Page 42 of My Irresistible Enemy

I was too wrung out to move when he slid the spatula out of my ass. All I could do was turn my head and watch as he walked to the sink. He washed the spatula, then his hands, in business-like fashion and set the spatula at the edge of the basin to dry. He recapped the coconut oil in a single, fluid motion. Only then did he turn back to me.

“I’m sorry I offended you at the library today,” he said, his hands moving to rebutton his shirt. They paused slightly when they reached the spot where I’d popped a button off, then moved on. There was no trace of the desire I’d heard in his voice just moments ago. “It won’t happen again.”

He turned and headed for the back of the tent, which was when I realized he was going to do it again. He was going to give me a mind-blowing orgasm and just walk away. Well, fuckthat.

I scrambled off the counter, my legs still a little shaky, and hurried after him. I grabbed his wrist and tugged.

“No,” I said fiercely.

“Nowhat?” Nolan said, whirling around.

“You don’t just get to do that. Leave me all—just make me—fuck, man, what the hell?”

His eyes got that wary look again. “You did—you did want it, right? I thought you—”

“God, yes, of course I wanted it,” I snapped. “I’m talking about after. I’m talking about—I mean, it’s not fair, is it? That it’s always me coming, and never you. Can’t I give you what you want, too?”

Nolan’s lips pressed into a tight line, and he shook his head. “Aiden, all I wanted was to have a chance to win this competition. Now that that’s not going to happen, I’d really just rather you left me alone.

“Jesus, is being around methatterrible?” I hated the desperation in my voice, but I couldn’t help it.

“What?” Nolan looked baffled, which only confused me more.

“Do you hate me that much? That you can’t even be in the same room as me unless you’re yelling at me or giving me bone-melting orgasms?”

“I don’t…hate you,” Nolan said, speaking the words like they cost him something. He held himself like he might shatter if you knocked him against a hard surface.

“Then let me help you,” I begged. That was the only word for it.

At every opportunity, I’d managed to put myself in Nolan’s debt. There had to be some way out of it.

“Please. I feel like I owe you something. Owe you a lot, actually.”

Nolan shook his head. “If this is about sex—”

“It’s not about sex. Forget the sex.” Kind of a ridiculous thing to say, given that I was still completely naked and had cum drying on my stomach, but that didn’t matter right now. “You want to stay in the competition. Let me help you with that, at least.”

“I don’t see how you can.”

He didn’t even sound angry anymore. Just resigned. Which only made me feel worse.

“Try my plan,” I said. “Just for the next few days. Tomorrow, when we’re doing our practice bakes. And then Monday, for the challenge episode. You already basically started it, helping me in the library.”

“I wasn’ttryingto start anything,” Nolan said. “I was trying to—fuck, I don’t even know what I was trying to do. But notthat.”

“It doesn’t matter. The point is that there is now footage, of you, on camera, being—dare I say it—nice to me? We can build on that.”

“I’m not going to whore myself out on camera just so I can stay on the show.”

“That’s not what you’d be doing,” I protested, my stomach twisting at his words. I couldn’t imagine what he’d think if he found out about my CamFans sideline, if he considered it problematic to even smile at someone he didn’t like. But that wasn’t the point. “We wouldn’t even have to do much. Just like, flirt a little.”

“I don’t like lying.”

“Oh my God, Nolan. I’m not asking you to propose marriage to me, I’m asking you to be nice to me on camera for a few days. Are your principles really so strong that you can’t even do that?”

His eyebrows drew down, but he didn’t say anything. I decided that counted as progress. He looked me up and down, and I shivered. I really should have put some clothes on before having this conversation, but it was too late for that now.

“What if it doesn’t work?” he said finally.

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