Page 83 of Forbidden Game

“So? I told them to be down there early because I knew they would all run late, and instead I’m the lazy one!”

“Babe, no one is ever going to accuse you of being lazy. It’s okay. You’ve got this. It’s all going to be perfectly fine. You—” Aleks pounds on the door again. “You just need to get rid of him,” I sigh, placing a kiss to her forehead.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, holding it for a concerningly long period of time before exhaling. When her eyes reopen, there is nothing but cool determination. I watch as she collects herself and pads back to the door. Her shoulders straighten, and she pops the door open to poke her head out again.

“Sorry. I’m still feeling a little under the weather. Guess I overslept.” Her voice is steady.

“Oh, need us to grab you anything? You didn’t seem that great last night either.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be down in fifteen. Just entertain yourselves until then.”

“No rush, it’s Parker’s jet fuel we’re burning. He can afford it.” Wanker. “He’s still asleep, by the way. No shock, but I think his phone’s dead as well.”

“I’ll deal with it. Don’t worry.”

“Okay.” There’s a wariness to Aleks’ tone. “See you down there.”

Syd shuts the door with a soft click before turning around and sliding down onto her bum. I go over and crouch in front of her, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“That was great, love.”

“That was a mess,” she huffs. The exhaustion of yesterday is back on her face. As much as she likes to claim that she’s just a little tired, it’s clearly more than that.

“Nah, could’ve been worse.” I take her hands and pull her to her feet. “You know; this wasn’t exactly how I thought our first morning after would go.”

She gives me a teasing smile. “Really? This isn’t what you had in mind?”

“No, my vision included a lot more cuddling and a lot less Aleks.”

Sydney laughs until her eyes dip down my body and she chokes. Her skin turns that cherry-red color, but she doesn’t seem able to rip her gaze from my dick. The very same dick that is growing harder every second she looks at it.

“Syd. You keep looking at me like that, and I’m not sure you’re going to make it downstairs in ten minutes.”

She sucks in a breath, and her eyes rip back up to mine.

“You’re the one walking around naked.”

“And you’re the one who made me come in my briefs.”

She makes a choking sound, and somehow, her face gets even redder. A part of me wonders just how far I can push her. She has these little moments of sexual confidence, but more often than not, she retreats back into her shell.

I see the heat behind her eyes. The want that she tries to hide so badly.

Sydney can keep putting up walls, but they’re made of glass and I see right through them.

I take a step toward her, and she takes one back.

We repeat the same dance over and over until she bumps up against the bed.

“What are you doing, Parker?”

“Admiring you.”

I run a hand down her body, feeling her hot skin beneath the pads of my fingers. I toy with the sides of her panties and twist the lace tight.

Her fingers twitch at her sides, reaching out to touch me before pulling back. She conducts a silent battle in her brain. Without saying any words, I already know what she is thinking. There’s a part of her that wants to give in to her attraction to me again, but there is still that little voice that tells her to keep her distance, to retain some shred of professionalism.

It’s that little voice that is keeping us apart.

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