Page 25 of Worth the Risk

“Hey.” I jump out of my chair, taking the few steps toward him. “Give me back my phone.”

“Sit,” he commands, not amused at my attempt to grab my phone back.

“Seriously, Austin.” My tone changes as I reach across him for the phone again. “Stop taking my phone.” I make contact, attempting to yank the phone from his hand, stumbling in the process.

Before I can stop myself, I’m falling right over his lap, my ass in the air, one hand on the floor, the other on the cushion.

“Oh my God.” I push against the cushion, lifting myself up partially and looking up toward Austin. “Help me, you ass!” Embarrassment flushes my cheeks. I can feel them growing hotter by the second. I huff, struggling to gain footing, but a second later that’s the least of my concerns. I feel Austin harden against my belly, and his hand rears back just out of my peripheral before coming down hard on my ass, sending an echo through the room followed by silence.

I’m frozen in complete shock, unsure what to do or say.

That did not just happen.

I turn my head, my eyes meeting his. I expect him to have a matching expression, surprise at what he just did—but he doesn’t. His eyes are dark, his hand still pressed firmly against my backside.

“The phone,” he commands, his other hand outstretched toward mine.

I’m still frozen in shock, or maybe it’s anger at this point, but it doesn’t matter because the excitement that is pulsing through me is all I can focus on. My thighs squeeze together of their own accord and I flinch, hoping he doesn’t feel the shift in my body, but I’m certain he does. His hand, burning through my skirt, flexes slightly. Keeping my eyes on him, I slowly lift the phone, handing it back to him.

“Imagine”—a devilish grin tugs at the corner of his lips—“if your followers could see you bent over my knee like this,” he suggests. “What would they say?”

I push against the couch harder, pulling myself from his lap and smoothing out my blouse and skirt, the sexual frustration I’ve been fighting for months perched precariously close at the edge of my sanity.

“I don’t care what they say, Austin,” I huff, making no attempt to cover my irritation. “It was a stupid idea when I was stupidly depressed, and I’m not now, so can we just move on from it?”

“Look at that,” he mutters, his attention on the screen and not me. “Looks like even with your sabotage attempt, you still managed to get the likes and celebrity comment.” He tosses the phone onto the cushion nearest me, not bothering to look at me as he pushes himself up off the love seat.

“Is that what this is about?” I pick up the phone. “The fact I added a little something extra to the challenge?” I cross my arms over my chest, tilting my chin up and out to try and call his bluff.“Or is this about something else entirely? Because I’m starting to feel like that might be the case.”

He pauses on his way out of my office, his back stiffening before slowly turning back to face me. “Like what, Taylor? What’s it starting to feel like?”

My lower belly clenches, the low tenor of his voice setting my nerves on edge. I’m not sure what I hoped to accomplish by calling attention to his behavior… That’s a lie. I know exactly what I wanted. Him, losing control, finally admitting that it’s me, it’s always been me.

But then what?

I swallow down the answer, knowing damn well that a rebound with Austin isn’t going to fix anything. It would only complicate and confuse me even more. Even if it would finally scratch that itch I can’t seem to satisfy.

“Like you’re mad at me.” My tone softens. “Like I did something wrong.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” He sighs, his hands running through his hair in that frustrated fashion. “I just wanted to have fun with you with the account is all. I thought we were having fun with it and I overstepped… I-I’m sorry I got involved; I shouldn’t have.”

“Oh.” My shoulders sag. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were having fun. I thought you were just teasing me about it and I got embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed why?”

I shrug, not wanting to admit the real reason. “Because it’s kind of insane that I secretly recorded you and put it on the internet for other women to gawk at,” I blurt out and it makes him chuckle.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m not embarrassed by it. Flattered, not embarrassed.”

“All the ladies fawning over you had to be a nice ego boost.” I smile. “Not that you aren’t used to that already.”

“It’s not just me they’re focused on. Read some of those comments—they’re invested.”

I keep my eyes on his for a second while I open my screen again. I flick through the comments on the latest video.

I wish my man looked at me that way and you’re not even dating him :(

Talk about needing a cigarette after that eye-fucking!

---