Page 12 of The Forever Experiment

He holds his hand out to me, and I place my palm in his. Instead of shaking it, he brings it to his mouth, brushing his lips along my knuckles. Sparks alight along my skin, starting in the place his mouth meets my flesh and spreading like wildfire through my body, embers blazing in my core.

“Hand kisses are legally binding, by the way,” he says as he gently drops my arm and grabs our drinks from the bar, handing mine to me.

“Shit,” I respond, suddenly breathless. “I guess I’m in deep.”

Easton

Maya downed her slushie much faster than I thought she would. We were still in line for the High Roller when I heard her straw go hollow, and though she was pleasantly buzzed by that point, I was still afraid she’d bail before we actually boarded if I didn’t keep her mouth busy.

So many ways I’d love to keep her mouth busy.

I had her hold our place in line while I grabbed us two more cocktails from a nearby bar. Maya was well and truly drunk by the time we finished the High Roller, begging me for burgers. We grabbed a couple of Double-Doubles, and I took her over to another favorite place of mine.

I’ve been to Vegas a few times. My youngest sister had basketball tournaments here some summers as a kid, paired with a handful of twenty-first birthdays and bachelor parties.

Holding our burgers in one hand and her hand in the other, I lead Maya through The Flamingo, to the wildlife habitat behind the casino. It’s not open this late in the evening, but the back doors still provide access to a quiet, plush grassy area lit by neon lights.

We sit down on the concrete steps outside the doors, and Maya sighs, her dark skin illuminated in shadows of pink. I take her burger out of the bag and unwrap it before handing it to her. The moan she lets out as she takes her first bite has my cock jumping in my trousers.

She’s an exquisite fucking moaner. I would know.

“Hey,” she says between bites of food. “Remember that pact we made in college?”

“Our marriage pact?” I ask.

Fuck no, I haven’t forgotten, but I wasn’t going to bring it up. That would mean addressing the night we had all those years ago, and I wasn’t going to mention it until she did.

“Yeah.” She snorts. “I thought that was so silly. I thought there was no fucking way I’d ever end up forty and unmarried.And now, look at us. In our thirties and eating burgers on the ground.”

I’m not sure how those things are mutually exclusive, but I’m not about to argue with a beautifully drunk attorney.

Laughing, I gently place my hand on her thigh. I pause, wanting to ensure she’s okay with the touch before I begin making circles on her skin with my fingers. She sighs again, taking another bite, but my touch seems to calm her more than anything, so I continue.

“I’m looking forward to cashing in on that pact.”

She turns to me, offering a lopsided smile through a full mouth. She drops her head against my shoulder, and my body ignites at the contact. Tilting my head, I let my cheek fall atop her hair, savoring the warmth of her next to me.

“I don’t want to go back to the hotel yet. I want to be stupid a little longer.”

“Giving yourself a break and having a good time doesn’t make you stupid, Maya.” I squeeze her leg. “But whatever you want, baby. I’ll take you anywhere.”

She’s quiet for a moment before she lifts her face toward me, espresso eyes glittering with mischief beneath the lights. “You know, I bet if we pretended we were eloping, we could convince people to give us free shit.”

A laugh rumbles from deep in my raging chest. “You’re a menace, Maya, baby.”

“A very convincing menace.” I can hear the smile in her voice.

5

Easton

The sound is insulting—incessant as the chimes and bells bounce off my skull.

An excruciating throb pounds behind my eyes, heightened by the echoing through the room and the sunlight streaming over my closed lids.

I didn’t set a fucking alarm.

I turn over in an attempt to escape the light, hearing a groan leave my mouth. A matching noise rumbles through the hotel room. A second later, the chiming stops, and I settle into the pillow under my neck, ready to drift back off when I hear a stomp, a bump, and another groan.

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