Page 48 of Bright Lights and Summer Nights

“The outfit is great, but how am I supposed to focus on teaching you tennis when I know what you’re hiding underneath that skirt?” I set the food on the counter and lean a hip against it. She stares at me from a few feet away, her lips pursed as if she doesn’t like my response.

“It’s not my responsibility to make sure you—or anyone else—can focus because of what I’m wearing. You have to wear a tennis skirt to play tennis—it’s like a golden rule. Plus, I already got the green light from my best friends that the outfit looks good. Your opinion doesn’t matter.” She winks at me, and it’s the cutest thing ever.

“You have a point there. But I don’t want to hear any grumpy comments from you when I undoubtedly want to snarl like a goddamn caveman at any man that looks at you for too long.”

She laughs, reaching for the bag of food on the counter. “Oh, I’m definitely going to comment on you being grumpy. What’d you bring me?”

I was worried things would be weird between us this morning. After all, I caught her getting herself off last night and refused to leave until I could watch her come. But I should’ve known it wouldn’t be like that with Emma. She’s acting like last night never happened. “I brought you breakfast and coffee.”

She smiles before greedily opening the bag like she’s been starved. “Preston Rhodes, are you bribing me to play tennis?”

I slide into one of the barstools at the counter, resting my chin against my knuckles. “No, the orgasm last night was the bribe.”

A choking sound comes from her throat. She tries to play it off, but it doesn’t work. She’s sent into a fit of coughing. I watch with an eyebrow raised as she fills an empty glass from the counter with water and gulps it down.

“You good?” I ask, a taunting tone to my voice.

“Yeah,” she sputters. “I just wasn’t expecting you to bring up last night. I didn’t know if you were the type who wanted to play it off like it didn’t happen.”

My head cocks to the side as I watch her closely. “Why would I ever want to forget the way you moaned my name? Or the way you greedily begged for more even as I had the vibrator buried inside your perfect pussy?”

Emma looks to the counter, busying herself with unwrapping one of the breakfast tacos. “Preston, you can’t say the word ‘pussy’ this early in the morning.”

“I can talk about your pussy as much as I want.”

Emma shakes her head, her eyes meeting mine. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen her bashful. Her cheeks flush as her lips pull up at the corners with a faint smile. “You keep surprising me.”

“You seem like the type of woman who loves surprises.”

Her smile goes wide. “I guess I am.”

The two of us don’t look away from one another. We’re locked in a moment. One that seems to hold a lot of weight, but I have no idea why. I just know that my heart rate has sped up just because of the way she looks at me.

I’m the first one to break, having to look away because I’m feeling things I’ve never felt when I shouldn’t be. We barely know each other, yet what I’m feeling for her is stronger than it should be. This thing between us is only for the rest of the week. She’s made it clear she wants nothing to come from our week together, and even if I wanted to—which I’m not sure I do—I’m not in the right season of life to begin a relationship.

But fuck, if I ever was, I think it’d be with someone like Emma. Someone who looks at me like I’m not Preston Rhodes, but just Preston. Someone who will call me on my shit and bring me out of my shell. She’s perfect, and I want to enjoy every moment I can with her while I have the time.

I clear my throat and straighten my spine. “Eat. You need to fuel your body.”

“Ugh. Tennis.” Despite her clear displeasure with the agenda for the morning, she does follow directions and takes a bite of the best breakfast taco in town.

Her eyelids flutter closed as she lets out a low moan. She doesn’t even finish chewing before she talks. “Oh my god. This is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

I smirk. “That’ll change tonight.”

Emma’s eyes pop open, her blue eyes focusing on me instantly. Her cheek juts out like a chipmunk as I’ve apparently stunned her so much with my comment that she can’t even chew her food.

All I do is stare back at her with the cocky grin on my lips. I thought I’d be a gentleman this morning and not bring up last night, but the moment I saw her in that damn tennis skirt, I realized I didn’t want to play fair anymore. I was a gentleman by leaving her alone last night, but today is a whole new day.

And I’m not feeling like a good guy. I’m feeling like the kind of man who is starved and depraved and can only get satiated by the woman staring back at me with cheeks flushed and wide eyes.

She finally begins to chew again before she swallows her food with an audible gulp. Frantically, she reaches across the counter and snatches the iced coffee from in front of me. She brings the straw to her lips and sucks almost half of the drink down easily.

“Easy there, rebel,” I tease, tapping my fingers against the counter.

She sighs, placing the coffee back down loudly. “I’m going to need caffeine if this is how you’re going to be this morning.”

“How am I being?”

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