Page 116 of Embody

“C…called you?” I clarify, once I can breathe again.

“Yep. Your parents are coming in a few weeks, staying with my folks. Don’t worry, my mom and aunts have been informed and are already flying around, losing feathers, planning.”

“Should I call him, my dad? Or my mom?”

“Yeah, often. But not about that. They think we’re surprising you, remember? And just to make sure they don’t slip-up, so does my family. So, mum’s the word,” he taps the end of my nose.

“K,” I snuggle into him. “I think there’s something to your hangover brew. I feel pretty close to human again.”

“I’m glad, but promise me something, okay?” He understands my silence is invitation to go on. “If you wanna drink, especially in a safe place like home, which I was very happy about by the way, go ahead. But when you’re buzzed, feeling good,stop. Or at least slow down. Otherwise, you ruin it by wasting the entire next day feeling like shit. Andwhatever you do, I mean even if you get a memo that the world is ending the next day, swear to me that you willnever, no matter what, try to drink head to head with Presley Beckettever again. The girl’s a mutant or something. A lot of the shit she can do is fucking abnormal. Guarantee you she didn’t have a hangover today. She’s a walking billboard for the ‘do not try this at home’ campaign.”

“I promise, swear, vow, and pledge, on every form of holy book in existence,” I snicker. “Presley’s way too much for me to handle.”

“She’s too much for any one person to handle. Why do you think it takes the combined effort of our entire family?”

“I like her, though. She’s pretty cool.”

“That she is, one of my favorite people in the world. And I really hope she gives Sutton a chance,” he breathes out heavily, “he’d be good for her. No way she’d push his big ass around. But, I might as well hope for Georgia snow in July. Never gonna happen.”

“That’s a shame. He seems great, adores her,and…he’s not exactly painful to look at.” I simply reciprocate conversation.

Or so I thought.

Next thing I know, I’m flat on my back with Jefferson sitting on top of my thighs, staring down at me with an evil smirk. “Do tell, baby. What’s your favoritenon-painfulpart of him to look at?” He slides my shirt up, just high enough to tickle my sides.

“Jefferson,” I wheeze, trying to squirm away in positively futile effort, because I’m beyond ticklish. “Stop, no tickling!”

“You want me to stop? Then tell me all about how purty Sutton is,” he laughs, bending to blow a raspberry on my belly.

“He’s not,” I squeal when the tickling resumes. “He’s awful, grotesque!”

“That’s what I thought,” he rolls off to lie beside me, looking over at me with a beautiful, happy smile while I catch my breath.

“So, I should probably bathe before going to bed. Ya think?”

“Goingto bed?” He laughs. “You’reinthe bednow, baby. Think that ship may have sailed. The minute you woke up today.”

“I meant for the night, to sleep.” I swat his arm and throw my legs over the side of the bed, kinda curious if they’re even gonna work. I’ll be dipped, they do. “You staying the night?” I ask as I walk into the bathroom.

Too forward? Comfortable? Assumingly domestic? Shit! I am so bad at this. We make up, out of the frying pan, and I just have to hurl us right into another fire.

“You asking me to?” His plush whisper warms my neck as he sweeps me up, effortlessly, in his arms, surprising a little yelp from me.

As is custom whenever he strips me of breath and sensibility, I can only nod.

He slowly shakes his head back and forth, a sly grin magnifying the twinkle in his dark eyes. “You know I need-”

“The words. Yeah, yeah,” I huff and roll my eyes as if exasperated rather than the more accurate enchanted. “Jefferson, would you like to stay the night with me?”

“I’d love to,” the spark of excitement in me is undeniable and I must somehow reveal my visceral reaction because his eyes smolder knowingly as his mouth covers mine, hard and hungry. So heated and rapturous, it sends sharp tingles of female awareness throughout my whole body. He shows no signs of relenting, still holding me effortlessly in his arms, and I’m the one who eventually breaks for air.

“But I have a few conditions,” he taunts breathlessly, his chest heaving. “To make things interesting.”

“Huh?”

He laughs, setting me on my feet. “To spending the night. I have a fewproposals. You can veto anyone,but only one. Deal?”

I prop both hands on my hips—bluffing my ass off—that there’s even a remote chance I’m gonna drive a hard bargain. “And what do I get in return?”

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