Page 74 of One Bossy Date

“Wait…did you finally get your pussy ate?”

I nodded again.

“Aaaah.” Jim started dancing too, bumping his hip against mine, imitating a sexy tango alongside me. “I don’tbelieveit. It took you long enough. You can take him off your smash list.”

Three seconds later, he sighed from the exertion and sank onto the seat behind the counter. “Okay, okay. Enough of that.” I giggled, leaning against the counter, loving his theatrics. “How the fuck was it, doll?”

“Ohmigosh, Jim. You have no idea.”

“Well,” he raised his eyebrows, “I have some…”

“Seriously, though, he might as well have ripped me apart, he was so big.”

“Yes. I called it!”

“You definitely did. He’s like…huge. And he lastedwaylonger than any other guy I’ve ever been with.”

“Oh, I’m sure he did.” Jim narrowed his eyes, resting his chin on his palm. Knowing my bestie, he was definitely imagining things he shouldn’t. “So, what now? You’re his live-in dog nanny and concubine?”

I laughed and smacked his arm. “No. You goofball. But…I mean, I can’t complain. It’s definitely stress relieving, I must say.”

“I can believe that. You certainly need stress-relieving dick in your life.”

“True. You got me there.”

At this point, I was done fighting against wanting Anders, and I was done trying to prove to myself that I was fine. I wasn’t. I was stressed—allthe time. There were too many things on my mind and not enough downtime, or sexy time, for that matter. How long would this arrangement last? I had no idea. The Christmas dinner was happening this weekend, and I’d be moving out soon, but I hoped the sex would at least continue as long as possible.

We struggled through the day, pretending to be bright and chipper in front of customers but drooping as soon as they left the shop. I decided that, as we had no customers booked for the afternoon, we deserved a half-day. Jim was fine with that.

I headed back to the penthouse and spent a few hours walking and lazing with Ares and Hades, and later, lying on the floor next to them while I watched movie after movie on the massive TV. And by massive, I meant “cinema” massive. It stretched across the room—one hundred and forty-six inches long. It felt like I was in the same room as the actors.

By the time Anders arrived, I was wrapped in a blanket and watchingGone Girlwith wide eyes. The butterflies in my stomach acted up as soon as Anders entered the room. He stopped behind the couch, rubbing the tummy of an excited Ares, who’d flopped over at his feet, while Hades danced around them.

“I see it’s a movie and pizza evening then?”

“Pizza? Best ideaever.”

An hour later in the kitchen, I leaned against the counter and bit into my pizza. Anders appeared relaxed. And kissable. So, so kissable. He’d changed out of his suit into his sweatpants and sexy tank. I couldn’t think of a time when he’d ever been bothered or anxious about anything.

Sure, he was stoic and pragmatic, but how the hell did he always remain so cool?Ifreaked out about everything. I stressed constantly about my life, about everything in it and everything that might happen in the future. Granted, I did have things to stress about: my rent, debt, my gran’s expectations for my life, and now these dramatic tales about being pregnant and engaged. How we would explain that one, I hadn’t a clue just yet. I mean, the not-so-little fibs were piling up, and people were likely to get hurt. It weighed heavily on my mind. Especially when it came to my gran and Anders’s mom.

I was sure Anders had just as much to stress about, yet he always seemed so calm and collected.

“Anders?”

“Hmm?” he replied, mid-chew. Lowering his slice, he arched an eyebrow at me.

“How are you so calm? Like all the time?”

His brow dropped into a frown. “What do you mean? I’m not calmallthe time.”

“Yes, but what, ninety-eight-point-nine percent of the time you are.” I set my slice on its plate. “I mean, maybe you could give me a couple pointers. Anytime something inconvenient happens, my heart races, and I immediately start to question: why, how, who, when? It’s like the world speeds up instead of slows down. Your world seems a lot slower than mine.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “I have my ways.”

“Okay, but what ways? Teach me something. Tell me your methods.”

Now, he paused, seemingly breaking off into deep thought. “I have site visits scheduled tomorrow. I’ll be going to see each of the Windham Construction sites to talk to the managers and discuss any issues they’re having. Why don’t you join me?”