Page 72 of Obey

He shrugs. “No take backsies.”

“What if I prefer you grumpy and grunty?”

He slides his hands onto my waist, pulling me toward him. “You’ll have to silence me in other ways.”

When his lips move to touch mine, I stick my hand up to cover his face. “Wait!”

He groans, dropping his forehead to what would be mine if there wasn’t a hand in the way.

“Please, Talia? Can we try to navigate this together please? I know kink is daunting for you, and I know you’re scared I’m going to ask you to do whatever twisted concoctions are brewing in your mind that you read about in those books. But I’d like to think I’ve proved in our time together that we can find space to work together to see what we both like, right?”

I nod, but he can’t see me. “Right.” My voice is quiet, I’m not sure what I want to say, and yet there’s a thousand words brewing on the back of my tongue.

“And I’m scared of a relationship, not because I don’t want to commit to you, or us, but because I’ve been hurt so deeply before, and I need to work through that. Please? Can we try?”

I don’t answer right away.

“Not to be manipulative or anything but you have to say yes.”

I stay quiet.

“Half-Pint if you don’t agree to give me another shot at this thing between us, and you go out that door to play with Archer, I will straight up kill my friend and colleague in front of people. Prevent a murder, say yes.”

“Wow. Because that’s not at all manipulative.” I maneuver myself around in his grasp. “And they say romance is dead.”

“I dunno who you’re talking to, but from what I’ve heard, those books you read glorify those... What are they called? Touch-her-and-die-vibes?” He winks up at me like he knows something he shouldn’t, his eyes glittering. “Bet you’re soaking those pretty cotton panties of yours right now with all my caveman talk.”

“You didn’t.”

He nods. “I did. I read the one you had on your eReader in the hotel. And let me tell you, we need to expand that bucket list of yours.”

My jaw is hanging open when he gets to his feet. He sweeps my hair back behind my ear and cups my face. When his lips touch mine, the heaviness that has been pressing my chest down for a week lifts, lightening my whole body.

It’s a simple, chaste sweep of his lips across mine, but the way he backs me up toward the door, the way he cages me in with his entire presence, the way he caresses my face as he kisses me, it all feels right.

“No sex in my office, Jagger.” Slade’s voice carries through the door.

Jagger gives me that wolfish grin as he picks me up by my booty and wraps my legs around his waist. He’s not gentle as we crash into the door.

“Ow!” Slade’s pained voice is super loud. “I said no sex, Jagger. Don’t make me come in there.”

The temptation to make fake-sexy noises is almost overwhelming. Heck, from the way Jagger is looking at me, I might make real ones.

He sighs. “Fine.” He slides me to the floor, and my whole body screams out in disappointment. “Tuesdays are quiet nights here at the club. What about a non-alcoholic drink with some of my friends?”

There’s a crack of skin-on-skin on the other side of the door, like someone’s high-fiving someone else. “Please say yes, Talia.” Mackenzie’s pleading is adorable. She’s as much of a people person as I am, and it’s so nice to meet one of Jagger’s friends who are open to including me right off the bat.

“Okay, but on one condition.” I point at Jagger. “You need to wear your hoodie so it smells like you again.”

“He will.” Addison answers for him. “And if he doesn’t I’ll make Thor put it on him.”

I dunno who Thor is, but he sounds formidable. I’d pay to see that happen. “Okay.”

When we open the door, Slade and the three women take a step back. Mackenzie squeezes my arm. “You did great.” Her smile is warm and friendly.

A guy walks up behind her, and Jagger places a possessive hand on my waist with a growl.

The new guy holds out a hoodie, it’s pastel blue. “Paige asked me to bring this up.”

---