or not. And—fucking hell—I was sure I wouldn’t mind that one bit.
“I can keep my hands to myself,” I said, except my voice wavered and I sounded anything but convincing.
“Hmm.” It announced he didn’t believe me, but his eyes said how pleased he was to know his desire wasn’t one-sided.
My body tightened. The pull toward him was sexual and as unavoidable as gravity. The booth closed in around us and the air went thin, leaving me breathless. This thing between us was unexpected. Shocking. And so powerful it was scary.
That meant it was exciting.
I’d come to this lunch with the goal of seducing him, and now I was disappointed I wouldn’t get the opportunity. I bit down on my lip and struggled to find a new angle, but he tore his gaze away and glanced at his smartwatch to read the text message that had appeared onscreen. His mood darkened, making the chemistry between us dissipate and release the hold it had on my body.