Page 9 of Between the Lines

I straighten. “Yeah?”

There’s a smile in his eyes, one that makes my stomach tighten. He leans in like he’s about to tell me a secret. “Let me make it up to you by helping you finish.”

CHAPTER 4

CHARLOTTE

He says it so casually, like we’re just talking about the weather. Like he’s offering to hold the door open or to carry my bags to the car.

A hot flush creeps up my body. It makes me feel too warm, too under scrutiny. I look down at my hands. At the tiny bottle of alcohol, and wonder if I’m brave enough to do this. “And how would you do it?”

“Help you come?” he asks in that casual, deep voice again. “Depends on your preference. Maybe with my face between your thighs. Or I could sit us down in front of the large mirror over there—you in my lap, your legs spread. And I’d touch you while we both watch, and you tell me what feels good.”

My breath hitches. “Do you usually go around… offering this service to women?”

Aiden runs a hand along his jaw. I see the hint of a smile behind it. “No,” he says. “You’re a pretty big exception.”

My legs are locked tight together, and despite wearing almost nothing, I feel warm. Very warm.

“Okay,” I breathe. “But… you first.”

His eyes light up, and he reaches for the cards. Shuffles themalltogether.

“We’re going to play a very simple game,” he says and turns up a single card. It’s a seven. “Higher or lower, Chaos.”

“What do I get if I’m right?”

“You get to ask me to do something. I have the right to refuse. But it’s… a good start.”

“Higher.”

He flips, and the next card is a four of spades. I draw in a breath. Shit.

Aiden taps his knuckles against the lowly four. “Oh, damn. That doesn’t bode well.”

I can barely breathe. “Why?”

“I’m afraid that bra of yours, it’s going to have to come off.” His eyes rest on mine, and while there’s demand there, there is also a playfulness. “If you want. Anything and everything with me is always on your terms, Charlotte.”

Right there is when I know I’ll go through with this. Wherever this night takes me.

I reach for the clasp and undo it. Slowly, I let the straps fall down my arms, and the cups drop away.

His hands tighten around the cards, and for a long moment, he is still as a statue. He looks, though. And I’ve never been so looked at in my life.

Sitting in an armchair, late at night, in a hotel room, in nothing but my panties.

I lean forward and reach for the deck of cards. His eyes track the movement, and there’s an audible sound when he swallows. “Fuck, you’re pretty,” he says.

I take the cards out of his unresponsive hands. “Your turn.” I flip up an eight, but he’s still watching me. “Aiden,” I tell him.

He looks down at the card and clears his throat. “Lower.”

I turn up the next one, and it’s a queen of hearts.

He’s lost. I tap my finger against the card. “I want you to take your pants off.”

He shakes his head a little, but there’s no hesitation in his movements. He stands and undoes the button and the zipper on his pants, and pulls them down. Steps out of them, and then folds them over the back of the armchair, like he’s not standing there in just his black boxer briefs.

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