Page 112 of The Sinner's Sanctuary

“I have a safe word.”

He gives his head a small shake. “I don’t want this if you don’t want it, too.”

“Just to be really clear—I wouldn’t have agreed to work with you if you hadn’t tied me down in Rome. I already have a boring job. Why take on a new one?”

“Money?”

“I’m fine,” I say and remind him, “I don’t even pay rent.”

“You want to learn the ropes of major real estate?”

“Probably not,” I hedge. His work’s notuninteresting.

“So, you’re saying if it gets boring, you’ll quit?”

“Yeah.”

“I can’t have that. But for the record, I offered you the job in good faith.”

“And now?” I ask.

“Now I’m willing to play dirty.”

“You have a conference call in an hour,” I tell him.

“Do I get to sleep until then?” he asks. “Or is that too boring?”

I smile, seeing up close how exhausted he is, but also this close, it seems deeper than just having stayed up all night. Like he’s been under constant assault. “It’s okay if you need to sleep.”

“And it’s okay if I want to keep you on the couch with me?”

I nod.

“Then make yourself comfortable. I’m going down.”

He leans away from me, drawing up his knees. I stand whilehe’s getting himself situated on his side with his head on one of the cushy throw pillows. It only takes a second, and then he takes my hand and arranges me the way he wants me—tucked tightly against him—my back to his chest. He sighs as we settle.

It should be impossible to be this comfortable with a more than full-grown man on a normal-sized couch, but I am—other than my raging erection. “Set an alarm,” he murmurs.

“I’ll set it for forty-five so you can fix your hair before the call,” I say as I check the time on my phone.

“It’s a video call?”

“Yeah.”

“You didn’tsaythat,” he whines.

I laugh. “Shh…don’t worry about it. Go to sleep.”

“You feel so good, though.”

“Unless you’ve got lube in your pocket, nothing’s gonna happen, so you might as well close your eyes and make the best of it.”

“Mm…turn over.”

“Bad idea,” I warn him, putting down my phone, alarm set.

He forces the issue, grabbing me by the hip that’s against the couch and trying to forcibly flip me. I do what he wants—as usual.

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