Page 144 of A Little Tempting

“I’m the one who kissed you at the party.”

Her brows pinch, and she tilts her head. “What?”

“It was me. I’m Cinderfella.”

“But Everett?—”

“Lied, hoping you’d let go of your mission to track him down. He knew it was me, and he wanted you to keep your distance.”

Her expression falls as she registers the truth, the one I kept from her for far too fucking long. “I’m gonna kill him.”

“Don’t,” I argue. “I get why he feels the need to protect you. Especially after seeing you last night with your migraine. That shit—knowing he’s the one who caused it—would fuck with anyone’s head.”

The anger seeps from her, and she leans her back against the headboard beside me. “Doesn’t mean it’s okay to lie to me, though.”

“You’re right, it isn’t, and I shouldn’t have covered for him, either, but don’t worry. I’m making him do his time.”

“How so?”

“Well, since I’m off the market now and can’t protect innocent women from assholes, I figured I’d send them Everett’s way. It’ll be good for him to have his ass handed to him once or twice.”

Her jaw drops. “You’re joking.”

“Definitely not,” I say.

With a laugh, she smacks my chest and snuggles closer to me. “You’re terrible.”

“Meh. He’ll make some money while he’s at it, so I think it’s a win-win.”

“Mm-hmm,” she hums.

“Thanks for talking to me about last night, though. You could’ve easily run in the opposite direction after interacting with my dad, but you didn’t.”

“Of course, I didn’t.” Her voice is soft. Hushed. As she drags her fingers along my chest. “You’re not the only one willing to put in the work, Ollie.”

I shut my eyes, surprised by how much I needed to hear it. How I’m worth the work. Worth the effort. Worth…anything at all.

“Love it when you call me Ollie,” I rasp.

“And I love saying it.Ollie.” She says the name as if she’s tasting it. As she sits up again, a giant grin nearly splits her face in two. “I kind of love the name.”

Chuckling, I reply, “You know, I think you mentioned it once or twice.”

“No, seriously. Can I please call you Oliver all the time instead of mainly when we’re alone? After my interaction with your dad yesterday, I…” She shivers. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a problem.”

“My last name?”

“Mm-hmm. A big problem, actually.”

With a low laugh, I sit up and kiss the side of her neck. “Who knew you were a snarky little thing?”

“Uh, jokes on you. I’ve always been snarky. You had to wiggle past my defenses to see it.”

“I like wiggling past your defenses.”

“And I like wiggling past yours,” she replies. And fuck me, but the sincerity shining back at me? It hits me right between the ribs, and I’m blown away. By the way she’s stuck around so far. The way she’s given me a chance, a real chance. The way she likes me. Despite my past. Despite my dad. Despite my reputation. I’m the luckiest bastard alive.

“All right, here’s the deal,” I decide, pushing her hair away from her face and cupping her cheek. “You can call me whatever you want as long as you ride my dick every once in a while.”

---