Page 44 of Foreplay on Words

“Shush,” I laughed as I squeezed his hand. “We need to recreate all the scenes you’ve been struggling with. Put ourselves into the characters.”

“Like scene for scene?” He frowned as a little line appeared between his eyes.

“Yes! Dialogue too. Like a sexy little role-play. Maybe that will give you the extra material to get them where you wanted.”

“Are you sure?” He did not look convinced this was a great idea. “The only place I’ve seen some of this is on a screen.”

My eyes widened at his little confession that he watched porn to get inspired for these scenes, but I wasn’t letting him distract me. “Am I sure I want to recreate some hot, rough sex scenes with you? Hmm, let me think about it.”

“They aren’t exactly romantic,” he cringed. “I still feel bad that our first time was…”

“Fucking mind-blowing,” I interrupted as I could see him start to spiral. “Did you forget the part where you made me come twice?”

“I’m not sure if I can do everything I wrote into those scenes.”

“Because you had so much trouble slapping my ass and pulling my hair?” I laughed sarcastically.

His face turned bright red as he bit his lip and stared at me.

“Hey, don’t get shy on me now. You’re not going to hear any complaints from me.”

“Where did you come from?” he breathed out as he stared at me incredulously. “I swear it’s like someone pulled you from my thoughts.”

I smiled at him as I felt my cheeks heat up. “You already got in my pants, you don’t need to pour on the flattery.”

He shifted to face me, scooting closer and slipping his fingers behind me, tracing the bare skin along my spine.

“I’m not kidding. I’ve never felt like this with anyone,” he whispered. “Adrian makes fun of me and doesn’t understand why I won’t do book signings. My ex,” he hesitated. “Well, she was mean in general but...” A forlorn look crossed his face as he stopped talking. “She never made me feel comfortable when we were together.”

“She sounds like a bitch.”

He laughed as he leaned forward and kissed me softly. “She was, and she made me feel inadequate...sexually. That’s why I never wrote sex scenes into my novels. I never felt confident in my abilities, much less so in writing a character who could please a woman. Back then, I would have never felt secure enough to do what we just did on paper or otherwise.”

“But you are with me?”

He nodded, a soft smile on his lips. “I’m more relaxed with you than I’ve been in years. Normally, when a woman tries to flirt with me, or hell, even talks to me, I choke up and bolt.”

“I’m glad you didn’t bolt. Might have made it hard to finish your book.” Perhaps my meeting him at his house ensured that we at least had a level playing field. Had I met him at an industry event, would he have talked to me?

“As soon as I read your books and author bio, I knew I had to get over myself and meet you.”

Aw... He really was adorably perfect. Despite my best attempts not to, I found myself feeling some intense things for him.

“I don’t know what to say. My words will fall short of yours today,” I told him quietly.

“I wasn’t looking for compliments,” he shook his head as he looked over at me.

“I know, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you before we met too. I wanted to know the man who wrote this incredibly strong character,” I confessed quietly. “I wanted to know the person who could write so beautifully yet harbored this intense sense of loneliness. I wanted to hug him and let him know he didn’t need to be lonely anymore.”

His eyes searched mine as he reached up and ran a strand of my hair between his fingers.

“I’m not going to be able to let you go,” he whispered, leaning forward and capturing my lips. His were soft and tentative, slowly encasing my bottom one and then retreating, only to dive right back in. He didn’t try to deepen it or speed it up... He lazily kissed me until I felt dizzy.

After a few moments, he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine, closing his eyes. I cupped his jaw, running my thumb across his cheekbone. This kind but awkwardly adorable man would steal my heart if I wasn’t careful. And when he finally did, I wouldn’t want it back.

“Let’s get cleaned up and start this outline,” he whispered, and my heart burst with affection that he was opening every part of his life to me.

Evan

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