Page 80 of Icebound Hearts

I can’t help but laugh at that, and although I do my best to keep my expression serious, a grin tugs at my lips. “I see.”

She sits up, unbothered by her nakedness, and I have to work to keep my mind on the conversation at hand as the sheets pool at her waist. She must catch the way my gaze darts downward before I drag it back up to her face, because she’s smiling when our eyes meet again.

“Last night was…” She shakes her head, seeming at a loss for words for a second. “It was amazing. It was better than amazing. I really, really needed that, and honestly, I think you did too. Sowhyshould we have to stop? Because I’m Reese’s sister? Because I’ll be leaving in a couple months? Because I work for you?”

“Yes,” I say dryly, and she rolls her eyes and puts a finger to my lips.

I can’t stop myself. I nip at her finger, trapping it between my teeth before slowly letting it slide out from between them. Her gorgeous hazel eyes darken, and my cock stirs.

Fuck. Focus, Townsend.

“But none of those things matter if this is only temporary,” Violet tells me, and fuck if she isn’t persuasive as hell. “We can have rules about when we can and can’t touch each other—nothing in front of Jake, obviously. He’ll never even know anything is going on. And in public, we’ll act like nothing has changed, like I’m just your nanny and you’re just my boss. Reese doesn’t have to know, especially since it will end when I move away anyway. It doesn’t have to be anything serious. We can just be… I don’t know, friends who have sex.”

I arch a brow at her. “Do you have sex with a lot of your friends?”

She flushes and rolls her eyes, swatting at my shoulder. “No. But you’re… different.” She huffs a laugh, fixing me with a look. “Do you really want to go back to dancing around each other all the time? To that endless, unbearable tension?”

Dammit. She has a point there.

Sighing, I run a hand through my hair. “No, I don’t.”

“And do you really think we can keep living under the same roof without wanting to do—” She gestures to the bed around us, indicating everything that happened last night. “More of that?”

I sigh again, although I’m smiling now. Maybe she’s right. Maybe this could be something fun and casual between us, if she’s really serious about not wanting anything more than that.

“Just sex?” I ask, studying her face as I search for any evidence that she’s unsure about this. Because if she is, I won’t do it. I won’t risk hurting her. “That’s it.”

“Well…” She grins, looking happy and tousled and so fucking sexy. “And friendship. I’d like to stay friends with you.”

A smile breaks out on my face, and I nod. “And friendship. Of course that. We’ll always be friends, heartbreaker.”

“Good.” She nods decisively, stretching her arms over her head in a way that does utterly tempting things to her body. She traps her bottom lip between her teeth, slowly dragging down the sheet I covered us both with last night, until there’s nothing covering either one of us. “I already got to tick phone sex off my bucket list last night, and I like the idea of being able to check off a few more things.”

She crawls on top of me, her thighs straddling my waist as my cock hardens between us.

“Who knows?” she whispers, leaning down until her lips are almost brushing mine. “Maybe we’ll get through my whole list by the time I leave Denver.”

Jesus fuck.

My cock springs to life at the thought, and my mind starts racing with all the possibilities. I don’t have a clue what else is on that list of hers, but I’d be the worst kind of liar if I said I wasn’t dying to find out—and to help her get through it.

If she’s going to check more items off of it,Iwant to be the one doing those things to her.

I reach up to wrap one arm around her, gripping her chin with my other hand. My eyes bounce between hers, our faces only inches apart.

“Last chance, heartbreaker,” I murmur. “Are you sure about this? Totally, one hundred percent sure?”

Her breath fans against my lips. “Are you asking me if I’m sure I want a repeat of last night? Oh, hell yeah.”

My body takes over, pulling her close. My lips find hers, and she responds, groaning into my mouth and grinding against me as my hands wander down her naked body. We’ll have to get up soon, but fortunately, we still have a bit of time before Jake will wake up.

“Good,” I growl between kisses, rolling her onto her back. “Now tell me more about this list. I want to check another item off before breakfast.”

Chapter 27

Violet

By the time I step into the shower to quickly wash up, my legs are trembling.

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