Page 88 of Catch and Release

Because he’d gone and fallen in love with the beautiful redhead next door who wanted nothing but sex from him. And Lord knew, he’d give her whatever she wanted—even if it meant he swallowed feelings that led him to do crazy things like eat her pussy in public.

25

Holy fuck.

Every time she was with Shawn, it only got better. Every time she thought he’d given her an earth-shattering orgasm that could never be matched, he proved her wrong. And every time she was around him, she did things she couldn’t control.

Like let him eat her out in a weird alleyway behind a hotel, less than 100 yards away from his snooping grandmother.

She leaned against the countertop in the bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked…fine. Not at all like she’d just been ravished by a fisherman who had no business looking that goddamn perfect in a tux. Shawn had fixed her makeup and hair perfectly, and she didn’t quite know what to make of how tenderly he helped her get cleaned up after being caught with his face buried between her legs.

“That man is in love with you.”

Willa tensed as Charlie’s statement brought her out of her head. She looked over her shoulder through the mirror at her. She was gazing at Willa with a mixture of bemusement and concern.

“What? No. We’re just friends. Fuck buddies.”

Charlie scoffed and shook her head. “I love you like a sister, but don’t be stupid.”

Willa huffed and turned around, crossing her arms. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Charlie winced. “Look, I’m sorry. That came out harsher than I intended. It’s just that… fuck buddies don’t look at you the way Shawn looked at you out there. And they sure as hell don’t clean the makeup off your face after they make you come so hard that you ruin a perfectly good face of makeup that shouldn’t get ruined at all because you used super expensive setting spray.”

Willa shifted. “Well, we do.”

“And that’s my point. You guys aren’t fuck buddies in anything but name. You’re in a relationship.”

Willa’s eyes widened. “No, we’re not!”

“I’m not trying to freak you out, but yes, you are. He comes over every day to hang out. Brings you gifts?—”

“The shrimp is not a gift! It’s bait.”

“Free bait. That’s a gift. For a weirdo like you, anyway.”

Willa sighed, and Charlie continued.

“He took you on a romantic boat ride?—”

“I told you, that was because honeymooners canceled on him and I won that prize at Bingo!”

“It was still a romantic boat ride where he made love to you?—”

“We fucked. That’s all.”

“You can try to convince me that man is only fucking you, but you’re wrong. If all the other stuff wasn’t true, this is: he looks at you like you’re the sun and he’s lucky as fuck to be a planet in your orbit. He did it yesterday when I met him, and he definitely did it when he picked us up. Barely even noticed I was there.”

“You’re over-exaggerating, Ch?—”

“Believe what you want. But he looked at you like that a few minutes ago, too. When he cleaned you up after going down on you.”

Willa bit her lip and took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. They had rules. They had been clear. Everything was going perfectly. Why was Charlie ruining it?

Except… maybe, she wasn’t ruining it. Maybe, a small part of Willa had feelings for him, too. Even though she knew she shouldn’t. Even though she didn’t completely trust herself after Leo. Even though she was so terrified of getting her heart broken again that she wanted to throw up.

“You’re freaking out,” Charlie said, and Willa nodded. “Of course you are. Leo fucked you up a little bit. But listen. I’ve never seen anyone look at you the way Shawn does. Like he’s the luckiest motherfucker in the world for existing in the same lifetime as you.”

Willa’s eyes burned.

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