Page 26 of False Confidence

Jasmine raised a brow, her eyes glimmering with interest. “Dirty talk?”

“Sometimes, yeah. And I tend to lean on the, uh, firmer side, I guess. So if there’s anything you don’t like, or I ever make you uncomfortable, please talk to me. You being okay and comfortable is my number one priority, but I need you to talk to me about how you’re feeling.”

Jasmine wrinkled her nose. “I’m not great about talking about how I feel.”

“Rule number two, darling.” Liam tilted her chin, hoping it was clear how serious he was from his face. “Talking about how you feel isn’t optional.”

“Ugh, fine. If I have to.”

“You do. I’ll add it to the chalkboard later.”

She rolled her eyes, and Liam could already tell he was going to have his work cut out for him on that one. Hopefully, with time, she’d be more open with him.

“You listen to podcasts while you work, right?” he asked. They’d listened to podcasts on the drive to California, and Jasmine loved to tell them about her favorites at family dinner.

“Pretty much whenever I’m not in a meeting, yeah. Why?”

“I’m giving you homework,” he said, making a mental list. “Having a good idea of what you’re into is great, but I want to figure out what gets you closest to being able to come. Like where’s the line, you know? I’m going to give you some audiobooks to listen to.”

“You’re suggesting I listen to erotic audiobooks at work? Where I’m your dad’s assistant?” She didn’t look remotely put off by the idea. If anything, she curled in closer to him

“How would he find out?”

Jasmine pursed her lips. “True. And I guess, even if he did, he wouldn’t have a leg to stand on given everything he and Maggie?—”

Liam covered her mouth with his hand, groaning. “No. Absolutely not.” When he pulled his hand away, she was grinning. “You did it on purpose that time, didn’t you?”

“Maybe I like trying to rile you up.”

Her low voice when straight to his cock, and Jasmine smirked like she knew exactly what she was doing. “You don’t have to try, darling.” He pressed a ghost of a kiss behind her ear and she shuddered.

“Is this graded homework?”

“It’s pass/fail.”

She sighed dramatically. “Damn. I was hoping for extra credit.”

He shook his head, burying his laugh against her neck. “I’ll figure something out for extra credit. Anything else you want to talk about before we get started tonight?”

“No,” she said, quickly and breathlessly. “What’s the plan for tonight?”

“We’re getting started on figuring out what gets you close.” He patted her lightly on the ass. “Get on the bed and wait for me. I’ll be back in a sec.”

“Underwear on or off?” she shouted behind him as he walked away.

“Off,” he called back, amazed that he kept his voice steady, knowing that she was stripping in his bedroom. God. His bedroom.

He grabbed his laptop from the dining table, the two packages of gummies he’d picked up after work, and headed back to the bedroom. He knew Jasmine favored a joint or an edible over a drink when she wanted to relax.

Liam stilled in the bedroom doorway. Jasmine was lying on her front, her chin propped up on her elbow as she scrolled through her phone. She peered over her shoulder at him. “Are you just going to stand and stare, or…?”

His gaze trailed the curve of her frame. She belonged in a goddamned museum. But saying that would definitely go against her no praise rule, so Liam bit his tongue. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to walk into the room and not make an immediate beeline for the bed to take a bite of her perfect ass.

“Wild cherry or pink lemonade?” he asked, holding up the bags. He regretted it the second Jasmine turned, and keeping his hands to himself suddenly became a thousand times harder.

“Ooh.” Her eyes lit up as she scanned the bags. “Cherry, please.”

He tossed her the bag, and she tore the top off while he set the laptop on the bed and pulled his sweatshirt over his head. When she realized he was undressing, she put the bag down and blatantly watched him, his skin warming under her gaze.

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