Page 64 of Gin & Sin

“Hey,” he says. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way.”

“I know.”

“But I hit a nerve?”

I try to laugh it off, redirecting his attention as I play with his belly button, but he puts his hand over mine to stop me.

“Tell me what I said wrong.”

“You didn’t, Stewart. You just reminded me of something, that’s all.”

“What? I want to know.”

My erection deflates as I sink into the mattress beside him, keeping my hand planted on his belly. “I was never great at remaining detached, even when it was just a casual thing. Indy was so good at it. He was stoic, all about the sex and nothing else. His partners knew exactly where he stood, but I always say what I’m thinking and feeling, and sometimes people took it to mean something it didn’t. It would get messy and I always felt like an asshole. I never meant to hurt people, you know?”

Stewart nods. “I understand, but you don’t have to worry about me. I know what this is. The things you say feel nice, but I’m not turning it into something more. I know it’s sex and nothing else.”

My insides twist unpleasantly, leaving me confused. Shouldn’t I be happy he just said that? Instead, there’s an urge to argue with him, tell him he’s not just sex to me, but… isn’the right? We both agreed this was an excellent arrangement for him to get more experience and me to fuck around with someone nice for a while. So why the fuck does his dismissive statement bother me so much?

“So it’s okay,” he continues. “We’re good.”

“Yeah.” I nod, even though I’m all mixed up inside. “We’re good.”

My cell phone buzzes before I can say anything else, and I flip over to snag it off the nightstand. There’s a text in our group chat.

Lowen: Come down and eat, you fuck bunnies. Bane and Jerryn made a damn feast.

“Are you hungry?” I ask.

Stewart nods. “Yeah, I could eat.”

Me: We’ll be right down.

Indy: Clothes required.

Ridley: Not by me. You can come down naked if you want.

Me: Sorry dude. No one sees the professor naked but me.

Ridley: Rude.

I chuckle, tossing my phone on the bed. “We’ll continue this after some food.”

Stewart grins. “Talking or fucking?”

“How about both?”

His smile softens. “Perfect.”

TWENTY-TWO

STEWART

Sittingat the dining room table with Kit’s friends should feel a lot weirder than it actually does, especially because they know what we’ve been doing up in his room, but everyone chats and acts like I’m always part of their meals.

Lowen finishes filling a champagne glass with mimosa for me, then he sits elegantly, gazing at me with a serene expression. “It’s still snowing, you know.”

“Is it?” Kit asks, putting bacon on his plate before passing the tray to me. “Any idea when it’s expected to stop?”

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