Page 28 of Mark my Words

“You’ll have to show me your hand later,” I laughed as I settled back against the headboard next to her.

“Sam…” She frowned as she leaned her head against the dark wood and looked over. “You don’t need to flirt with me. I know what the score is. Last night was fun, but...”

“But?”

“We work together, sort of.”

“And?”

“We don’t do this.”

“Do what?”

“My God, Sam. Stop that,” she growled, reaching over to settle her plate on my nightstand.

“Stop what?”

“Quit trying to be cute.”

I laughed at the scowl on Kristine’s face, the fierce little glare she aimed in my direction making my heart speed up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t,” she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, my tank riding up and showing a sliver of her navel.

“You don’t have to hide from me.”

Kristine turned toward me, picking at the comforter and refusing to meet my eyes. “I’m not good at this, Sam.”

“You’re good at everything, and you know it.”

“That’s the problem.”

“Hey,” I whispered, turning to place the plates on the floor before I pulled her toward my chest. She hesitated for a moment before she tucked her head under my chin. “There’s no pressure here.”

“There’s pressure everywhere.”

“Not from me.”

Her head started shaking against my chest, and I held her tighter, kissing the crown of her head. Part of her behavior was making sense to me, cogs clicking into place as I realized that maybe she didn’t have everything in her life put together. She didn’t seem to have anyone in her corner to support her without strings attached.

“You don’t mean that. There’s always expectations, always someone working an angle.”

“Hey,” I leaned back, framing her face with my hands and tilting her head to look at me. “There’s no hidden agenda here.”

Her eyes rolled, and I shook my head.

“I mean it. Obviously, if you want to sleep with me again, I’d be on board with that,” I laughed. “But I don’t want anything from you. I don’t have any nefarious plans or ulterior motives. I just happen to think you’re not as big of a bitch as you want everyone to think you are. And I happen to like the person you’ve let me see in the last few weeks.”

“Don’t get all mushy on me now, Spammy.”

“God, would you quit with the passive-aggressive nicknames?” I sighed, smiling to let her know I could see right through her trying to goad me. “I’m just making it clear that—“ I leaned in and placed my mouth next to her ear, barely grazing her skin. “If you want to use me for my body, I’m on board. If you want to talk, I’m down with that too. Just let me know what you need, and we’ll figure it out.”

“That sounds an awful lot like something someone would say if they were expecting a relationship from me.”

She was right, and I did want a relationship of a sort with her. I liked having her around, and if we just returned to friendship, we’d make that work too. But the baser part of me wanted her naked against my sheets as often as fucking possible.

“No strings, I mean it.”

“We’ll see...” she sighed, pushing me back as she looked up at me with the most open expression I’d seen from her yet. “So, what was that about me using your body?”

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