Page 60 of All Bets Are Off

“Like … jobs?” Her brow knit in confusion.

“All sorts of jobs … and parties … and friends.” I pressed my hand to her back and marveled at the warmth I found waiting for me there. “Just … be quiet.” I didn’t mean for it to come out as harsh as it did. My mind wasn’t firing on all cylinders, though. “Just … dance.”

She stared into my eyes, as if trying to suss out some sort of mystery. “Fine,” she said finally. “You’re still not the boss of me.”

My lips quirked at her new mantra. “I’m well aware.”

“Just so long as you don’t forget.”

I had news for her. There was nothing about her, not a single thing, that I could ever forget. What was I supposed to do with these feelings? They were easy enough to ignore when I didn’t know they were there. Now, though, I did know.

Just how impossible was my life about to become?

REX, RUBY, OPAL, TALLULAH, AND PEARL DECIDEDthey were making a night of it. I’d told them not to wait for us, but they hung around, and I had to wonder how much of the show they’d taken in. Rex didn’t even start his shiftuntil two in the afternoon—he was needed on late afternoons more than mornings—so there was no worry about missing his shift the next morning.

I begged off when they approached us for another stop—I had to be up bright and early—and when I cast a sidelong look toward Olivia, my heart clutched in my chest.

It would be better for both of us if she went with them. Inherently, I knew that. If we went home together, we would be climbing more than the walls the second we crossed the threshold. If she stayed out, Rex would make sure she made it back safely. I would already be in bed, locked behind my bedroom door, and we would have time to cool off. We would be able to regroup.

“I’m going home,” Olivia announced.

Excitement overruled worry and ran through me like an electrical current.

“I have stuff to do tomorrow,” she added.

I didn’t ask what sort of stuff she was doing. It honestly didn’t matter.

“Aw.” Tallulah’s lower lip came out to play. “I’m going to head out with them if you don’t mind.” She looked worried that Olivia might actually shut her down. She needn’t have.

“Have fun.” Olivia waved her off. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Absolutely.” Tallulah darted a quick look toward me—it was as if she could read the vibe between Olivia and me—and her smile grew larger. “Have fun, newlyweds.”

Rex was in his own little world because he was Rex. He might’ve been a great security guy—he was amazing at reading the intentions of other people—but he couldn’t see his sister. It made me angry on a level I didn’t quite understand, but he was absolutely blind where Olivia was concerned.

“Yeah, have fun.” Rex let loose a haphazard wave. He didn’t even look at us. He was too focused on something Ruby was saying to him.

“And then there were two,” I said once they were gone.

Olivia gave me a considering look. Could she ascertain where my mind had gone? I wasn’t an expert on reading her emotions, but if I had to guess, yes. She knew exactly what was going to happen when we got back to the penthouse. It seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

I was still on the fence, wondering if there was a way out of our predicament, when she slipped her hand into mine.

“Let’s go home,” she said in a throaty voice.

My body reacted instinctively, and I clutched her hand tightly. “Yeah, let’s go home.”

WE WERE ON EACH OTHER THE SECOND WEwalked through the door. We didn’t even make eye contact. Something broke between us, and we were like wild animals.

My mouth collided with hers, a tangle of tongues and soft moans. My hands didn’t know where to go. They started off tangling in her hair as I tugged out the bun. Then they moved lower and cupped her bottom, which had been driving me insane for weeks at this point.

As for Olivia, her fingers were like claws as she tried to finagle with my buttons. She was so worked up, she didn’t seem to be having a lot of luck.

“Get this off,” she ordered bossily, tugging at my shirt.

I was breathless as I debated how to get the dress off her. “You get that off,” I snapped. I didn’t want to rip the dress. More than anything—okay, maybe notanything—I wanted to see her in it again.

We stood apart from each other and stripped. It was like a competition to see which one of us could get naked first. I won.

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