Page 27 of Sexploitation
“I thought you might be.”
“Arrogant bastard,” she groans, the roll of her eyes doing nothing to hide her amusement. “What do you have in mind?”
I smirk and nod toward the panties in her hand. “Only one way to find out. I can promise by the end of the night, you won’t regret it.”
She takes a deep breath and smiles, her curiosity winning out over her hesitation. “Alright, let’s see what kind of trouble we can get into.”
Parker
Elias is lyingon my kitchen floor, the top half of his body hidden beneath the kitchen sink. Maybe I should’ve asked questions when he went down to his truck and grabbed his toolbox earlier. He’s supposed to be on his way to work, not doing whatever he’s doing down there. I’ve got plans tonight.
“What the hell are you doing?”
I spent days ignoring all of Elias’s calls after we finally slept together, trying to convince myself that he was just another man not worth my time. Then he showed up at my door with a pair of vibrating panties, proving once more that he’s not like any man I’ve ever been with before.
The cocky asshole outplayed me. Got exactly what he wanted. Now, here we are, three months later, and I still can’t shake him.
Not that it’s been all bad. Those soul cleansing orgasms are certainly a perk of keeping him around. And he sure isn’t hard on the eyes, either. He looks sexy as fuck right now, a toolbox beside him, his white T-shirt lifted enough to show off his firm abs.
He leans up just enough to meet my gaze and smirks before going back to his task. “Fixing your faucet.”
There’s a flutter in my chest, but I quickly tamp the feeling down. It’s bad enough that this... thing between us has been going on for months. The last thing I need is to get used to having someone around who will fix shit for me. It will be all that much harder when it’s time for him to go. I don’t need someone taking care of me. I do a perfectly fine job of doing it myself.
“I don’t need you going around my apartment fixing things. That’s what the handyman is for.”
He shoots out from underneath the sink and stands, the desire behind his stare heating my body. “Yes, well... I am a man, and I’m pretty damn handy. If I do say so myself.” He chuckles when I roll my eyes, his strong hands gripping my ass. “It was just a leaky faucet, Peach,” he says, placing a light kiss on my forehead. “Besides, I did it for me. Not you. Damn thing was keeping me up at night.”
Elias has made a habit of staying over here whenever he can. And I let it slide because it usually means I get to wake up with an orgasm and breakfast in bed. But I think perhaps it’s starting to feel a little too normal, having him here all the time. I feel his presence even when he’s gone. Or rather, the lack of it.
“Fine,” I drawl. “But you need to go. Josie will be here soon. If she sees you here, she’ll try to bail on our girls’ night. It’s nearly impossible to get her out of the house these days. Pregnant ladies are so whiny.”
Between my nights with Elias and Josie’s reluctance to leave the comfort of her house for anything other than her latest pregnancy craving, the only time I see her lately is at work. And it’s not like we get to really talk or anything there. It took an act of God to get her to agree to come over here tonight. I had to bribe her with lots of snacks and her favorite rom coms.
“Yeah, I remember when Molly was pregnant with Grace. That second trimester was the worst.”
I school my features as he lets out a light chuckle, hating the way the loving twinkle in his eyes causes a tightness in my chest. “All right. Off you go now.”
“I’m going, I’m going. But we’re still on for Sunday dinner, right? Grace is really looking forward to having you over again. She’s dying to show you the new Squishmallows she added to her collection.”
Speaking of things that make this situation between us more complicated...
I never intended to be around Grace. At least not like that. Not outside of school. Not in her home asDaddy’s friend. But Elias had an emergency at the bar one afternoon and didn’t have anyone else who could sit with Grace until he could get home. And damn... I really like that kid. She keeps swindling me into coming back. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with that one. Now, I’m a person who does family dinners.
Only, they aren’t my family.
“Yes. I’ll be there.”
A bright smile spreads across his handsome face before his lips connect with mine, his kiss consuming yet delicate at the same time. Just enough to leave me wanting more as he pulls away. Which I’m sure was his plan.
* * *
Josie’s head tilts as she studies me, amusement dancing across her features. “Are you wearing Elias’s shirt?”
Elias’s earthy scent surrounds me as I wrap his flannel tightly around my body, shifting uncomfortably. He left it here a few weeks ago, said it looked better on me anyway. I still haven’t washed it yet and tend to sleep in it on nights when he’s not here. But there’s no way in hell I’m telling her any of that.
“So what if I am? It’s comfortable. And I was chilly.” I shrug and turn my attention back to the movie, trying to ignore the heat coming from her probing gaze.
Josie knows Elias and I are stillseeingeach other. She’s my best friend, and I tell her pretty much everything. But I’ve been careful not to bring him up too much in conversation tonight because she always gets this dreamy hopefulness in her eyes, like she’s mentally planning my wedding day. No matter what I say or how many times I tell her this thing between us isn’t serious, she’ll forever be an eternal optimist. Especially when it comes to love.