Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
He picks up the bottle on the coffee table in front of the sofa. “Why?” He turns to me.
“I like to think of myself as an egalitarian when it comes to wine.”
He rolls his eyes, but I know he’s semi-impressed by my word choice. It’s who he is.
“I’ll order up a beer,” he says.
“How long are you planning to be here?” I say with a laugh.
“You’re right. We should get down to business.”
“Funny business?” I say, pulsing my eyebrows up.
He pulls out some papers from his jacket pocket. “NDA. I need you to sign.”
I snatch them from him and take a seat on the sofa. “What for? You?” I unfold the documents and scan the first page. Yeah, he doesn’t want me spilling any of the top-secret info I’ve managed to uncover about him, like the fact he smells nice.
“I’ve told you, I won’t tell anyone. How many of these have you given out in your life? I bet the entire population of New York has signed an NDA with you. We all know who you are, but no one’s talking about it.” I laugh at the idea, but Bennett’s face is like stone.
“Everyone at Fort has signed, but no one knows I’m also Bennett Fordham except you. You’re the only one who’s ever guessed.”
It’s as if someone’s taken the air from my lungs. I snatch a breath in. He’s so earnest, like he’s part terrified and part impressed I’ve discovered him.
“You see?” I say. “I’m one of a kind. I’d be perfect at Fort. Perceptive and clever.”
“Sign the document,” he says, taking a seat next to me on the sofa.
“On one condition,” I reply.
“As long as it doesn’t involve an orgasm.”
I can’t help but laugh. “I should refuse to sign without an orgasm. But actually, it’s only a temporary fix. I think if I was going to use sex as the consideration, I’d make it an ongoing obligation. How often would be appropriate, do you think?” I curl my legs underneath me, when what I really want to do is climb into Bennett’s lap.
He narrows his eyes at me in mock outrage. “I can’t see how you’d find it a problem getting sex if that’s what you want. You don’t need anyone contractually obligated.”
He’s right I suppose, but what I learned from a night with Bennett is that not all sex is equal. In fact, sex with Bennett is an entirely different experience to having sex with any of my previous partners. Like taking a quick, perfunctory shower compared to swimming in the Indian Ocean at sunset after a cocktail.
“It’s a matter of quality control,” I say. “I know what you’re capable of.” I nudge his thigh with my sock-covered foot, just wanting that physical connection to him.
I don’t expect him to react, so when he circles my ankle with his fingers and pulls me towards him, I’m once again startled out of a breath.
My legs bridge over his and my bottom is tucked against the side of his thigh. Our faces are inches from each other. There’s just a layer of thin cotton separating me and him. I want to unbutton my top, have him lick between my breasts. Have him consume me like he did just a few nights ago. Other than a job at Fort, it’s all I want right now.
He slides his hands up my thighs. “We’ve been through why this is a bad idea.” His voice has that gravelly edge to it, like his stubble against my skin.
“But,” I say on an exhale, tipping my chin up, as if my neck is craving his mouth just as much as the rest of me. “Have we properly considered all the reasons why it’s a good idea?” My fingers trail against his jaw. “A really good idea.”
He growls and I gasp.
“Efa.”
He pulls away and stands, pushing his hands through his hair. “I can’t think straight when you’re so close.”
A small smile nudges at the edges of my lips. I’m taking a victory from that. He wants me. He’s fighting it, but it’s an ongoing battle.
“Thinking straight is overrated,” I say.
“Sign the NDA,” he says.
I stand up and move toward him. It’s provocative, but I can’t help myself. It seems like a waste for us to be far apart in the same room, when there’s no one here to catch us.
“Why should I sign it? What are you going to do if I talk? Imprison me? Sue me? All this does”—I pick up the papers—“is put a moral obligation into a legal document, but there’s no real remedy if I breach it. Not one that works, because once the cat is out of the bag, there’s no putting it back in.”
He growls again and grabs my face, pressing his lips against mine, his tongue pushing into my mouth like he’s searching for something. My hands slide up his chest and he presses up against me.